The History Of Broadway

1
The History Of Broadway

• Miss Rachel Elizabeth Champ

2
The Beginnings

• No one person created the musical. It
• evolved over time and incorporates a
• variety of influences and elements.
• Music Lyrics
• Directing Choreography
• Creators Performers
• Historical Events Interests

3
Music Lyrics

• First, there is the music
• Minstrel Songs
• Patriotic Jingles
• Ragtime Marches
• Stirring Blues
• Jazz Ditties
• There is definitely a
• Broadway sound, often
• referred to as Tin Pan Alley.

• Tin Pan Alley is known as the
• place where musicians set up
• Shop from 1885 into the 1950s
• in New York City between Fifth
• and Sixth Avenue.
• Tin Pan Alley is a musical
• structure pioneered by
• songwriters like Irving Berlin,
• George Gershwin and Richard
• Rodgers.

4
Music Lyrics

• Then, there are the lyrics
• They can be
• Rhapsodic
• Witty
• Risqué
• Patriotic
• Famous lyricists include
• Cole Porter
• Ira Gershwin
• Oscar Hammerstein II

5
Music Lyrics

• Two music/lyrics teams are
• Rodgers Hammerstein II
• Sound Of Music
• Carousel
• The King And I
• South Pacific
• Ira George Gershwin
• Porgy And Bess
• Ziegfeld Follies
• Girl Crazy
• Funny Face

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• In the early days of the musical, the songs
• mattered most, and it was essential that
• they were catchy enough to amuse the
• audience or provide material for dancers or
• comedians. But, beginning in the 1930s, the
• situation, the book or libretto, of the musical
• started to achieve primary importance.
• A story or narrative became more frequently
• the spine of the musical. The songs followed the
• plot and the characters, rather than the other
  way
• around.

7

• This narrative spine has made the musical quite
• influential as a cultural and artistic force.
  Examples
• Race Relations
• Oklahoma! (1943)
• West Side Story (1957)
• Ragtime (1997)
• Antiwar Sentiments
• Hair (1967)
• Company (1970)

8
Directing

• As the musical got more complex, it
• required a director to shape the production
• and its design and concept. Strong musical
• directors like George S. Kaufman and
• George Abbott emerged in the '30s
• currently major artists like Harold Prince
• and Julie Taymor are key to shaping a
• musical's success.

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Directing

• George S. Kaufman
• Guys And Dolls
• Id Rather Be Right
• Of Mice And Men

• George Abbott
• A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
• Once Upon A Mattress
• Fiorello!

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Directing

• Harold Prince
• Fiddler On The Roof
• Sweeney Todd
• Phantom Of The Opera

• Julie Taymor
• The Green Bird
• Juan Darien
• The Lion King

11
Choreography

• Choreographers were next to emerge as
• major artists in the teens and '20s, they
• were simply "dance directors," but
• influential choreographers like George
• Balanchine and Agnes de Mille brought
• visionary ideas to the stage.

12
Choreography

• With gifted choreographers like Jerome Robbins
  and Bob Fosse broadening their range in the '50s,
  it was only matter of time before they took on
  the job of director in addition to their dance
  duties. The director/choreographer became a major
  visionary force on the stage, guiding every
  visual and physical moment of a musical.

13
Choreography

• Jerome Robbins
• Peter Pan
• West Side Story
• A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

• Bob Fosse
• Chicago
• Pippin
• Sweet Charity
• The Pajama Game

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Performers

• Performers have also been the cornerstone
• of the musical. They could be comedians
• like Bert Lahr, singers like Ethel Merman or
• dancers like Ray Bolger. With the stronger
• demands of the narrative musical,
• performers had to become actors as well.

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Performers

• Bert Lahr Ethel Merman Roy Bolger
• Du Barry Was a Lady Du Barry Was a Lady By
  Jupiter
• Flying High Annie Get Your Gun George
  Whites Scandals
• Hold Everything! Anything Goes On Your Toes
• Life Begins at 840 Hello Dolly! Life
  Begins at 840
• The Show Is On Gypsy Wheres Charley?

16
Performers

• Of course, what Broadway values most these
• days is the "triple threat, performers who
• can sing, dance, and act. In fact, in the past,
• there were separate dancing and singing
• choruses now everyone is expected to do it all.
• Star performers like Bernadette Peters,
• Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Nathan Lane
• appear to have limitless talents.

