Getting to Know Broadway Musicals Section Three
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PASSPORT TO BROADWAY Musical Theater Workshop & Performance Bringing the Power of Theater to a Whole New Audience Copyright © StudentsLive, Inc. 2012 All Rights Reserved. No part of this outline may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from StudentsLive, Inc. For the exclusive use of StudentsLive, 2012. Study Guide Outline Section One: Welcome and Introduction A. Welcome Letters: Amy Weinstein Jessica D. Rothman B. Mission Statement C. “Passport to Broadway” Overview D. Certificate of Completion: Standards and Sample Section Two: Getting to Know Broadway Musicals A. An introduction to the role Broadway Musical Theatre plays in American history and culture B. The “Broadway Medley” Shows: 1. A history and synopsis of each show featured in the medley 2. Full lyrics of each selected song from the shows with medley lyrics highlighted Section Three: Who Makes a Broadway Musical? A. “It Takes a Village” - an introduction to the various creative artists needed to make a musical production for Broadway B. “Words and Music” – an overview of the role of the composer, the lyricist, and the playwright C. “Putting it Together” – a discussion of the responsibilities of the director D. “Gotta Dance” - looking at the responsibilities of the choreographer E. “The Visual World” – a look at the responsibilities of the various designers – lighting, sets, costumes F. “Let’s Go On With the Show” – a brief discussion of the rehearsal process, helping to prepare students for the work they will be facing when they arrive in New York and participate in “Passport to Broadway” Section Four: The Broadway Medley This section will be the script of the medley, with all of the narration and lyrics. Participants will be required to bring this section with them daily. Section Five: Passport to Broadway Daily Curriculum A daily outline of goals, materials, activities, guest speakers. Participants will be required to bring each day’s section with them to their workshop/rehearsal. Sample Of Chapter Two Section Two: Getting to Know Broadway Musicals The Broadway Musical is the ultimate American. What do I mean? It is, like most of us Americans, a hybrid, born of multiple influences, struggling to “make it’ in a tough, demanding world. The musical as we know it today can trace its origins to the Old World, but its birth and development is truly a New World story. Early in the development of what was to become the American nation, the Europeans who came to these shores brought with them all the traditions of their homelands, including their arts. Most of the staged musical entertainments of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were imports from Europe, including British ballad operas (John Gay’s THE BEGGAR’S OPERA [1728] is a prime example) and pantomimes. These were not called “musicals,” but they were great-grandparents to them. The nineteenth century French and Viennese operettas had a strong influence on early American musicals. The French composer Jacques Offenbach brought a touch of satire to his work, while Johann Strauss II’s works were romantic comedies. In Britain at this time, the looser variety format of the Music Hall took precedence. We find elements of all three of these forms present in the contemporary Broadway Musical. The format and structure of the American musical was clearly based upon European operetta, but its uniquely American comic soul comes from American popular entertainment. In the mid-nineteenth century, Americans reveled in Variety and Minstrel Shows, a crude reflection of the tastes and beliefs of its audiences. These grew eventually into Vaudeville, which was more upscale, and into the rowdy, sometimes rude Burlesque. A strange hybrid entertainment called THE BLACK CROOK (1860) is often credited as the first American Musical. A last minute business arrangement between the producers of a stage show and a ballet company that had lost its theatre, THE BLACK CROOK gave American audiences their first on-stage glimpse of bare female arms and legs. It ran for forty years. The 1860s boasted the development of extravaganzas, pantomimes and musical farces. Starting in the 1870s, the brilliantly written and composed operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan were brought to American from Britain and influenced a heightening of standards for theatrical production here. At first, their work was imitated, but it did not take long for Americans to innovate and redefine what the American Musical was to be. Imports were still popular in the early nineteenth century (operettas such as Franz Lehar’s THE MERRY WIDOW [1907] are still performed here), but, more and more, their influence could be seen in American composers such as George M. Cohan and Victor Herbert. Their shows had a distinctly