Annette: Can the Musical Be New Again?

But while La La Land sees the past as an unattainable ideal, Annette takes on Faulkner’s view: that the past isn’t dead, it’s not even past. Just as Ann’s ghost haunts Henry, our past will never be done with us. The present is only the culmination of past decisions, behavior, and events rearranged. The things that make our immediate reality feel new are ephemeral, and like Henry’s audience we are quick to discard them when they no longer please us.