Musical theater is a uniquely captivating art form in the way it tells its stories. The use of song for characterization, plot progression, and developing themes is distinctive to musical theater, setting it apart as a means of artistic expression. One example of such a song in a theatrical production is “Snow” by Ty Defoe and Tidtaya Sinutoke. The song tells the story of two girls with different upbringings—one from Thailand and one from a general Western northern country—and how these different upbringings have impacted their feelings about snow. Analyzing the lyrics of the song and the contrasting ways in which the characters describe the snow, the audience can characterize the two, see their development, and understand the broader themes the play introduces about perception.

An analysis of the lyrics in the song “Snow” gives greater insight into the two main characters of the production. The first main character is the girl from Thailand, and through the song, the audience gets the sense that she’s an optimist and a dreamer who sees the best in situations. When she sings, “So I bring up my umbrella, and pretend I’m Cinderella waiting for a blizzard to come by,” the audience is able to get a sense of her idealism. Her recollection of dreaming of being a Disney princess specifically characterizes her as someone with childlike wonder. Additionally, her repetition of the word “awesome” when the other character, Ella, explains the reality of snow, like how it’s sometimes yellow, demonstrates how fascinated she is by the seemingly mundane. The second protagonist, named Ella, is the girl from the north who is used to snow, as she has grown up with it. The audience is able to get the sense that she is a more pessimistic person based on her responses to the girl from Thailand when she says, “Why this place? It’s for sh*t,” or, “No, it’s dirty and sometimes yellow.” Ella is evidently seen as a realist who uses the reality of situations to bring down dreamers like the girl from Thailand. While the first main character repeats the word “awesome,” Ella repeats the word “no,” as if she’s telling her, “No, don’t be excited over this stuff.” However, as the song progresses, Ella’s pessimistic nature begins to shift.

Through the lyrics of the song, the development of the characters and their relationship is displayed. While the girl from Thailand is a mostly static character, Ella’s change is a dramatic one. The audience is able to see the beginning of the shift in her when she sings the line, “One time my meemaw and I poured maple syrup on the snow. It was the best time I ever had.”  From this point on, Ella’s manner of communication with the girl from Thailand is less hostile. Her fond childhood memory is able to soften her and bring her back to more innocent times. When she accepts this childlike wonder that the girl from Thailand has by going back to her own childhood, the two are able to find common ground. By the end of the song, the two are singing in tandem, “We will play the snow oh oh oh, dance the snow oh oh oh, sing the snow oh oh.” The repetition of earlier lyrics with “we” instead of “I” is the perfect encapsulation of how the two’s relationship has changed from two strangers experiencing life separately to two friends with shared experiences.

This characterization and development illuminates the broader theme that how one perceives the world greatly impacts how they experience it. The Thai girl’s perception of not just snow, but life as a whole, allows her to experience it with much more joy and wonder. In contrast, Ella’s glass-half-empty perception of life makes her take experiences more negatively. However, when she shifts her perception to remember the positive times, she’s much more open and even makes a new friend. The ending line of the song is “Together,” which exhibits how, when one is willing to change their perception, they can experience a brighter and more unified world with others. It’s also important to note that while the Thai girl used to dream of being Cinderella, the other main character’s name is actually Ella! This is a brilliant writing move that demonstrates how they were more alike than they thought due to their perceptions.

All in all, the lyrics in Ty Defoe and Tidtaya Sinotuke’s “Snow” are masterful in their contribution to the work as a whole. They are able to characterize the two main characters: one as optimistic and one as pessimistic. Additionally, they take these characters through a journey that allows the pessimist to drop her walls and let the two become friends. Ultimately, the song reveals that while circumstances may be the same, how one perceives them shapes how they experience them and connect with others.