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Performers

• Bernadette Peters
• Gypsy
• Into The Woods
• Brian Stokes Mitchell
• Man Of La Mancha
• Ragtime
• Nathan Lane
• Guys And Dolls
• The Producers

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Can You Guess These Other Triple Threats?
How did you do? 7-8 Broadway Star 5-6 Broadway
Supporting Actor/Actress 3-4 Broadway
Wannabe 1-2 Whats Broadway?
John Goodman
Julie Andrews
Angela Lansbury
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Megan Mullally
Richard Gere
Taye Diggs
Idina Menzel
19
Producers

• None of these elements would come
• together without the producer. The idea for
• a new musical can come from a writer,
• composer, or performer, but it can only be
• realized by a producer. He or she must raise
• the money for the production the amount
• required is called the capitalization.

20
Producers

• The producer will rarely spend his own
• money he raises it from investors usually
• called backers or "angels" for obvious
• reasons and pays himself a salary. If the
• show is a success and makes back its initial
• expenditure (recoupment), investors get
• whatever percentage of their contributed
• amount back in profits.

21
Producers

• For example, if you invested 1,000 in
• "Oklahoma!" in 1943 and it cost 100,000 to
• produce, you would get 1 percent of the
• profits after recoupment (distributed
• weekly). If "Oklahoma!" had flopped, you
• would have lost all your money luckily, the
• show was a big hit anyone who did invest
• 1,000 received 2.5 million!

22
On Versus Off Broadway

• There are basically three criteria for an on
• or off Broadway production
• ? The size of the theatre large theatres are
  on
• Broadway, small theatres are off Broadway.
• ? The amount of revenue earned.
• ? The last criteria deals with popularity. How
  popular and how large the production is are
  determining factors for an on or off Broadway
  show.

23
The Playbill

• The Playbill is an extremely important part of
  any Broadway production. It is the program that
  is given to each audience member. Within it,
  contains all the information about the
  production, as well as important upcoming
  performances and news within the Broadway
  community.

24
Tony Awards

• The Antoinette Perry Awards for
• Excellence in Theatre, more
• commonly known as the Tony
• Awards, recognize achievement in
• live American theatre and are
• presented by the American Theatre
• Wing and The Broadway League at
• an annual ceremony in New York
• City. The awards are for Broadway
• productions and performances.

25
Tony Awards

• 2007 Winners
• Best Musical Spring Awakening
• Best Original Score Spring Awakening
• Best Leading Actor Performance David Hyde Pierce
• Best Leading Actress Performance Christine
  Ebersole
• Best Featured Actor Performance John Gallagher
  Jr.
• Best Featured Actress Performance Mary Louise
  Wilson
• Best Direction Of A Musical Michael Mayer
• Best Choreography Bill T. Jones
• Best Scenic Design Bob Crowley
• Best Costume Design William Ivey Long
• Best Lighting Design Kevin Adams

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Tony Awards

• 2008 Winners
• Best Musical In The Heights
• Best Original Score In The Heights
• Best Leading Actor Performance Paulo Szot South
  Pacific
• Best Leading Actress Performance Patti LuPone
  Gypsy
• Best Featured Actor Performance Boyd Gaines
  Gypsy
• Best Featured Actress Performance Anna D.
  Shapiro Gypsy
• Best Direction Of A Musical Bartlett Sher
  South Pacific
• Best Choreography Andy Blankenbuehler In The
  Heights
• Best Scenic Design Michael Yeargan South
  Pacific
• Best Costume Design Catherine Zuber South
  Pacific
• Best Lighting Design Donald Holder South
  Pacific
• Best Sound Design Scott Lehrer South Pacific
• Lifetime Achievement Award Stephen Sondheim
• Best Revival Of A Musical South Pacific

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Reflection
Miss Saigon
Wicked
Cats
Sweeney Todd
Beauty And The Beast
Les Miserables
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Something Funny Happened On The Way To The Forum
Into The Woods
The Little Mermaid
Hello Dolly
Avenue Q
God Spell
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Reflection

• Through sheet music, over the radio, in
• movies, on television, on gramophones, hi-fis,
• and CDs, through word-of-mouth and visiting
• tourists the world of the Broadway musical has
• been brought to every corner of this country
• and, by extension, the world. The musical is as
• powerful an image maker of America as
• Hollywood has been and the shaping and
• shifting of that image is another cultural
  marker.