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Course Syllabus for “Two Dynamic Duos” Welcome to the Course In Course Syllabus for “Two Dynamic Duos” Welcome to the course in Gilbert and Sullivan and Rodgers and Hammerstein, the two dynamic duos who created the modern stage musical. This course will meet for ten sessions, from October 4 to December 13 (skipping only November 15), on Tuesday mornings in Room 121 at the George Mason building at Virginia Square. All classes will run for 90 minutes, from 10am to 11:30am. [From Staff: Please disregard the course schedule listed in the catalog. We apologize for the various adjustments made to accommodate room availability, enrollment and the instructor’s schedule.] In this course we will examine the lives, careers, and some of the works of the two dynamic duos – Gilbert and Sullivan and Rodgers and Hammerstein – who were the prime creators of the contemporary musical play. We will examine and discuss H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado of Gilbert and Sullivan, and Oklahoma, Carousel, and The King and I of Rodgers and Hammerstein. We will consider the differences in the working relationships of the two duos, the successes of their shows on their different native turfs and “across the pond”, the differences in their shows, what each of the duos contributed to the contemporary musical play, and the reasons for the enduring popularity of the work of both duos around the world. It is recommended that all members of the study group read, at a minimum, the texts, including librettos and lyrics to the music, of all six shows. Performances of all six shows are available on DVD, and we will play selections from all of them. It would be most helpful, however, for any of you who can obtain DVDs of any of the shows to play them at home in preparation for class. In some cases performances are available on YouTube. The full texts of all the Gilbert and Sullivan works are readily available, as they have been out of copyright protection for many years. They can be found in, among other sources, The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan, edited by Ian Bradley, published by Oxford University Press (2001 paperback edition), which has an excellent introduction about Gilbert and Sullivan and their work. For those interested in some of the details of the lives of Gilbert and Sullivan and their work together, I recommend a book called Gilbert and Sulllivan and their World, by Leslie Baily, published by Thames and Hudson, London 1973. You can also find a link 1 on the web that will enable you to access the G and S texts without purchasing a book, if that is your preference. The best source of the texts of the Rodgers and Hammerstein works is a book called 6 Plays by Rodgers & Hammerstein, published by Random House as part of its Modern Library series. You may also find it useful and interesting to read the texts of the literary works that served as the sources for the Rodgers and Hammerstein works. Unlike Gilbert and Sullivan, R and H did not usually create the “book” for their successful shows from scratch but based them on other sources. Oklahoma was based on a play by Lynn Riggs called Green Grow the Lilacs; Carousel was based on a play by Ferenc Molnar called Liliom; and The King and I was based on a semi- fictional biographical novel by Margaret Landon called Anna and the King of Siam. In general, our class schedule will be as follows: (Prior to Week 1 read the text of H.M.S.Pinafore) Oct. 4 Review of the lives and careers of Sir Arthur Sullivan and Sir William Gilbert. Discussion of the creation of Pinafore and its impact on the United States. Discussion of the problem of copyright protection of Pinafore in the U.S. and how G and S dealt with it. Discussion of the producer Richard d’Oyly Carte and his important role in the creation and production of the G and S comic operas Playing of DVD clips of selections from Act I of Pinafore (Prior to Week 2 read the text of The Pirates of Penzance) Oct. 11 Discuss Gilbert’s penchant for “topsy-turvy” plots in his plays, such as in Pinafore and Pirates. Discuss the role of the satire of the British Navy and its officers in Pinafore. Discuss the satire of class in Pinafore Play additional DVD clips from Pinafore Begin discussion of Pirates. What are the targets of Gilbert’s satire in this play? Discuss how G and S and d’Oyly Carte handled Pirates to address the copyright problem that had arisen with Pinafore. 