I Hat eJazz Hands

That's right, I hate jazz hands. You know what I mean. When people in musicals wave their fingers, as if just singing and dancing isn't enough. And jazz hands comes with the big smiles and wide eyes of everyoine involved. Thery have to LOOK like they are having fun, and having been in a few musicals myself, I know how NOT fun that is. It's distracting to watch and adds to a corniness that turns me off from Broadway. (I still love it, though; Jersey Boys blog to come soon.)

I wonder why everyone in the theater world does jazz hands. Why is it the norm? I say that musical theater attracts people that like the way things are done today. People that come into it now continue what was done yesterday. If people entered the musical theater world and hated jazz hands, they still might be more inclined to go along with what the standard is. The standard conventions are perpetuated because they work, so why change?

I asked Harley, a musical theater person, her take, and she had an interesting perspective. Theater is hyper-reality, everything is in a heightened state. Talk turns to music when words just can't say enough. Jazz hands add more dynamism to this hyper-reality. I guess regular hands just aren't enough.

I tried doing this in more normal life. I did "washing the dishes hands", and "brushing my teeth hands." It sucked there too. Maybe I'll try the opposite, "understated hands" next time I rub Harley's feet. Yeah, that'll show her!