It (Concession Speech) will probably be a 30 minute infomercial on:
Hey, Let's Put on a Show
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"We've gotta have a great show, with a million laughs... and color... and a lot of lights to make it sparkle! And songs - wonderful songs! And after we get the people in that hall, we've gotta start em in laughing right away! Oh, can't you just see it... ?"
— Patsy Barton, Babes In Arms
So the Orphanage of Love is in trouble. Big, costly trouble. How are those orphans going to raise all that money? It's simple: put on a show! We'll use the modest singing talents of the secretary corps, and we can put a stage in that old barn out back, and surely it won't be too hard to rig up a spotlight or two...
This trope was made popular by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in the 1930s, but saving the unfortunate through musical theater is a surprisingly resilient Stock Plot. Nothing like a show to bring out The Cast Showoff and showcase their lesser-known talents. It can even work when there's no orphanage to save, as Taxi demonstrated by giving a whole show, in which the main cast performed song and dance numbers.
This trope causes no end of frustration for those who actually do work in theater, especially when they have to explain just how long it takes and how much it costs to "just put on a show."
Often overlaps with That Reminds Me of a Song, in that said show may involve an excuse for musical numbers that aren't tied to the plot or character development. Subtrope of Show Within a Show.