2 Play DVD clips from British and American productions of Act I of Pirates. Compare and contrast them. (No additional reading for Week 3) Oct. 18 Continue discussion of Pirates. Compare the treatment of Major General Stanley in Pirates with that of Sir Joseph Porter in Pinafore. Why the difference? Play DVD clips from Act II of the two versions of Pirates. Which do you prefer? Why? (Prior to Week 4 read the text of The Mikado) Oct. 25 Finish discussion of Pirates. Begin discussion of The Mikado. The Mikado is the most popular, most frequently performed of the G and S works. Why do you think that is? Is The Mikado about Japan? What is it about? Play DVD clips from The Mikado. (No additional reading for Week 5) Nov. 1 Play more dvd clips from The Mikado. Discuss Mike Leigh’s film about G and S, Topsy Turvy. Finish discussion of The Mikado. Some critics have argued that Sullivan’s music is little more than the pegs on which Gilbert’s dominant words were hung. Others argue that the real proof of the quality of Sullivan’s music is how well it enabled the singers to convey the full wit of Gilbert’s words in the framework of lively and lovely music. What do you think? Gilbert was the first great wit-humorist in light music drama. Who would you identify as his proper successors? Discussion of the enduring popularity of G and S in performances at many college campuses, including Harvard and MIT. (Prior to Week 6 read the text of Oklahoma and, if possible, Green Grow the Lilacs) Nov. 8 On to Rodgers and Hammerstein. Discuss the evolution of the American musical prior to the advent of Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1943. 3 Discuss the separate careers of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II until the creation of their partnership. Discuss the development of Oklahoma and its unexpected and unprecedented success. What made Oklahoma unlike any musical that came before it? Play clips from DVD of Oklahoma. NO CLASS ON NOVEMBER 15 (Prior to Week 7 read the libretto of Carousel and, if possible, Liliom) Nov. 22 Further discussion of Oklahoma and what made it special. Play more DVD clips of Oklahoma. Compare Hammerstein’s humor with that of Gilbert. For what purpose did each use humor? Which do you prefer? Compare the treatment of romances by Hammerstein and Gilbert. For which writer is romance more important? Are the obstacles to the romances more persuasive in Hammerstein than in Gilbert? Compare the differing musical styles of Rodgers and Sullivan. Do you prefer one over the other. What came next – seeking to repeat the triumph of Oklahoma How Carousel came to be. Some observations by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Discussion of Liliom, the source of Carousel. Would you have anticipated that it would make a successful and beloved stage musical? How Rodgers and Hammerstein did it. Transforming Liliom into the bench scene in Carousel. Billy Bigelow’s Soliloquy. How does this affect your view of him? (For Week 8 no further reading) Nov. 29 Further discussion of Carousel. Play more dvd clips. Rodgers and Hammerstein and the use of parallel love stories in Oklahoma and Carousel Purpose or purposes of the use of the secondary love story. Would the message in Carousel that whoever a woman falls in love with she is stuck with, regardless of his faults, have been same if written by a woman? Discuss the use of ballet and other theatrical devices in the opening of Carousel and the dance by Louise. Finish discussion of Carousel 4 (Prior to Week 9 read the libretto of The King and I) December 6 The development of The King and I. Issues addressed in King – male-female, inter-cultural Rodgers’ musical treatment of the Far East Play clips of DVD of The King and I The King and I is about growing and changing. Does the king change? Is he destroyed or redeemed by any such change? What is the nature of his relationship with Mrs. Anna? Is it any sense romantic? (No further reading for Week 10} Dec. 13 Complete our examination of The King and I. Compare the theme of growth and change in this show with that of the other R and H pieces. Do the G and S musicals deal with growth and change? Are the portrayals of the characters by R and H stronger and richer than the character portrayals in the G and S musicals? Do they reflect differing artistic objectives? What do you think is more difficult – to write a musical with an original libretto, a la G and S, or to write one based on another work, such as R and H? We will talk a bit about the careers of Rodgers and Hammerstein after King. Finally, we will discuss what of the works of these two dynamic duos lives on in the musicals of today and the place in musical theater that their works hold as compared with the likely fates of the new musicals of today.
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