Transcript Introduction to Musical Theater

Introduction to
Musical Theater
Three main forms of art
 Music
 Dance
 Spoken
dialogue
Three components of the musical

Book
 The
dialogue
 Written by the librettist

Music
 Written

Lyricist
by the composer
The very beginning…

Opera
 Recitative

and Aria
What is the difference between opera and
musical theater?
18th Century (1700’s)

Opera developed into comic opera.
 Original
scores
 Parody of opera

Ballad operas
 Used
popular music of the time and
incorporated it into a storyline.
19th Century (1800’s)

Vaudeville
 Small
vignettes of singing, dancing and acting
 Separate unrelated acts
 Comedians, singers, acrobats

Burlesques
 Rhyming
couplet dialogue
 Popular music with changed lyrics
 Audience
would recognize the music.
The Black Crook
Charles M. Barras, playwright
 Guiseppi Operti and George Bickwell,
music
 Premiered in 1866
 Considered the first show to conform to
what we consider the modern musical
 Song and dance helped to convey the
story.

W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
Gilbert – librettist
 Sullivan – composer
 VERY famous duo in musical theater
 Wrote several comic operas:

 H.M.S.
Pinafore, The Mikado, The Pirates of
Penzance
1920’s

Theater began to have competition with
motion picture
 Silent
movies and movies with sound
Musicals began to pull in big stars of the
time to compete with the big screen
 Less attention to plot

1920’s cont.

Show Boat
 Solidifies
musical genre with all aspects

Lady Be Good!; No, No Nanette; Oh! Kay

George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome
Kern, Richard Rogers, Lorenz Hart, Fred
and Adele Astaire
1930’s

Great Depression and chap “talkies”
presented new challenges

Of Thee I Sing!
 1931
 George
and Ira Gershwin
 Won Pulitzer Prize
1930’s (cont)

Anything Goes!
 Starred
 first
 Cole

Ethel Merman –
woman of musical theater
Porter
On Your Toes!; Can-Can; The Boys from
Syracuse
1940’s

Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein
team up for Oklahoma!
in the steps of Show Boat by
integrating all aspects of musical theater.
 Follows
 Hypothetical
Love Song – People Will Say
We’re In Love
1940’s (cont)

Carousel
 One
of the first to incorporate a tragic plot.
 Hypothetical Love Song – “If I Loved You”

South Pacific – Rogers and Hammerstein

Annie Get Your Gun

Kiss Me Kate
1950’s

Rogers and Hammerstein – ended their
reign
 The

King and I, Sound of Music
Leonard Bernsetin
 West
Side Story
1960’s

Steven Sondheim
 Began
to emerge in this decade
A
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum
 Anyone Can Whistle

The Fantasticks; Fiddler on the Roof; Man
of La Mancha; Hello, Dolly!; Cabaret;
Mame
1970’s

Rock Musicals
 Jesus
Christ Superstar; Godspell; Rocky
Horror Show

African-American influence
 Dream

Girls; The Wiz
Sondheim continued
 Sunday
in the Park with George; Into the
Woods; Sweeney Todd; Company
1980’s and 1990’s
More pop=influenced music
 Extravigant sets, casts, effects

Phantom of the Opera; Evita, Miss Saigon;
Les Miserables
 Beauty and the Beast; Lion King; Little
Mermaid
 Rent – rock opera based on La Boheme

2000’s

More extreme approaches
 Urinetown;
Avenue Q; The 25th Annual
Putnam County Spelling Bee

Literature adaptations
 Wicked;

Little Women; Dracula
Film Adaptations
 The
Producers; Hairspray; Legally Blonde;
Spamalot, Dream Girls
The End!