Transcript Chapter 13
Chapter 13
The Musical
On Musicals
American musical theatre is our
indigenous art form. We can’t
claim drama, ballet, or opera,
but musical theatre is our very
own. . . . Musicals are in our
blood and in our bones, are part
of our collective personality.
Molly Smith,
Artistic Director of the Arena Stage
Broad Categories of Musicals
Book musicals
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Lerner and Loewe
Dance musicals
Michael Bennett
Bob Fosse
Tommie Tune
Operatic musicals
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Stephen Sondheim
Adam Guettel
Musical Theatre Genres
Opera
Operetta
Revue
Variety show
Vaudeville
Burlesque
Musical comedy
Straight musical
Rock musical
Avenue Q
Components of the Musical
Music
Composer
Lyricists
Book
Librettist
Types of Musical Numbers
Overture
Ballad
Designed for comic relief
Showstopper
Usually a slow love song
Comedy number
Previews the music from the show by playing a
medley of tunes before the show begins
A big brass production number
Reprise
Repetition of pieces of a song or melody line
Musicals: A Brief History
Opera
Opera
Originated in Italy in the 1500s
Reached its peak in the 19th century with composers
like Wagner, Mozart, Puccini, Rossini, and Handel
Comic Opera
Developed from intermezzi
Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera are regarded by most as
the epitome of this form
Exists today in the form of the rock opera
Musicals: A Brief History
Early American Musicals
Ballad Operas
Vaudeville
Caricatured African-American plantation life in song and dance
Revues
1890 – 1920 was its height of popularity
Minstrel Shows
Began with John Gay’s Three Penny Opera in 1728
Ziegfeld Follies was the epitome of this unique form of the
American musical theatre
Extravaganzas
The Black Crook in 1866 spawned this unique form of musical
that emphasized elaborate scenery and scantily glad female
dancing chorines
Musicals: A Brief History
African American Musicals
A Trip to Coontown (1898)
The Origin of the Cakewalk (1898)
Scuffle Along (1921)
Running’ Wild (1923)
Porgy and Bess (1935)
Cabin in the Sky (1940)
The Wiz (1975)
Bring in da Noise; Bring in da Funk
(1996)
Musicals: A Brief History
The Show Boat (1927) Revolution
The quintessential American
musical
Integrated book, lyrics, and music
into a unified whole
Focused on serious themes in
American culture
Brought Euro-American and
African-American performers
together on the same stage at the
same time
First musical to win the Pulitzer
Prize
Established Jerome Kern and
Oscar Hammerstein II as major
figures in the development of the
American musical
Musicals: A Brief History
1927 - Today
Oklahoma! (1943)
West Side Story (1957)
Cabaret (1966)
Hair (1967)
A Chorus Line (1975)
Cats (1982)
Rent (1996)
The Producers (2001)
The Light in the Piazza (2005)
Musicals Today
The main problems for Broadway musicals
has to do with the exorbitant cost of
producing them
Disneyification of the musical
Reliance upon revivals to recoup huge
investments
The Tourist Musical is challenged by
smaller cast musicals like Urinetown and
Avenue Q