Chapter 17 Musical Theater

1
Chapter 17Musical Theater

• The connections between
• music and drama
• Greek tragedy
• Shakespeare
• 19th century melodrama
• Popular entertainment in the 19th century
• The musical is predominately an American form
  which evolved in the 20th century

2
Types of Musical Theater

• Opera - Drama set entirely to music
• Operetta - Predominately drama set to music but
  with some spoken portions (usually a romantic
  story)
• Musical Comedy - Developed in America in the
  1920s light, comic story interspersed with
  popular music
• Musical - Evolved from the operetta and musical
  comedy
• Revue - Comic sketches and vignettes alternated
  with musical numbers no single story and
  stand-alone songs

3
The Roots of American Musical Theater

• The connections of
• America, music, and entertainment
• Vaudeville, Burlesque ,Minstrel Shows
• Significant Forerunners of the
• American Musical
• 1866 The Black Crook (combination of melodrama
  and dance)
• Early 20th century George M. Cohan (American
  music connected with dialogue beginnings of the
  book musical
• Composers of popular American music Irving
  Berlin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers

4
1920s 1930s American Musicals

• The landmark musical of its age
• Produced in 1927
• Serious story (romance between a white man and a
  black woman)
• Songs integrated into the plot
• Elimination of the chorus line
• Showboat by Joseph Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II
• Other landmark productions of the time
• 1931 Of Thee I Sing (George Ira Gershwin)
• 1935 Porgy Bess (George, Heyward, Ira
  Gershwin)
• 1940 Pal Joey (Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart)
  06 revival!

5
The Golden Age of the American Musical

• 1943 Oklahoma!
• Richard Rodgers Oscar Hammerstein II 1st
  collaboration
• Integration of music, dance, and story Agnes
  DeMille, choreographer
• Other landmark musicals of the period
• Carousel (1945) / South Pacific (1949)
• Guys Dolls (1950) / The King I (1951)
• My Fair Lady (1956) / West Side Story (1957)
• The Sound of Music (1959)

6
The Modern Musical

• End of the golden age
• Fiddler on the Roof (1964)
• Hair (1967) representative of the
  anti-establishment culture of young America
• A Chorus Line (1975) Emphasized the connections
  between choreographer, dancers, and the musical
• Emergence of the concept musical
• Stephen Sondheim (Follies / Company)
• Andrew Lloyd Webber (Cats / Starlight Express)
• The British Invasion (1970s 1980s)
• Andrew Lloyd Webber Cameron Mackintosh

7
The Future of Musical Theater

• Three Current Trends on Broadway
• 1) Revivals of from the Past
• Chicago / Cabaret / 42nd Street
• 2) Contemporary Shows
• Rent / Urinetown / Mamma Mia!
• 3) Musicals from Films
• The Lion King / The Producers / Hairspray
• What will the future musical encompass?
• Why have musicals remained so popular?