Transcript Musical Director

Roles in Musical Theatre
• Director – casts show, gives actors blocking, vision
of the show
• Choreographer – makes up and teaches the dances
• Musical Director – teaches music to actors and how
to sing the songs
• Actor – people portraying the characters. Sing, act,
and dance
• Ensemble – actors in the show that mainly dance
and sing and are used to form crowds in scenes.
• Composer – writes the music
• Lyricist – writes the lyrics
• Playwright – writes the lines and story
• Stage Manager – organizes rehearsals and is in
charge of the run of the show.
American Musical Theatre
Musical Format Develops
• 1927-1930s
• Showboat is first musical
with today’s format.
• 1931 first musical to win the
Pulitzer Prize, Of Thee I Sing
Golden Age
• 1940s-1960s
• Oklahoma! Was written for
the story not a star, which
sets a trend.
• Rodgers & Hammerstien –
influential musical theatre
writing team that wrote
thought-provoking plots
and re-worked the musical
theatre genre.
American Musical Theatre
1960s
• African-American influence
on Broadway with shows
such as Dreamgirls and The
Wiz.
• Controversial musicals begin
to arise, Hair.
1970s
• Old-fashioned values are
brought back into the
picture.
• A Chorus Line won a Pulitzer
Prize
• Musicals such as Annie
Stephen Sondheim – gained popularity during this
time period. Wrote musicals such as Into the
Woods and Sweeney Todd. He has been called the
“greatest lyricist of all time.”
American Musical Theatre
1980s-1990s
• Musical were all about the
outrageous elements.
Examples: Cats, Les
Miserables
• Pop/Rock operas
• Large corporation influence
Examples: Lion King, Beauty
and the Beast
Modern Day
• Plots from movies and other
literary works
Examples: Wicked, Legally
Blonde