American, patriotic sound and feel. By the teens, Jerome Kern, P.G. Wodehouse, and Guy Bolton were putting believable people and situations into musicals with their Princess Theatre shows, while Florenz Ziefgeld was introducing his over-the- top stage revue, the FOLLIES. By the 1920s, the musical comedies of Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, the Gershwins and others were achieving worldwide renown. Reciprocally, Englishman Noel Coward brought his intimate style of review to Broadway. According to most theatre historians, the modern American Musical was born in 1927, with Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern’s serious masterwork, SHOW BOAT. Shortly after their success, however, the world plunged into the Great Depression. Lighthearted entertainment was called for, and Broadway did not disappoint. OF THEE I SING (1931), a political satire created by George and Ira Gershwin became the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Rodgers & Hart and Cole Porter also triumphed with hit shows in the thirties, ON YOUR TOES (1936) and ANYTHING GOES (1934), respectively. In the 1940s, shows such as Rodger’s & Hart’s PAL JOEY (currently in revival at Studio 54) and Weill and Gershwin’s LADY IN THE DARK, exemplified a more realistic American Musical. The true innovation of the decade, and a musical that would influence every musical that has followed, was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s OKLAHOMA! (1943). Thematically, OKLAHOMA reminded a war-weary audience of a simpler time. Structurally, the show was the first fully integrated musical play, meaning that every song and dance helped develop character and/or move the story line forward. Other composers and playwrights caught on. 1946’s ANNIE GET YOUR GUN is a good example. The 1950s marked the beginning of what was to be known as the Golden Age of the American Musical. Great new shows, featuring good stories, great dancing and memorable music, were produced each year, and the music from these shows become popular hits. The stars of the decade were composers Rodgers & Hammerstein, Frank Loesser (GUYS & DOLLS), and Leonard Bernstein (WEST SIDE STORY), Directors George Abbott (THE PAJAMA GAME) and Jerome Robbins (GYPSY, WEST SIDE STORY, THE PAJAMA GAME) and female stars Gwen Verdon (CAN-CAN, DAMN YANKEES), Mary Martin (PETER PAN, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE SOUND OF MUSIC0 and Ethel Merman (GYPSY). The Golden Age continued into the 1960s, with such show as HELLO, DOLLY!, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER, SWEET CHARITY. Musical tastes were changing, however, and the first “American Tribal Love-Rock Musical,” HAIR (1968) reflected that change. The American Musical was beginning a transition. Composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and director Hal Prince introduced concept musicals in the 1970s. These were shows built around an idea rather than a traditional plot. COMPANY (1970), FOLLIES (1972) and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (1973) succeeded, while rock musicals quickly faded into the background. The concept musical peaked with A CHORUS LINE (1977), conceived and directed by Michael Bennett. By the end of the decade the battle line was drawn between serious new works (SWEENEY TODD [1979]) and heavily commercialized British mega-musicals (EVITA [1979]). Audiences clearly preferred mega-musicals, so the 1980s ushered in the period of the “Brit-hit” – shows imported from London’s thriving West End – CATS (1982), LES MISERABLES (1987), and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1986) were heavy on special effects and marketing. By the 1990s, fewer mega-musicals were winning the public (MISS SAIGON [1991] is a notable exception) and costs were so high that even long-running hits (CRAZY FOR YOU [1992], SUNSET BOULEVARD [1994]) were unable to turn a profit on Broadway. New stage musicals now required the backing of multi-million dollar corporations to develop and succeed (Disney’s THE LION KING [1997], and Livent’s RAGTIME [1998]). Even RENT (1996) and TITANIC (1997) were produced by smaller, Broadway-based corporate entities. As the twenty-first century dawned, the American Musical Theatre saw a resurgence of funny, melodic, inventive and thoroughly American shows such as THE PRODUCERS (2001), URINETOWN (2001), THROROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (2002), HAIRSPRAY (2002), WICKED (2003), AVENUE Q (2003), JERSEY BOYS (2005) and SPRING AWAKENING 2006). The Broadway Musical has always been influenced by the times, so it is safe to say that it will continue to change and grow, reflecting who and what Americans become. 1975 Conceived, Choreographed and Directed by Michael Bennett Music by Marvin Hamlisch Lyrics by Edward Kleban Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante Co-choreographer: Bob Avian Scenic