The beginnings of Musical Theatre

1
The beginnings of Musical Theatre

• Operettas and Musical Comedies

2
What is an operetta?

• Literally means little opera
• Usually comedic or satirical in nature
• Often done in the language of the audience
• Uses classical styles of music
• Usually featured a complex love story with
  unrealistic and extreme obstacles
• Operetta was hugely successful in Britain, then
  eventually caught hold in the USA

3
Musical Comedy

• A musical comedy is more like a traditional
  book musical
• Told a story through speech, music, and dance
• Used original music in a popular style
• Plot was often loose and mainly used to get from
  one song to the next

4
Important composers of operetta and musical
comedies

• Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert
• Wrote 14 operettas, including The Pirates of
  Penzance, The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, and Trial By
  Jury
• Often used satire or political humor
• Victor Herbert
• Considered the first great American theatre
  composer
• Composed 46 Broadway scores, including Babes in
  Toyland, Naughty Marietta, Sweethearts
• George M. Cohan
• Wrote, composed, choreographed, directed, or
  supervised the above for 22 musicals

5
The first Musical- The Black Crook

• Opened 9/12/1866
• Score consisted of popular numbers of the day
• Fusion of song, dance, and story was crude at
  best
• Addition of dance was accidental
• A French ballet troupe was scheduled to perform
  in NYC, but the theatre burned down
• The manager for The Black Crook would benefit
  from having a company of girl in immodest dress
• Plot based on the Faust legend- Man makes deal
  with the Devil and fails to deliver

6
More on The Black Crook

• Ran for 475 performances
• Revived 15 times and toured the US for the next
  40 years
• Shortly after opening, 16 New York theatres were
  using the same formula

7
Victor Herbert and the operetta

• German born and educated in Europe in classical
  composition
• Moved to America and hoped to write popular
  music, but found that operetta suited him better
• 43 operettas composed
• Organized the ASCAP and help established the
  right for composers to receive royalties for
  performances of their work

8
Naughty Marietta

• Lyrics and Book by Rida Johnson Young
• Produced by Oscar Hammerstein
• Takes place in New Orleans in 1780
• Marietta wants to escape from an unwanted
  marriage
• Captain Dick Warrington leads his Rangers against
  a pirate crew
• Marietta falls for the son of the Lieutenant
  Governor, but he is really the leader of the
  Pirates, so she falls in love with Warrington
  instead
• Still uses a classical style, though moving
  towards popular styles of music

9
George M. Cohan and the Musical Comedy

• Composed over 1500 songs in his career
• Originally wrote for his families act, then
  eventually broke out on his own
• Can be considered the father of the American
  Musical
• Used song and dance to advance the plot, not just
  to wow the audience

10
Little Johnny Jones

• George M. Cohans first big Broadway hit
• Opened 11/7/1904
• Ran for only 52 performances, but after revisions
  during the tour, returned to NY twice and ran 20
  weeks total in the city
• Famous songs from the show Yankee Doodle Boy,
  Give My Regards to Broadway