A Broader Broadway
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Popular Song and Music Theater ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Robert Edwin A Broader Broadway of the musicals and vocal styles cur- that is more sung than spoken, and rently on Broadway may be helpful. the vibrato will be active throughout As of this writing, twenty-one the phrases. For women, legit implies musicals occupy Broadway houses. head voice dominant singing; for men, By the time this is published, how- legit means a more formal use of chest ever, at least two of the shows (Into the and head registers as befitting a clas- Woods and Les Miserables) will not sically trained singer. be current. For the sake of all the Legit can be further divided into employed singers, actors, dancers, traditional legit and contemporary and musicians, as well as for the read- legit. Traditional legit favors a sound ers, I hope the following list is still that is decidedly classical in nature reasonably valid. and is heard in many of the pre- 1960s Of the aforementioned twenty-one musicals. Contemporary legit, on the musicals, seven have graced Broadway other hand, is less formal and more Robert Edwin stages before. The revivals are 42nd speech-like in sound. It can maintain Street, Cabaret, Chicago, Flower Drum some of the classical requirements Some six years after the rock musi- Song, Into the Woods, Man of La such as vibrato from onset to release, cal Rent opened on Broadway, its Mancha, and Oklahoma! Broadway's chiaroscuro, and sostenuto, but can "birth parent" La Bohème followed it fourteen "new" musicals are Aida, also include pop and rock-influenced to the Great White Way. With the Beauty and the Beast, Dance of the sounds. December 2002 opening of Baz Vampires, Hairsprag, La Bohème Les Sometimes when an older legit Luhrmann's 1957 period realization Miserables, The Lion King, Mamma show is revived, the contemporary of Puccini's classic opera, Broadway, Mia, Movin' Out, The Phantom of the legit will be favored over the tradi- like our universe, continues to expand. Opera, The Producers, Rent, Thoroughly tional legit to accommodate Broad- This author finds it amusing that, Modern Millie, and UrinetoH'n The way's less classically appreciative after eighteen years of encouraging Musical. audiences. Current shows, besides La NATS members to explore the non- Broadway, therefore, in the 2002- Bohème, that include traditional and classical vocal techniques, styles, and 2003 season can claim vocal styles contemporary legit vocal styles include repertoire that traditionally consti- that span from classical to rock, with Phantom of the Opera, Into the Woods, tute the Broadway musical, Broadway La Bohème and Rent serving, appro- Man. of La Mancha, Oklahoma!, Flower now invites classically trained opera priately, as musical bookends. We can Drum Song, Chicago, Cabaret, and Les singers to "come as you are" to an put all the musicals into four basic Miserables. audition for at least one show. vocal categories: traditional legit, con- "Belt" or "belt-mix," in contrast, Therefore, for all who, by default, are temporary legit, traditional belt, and refers to an informal, chiaro (treble) now teachers of Broadway-style contemporary belt. intensified, speech-level style of singing singing as well as for those who have Legit is Broadway shorthand for that, for a woman, requires the use of been teaching it for a while, a review "legitimate," which refers to singing a more chest voice dominant tone. A in a classical-like style. Among other man's "belt" or "mix" is a narrowing Journal of Singing. 200:3 May/June things, the vocal tone will have and a brightening of the classical Volume 59, No. 5, PP. 43 1-432 Copyright 2003 chiaroscuro fullness, the vowels and sound, again with the emphasis on National Association of Teachers of Singing consonants will have clarity of sound more informal, speech-like phrasing, MAY/JUNE 2003 431 Robert Edwin but still utilizing the same register(s) based scores, chronology alone does As Broadway continues to broaden used for classical repertoire. not determine musical style. Take, for in musical scope, voice teachers will be Belt, like legit, also can be divided example, 7heProdw-ers, which debuted called upon to supply The Great White into traditional and contemporary on Broadway in 2001. Librettist, lyri- Way with singers who can handle the styles. Traditional belt predates rock cist, and composer Mel Brooks vocal technique and the repertoire of and roll and often parallels contem- describes his 1940s-style show as "an both the shows it has produced and porary legit in as much as the phrases old-fashioned, traditional musical the shows it will produce in the future. are sung with a fuller tone quality comedy." Thoroughly Modern Millie, and use few vocal ornaments. The which opened in April of 2002, is an Robert Edwin, baritone, has sung Bach can- shows that utilize the more traditional adaptation of a 1967 movie musical tatas in cathedrals and rock songs in Green- 42 Broadway belt style include Street, based on 1920s jazz music. La Bohème with Village coffrehouses. He has performed Beauty and the Beast, Chicago, Cabaret, is, of course, much older than all of in New York City's Carnegie flail and Town Flower Drum Song, Into the Woods, Les the aforementioned shows, bowing Hall, toured throughout the USA and Miserables, Man of La Mancha, originally in 1896. abroad, reco rd ed for Avant Garde and Oklahoma!, The Producers, Thoroughly Speaking of operas, Aida made its Fortress Records, and published as an Modern Millie, and Urinetown The Broadway bow in 2000. However, ASCAP lyricist and composer. Musical. those who may be celebrating not one His diverse performing career is paralleled Contemporary belt, on the other but two "classical" operas on the Great by an equally diverse teaching career. A hand, makes full use of the melis- White Way need to be reminded that leading authority on nonclassical and child matic runs, slides, slurs, growls, Verdi's 1871 epic is still waiting for voice pedagogJ, he practices what he preaches shrieks, screams, and assorted noises its Broadway debut. Pop-rock legends at his private studio in Cinnaminson, New that inform and define much of rock, Tim Rice and EltonJohn are the lyri- Jersey. He was Adjunct Professor of Music pop, rhythm and blues, jazz, and cist and composer respectively of the at the University of Michigan for the gospel. Voice qualities can be breathy, musical rewrite of this classic love tri- 2002-03 school yea r, and continues to serve raspy, whiny, and nasal, and belt angle. The story is basically the same; on the adjunct voice facult ies of NJ's Burling- ranges for both men and women can the music is not. ton and Camden County Colleges. He is a soar to well above C. Contemporary For the teachers of singing who frequ.ent faculty member of the Voice Foun- belt shows include Aida, Dance of the have Broadway-type singers in their dation's Annual Symposium: Care of the Vampires, Hairs pray, Les Miserables, studios, the challenge is to identify Professional Voice. From 1996 to 7999, he The Lion King, Mamma Mia, Moi'in' and understand the various vocal served as Contributing Editor fbr the choral Out. and Rent. styles used in musicals and then pro- teacher's magazine, VocalEase. A member The reader will notice that some vide the vocal technique, perform- of the prestigious American Academy of shows overlap categories. It is not ance skills, and repertoire necessary Teachers ofSinging, he has led master classes uncommon in the course of many to develop those styles that the singers and workshops in the United States, Canada, Broadway musicals to hear a multi- wish to sing and/or are capable of and Australia. tude of vocal styles and sounds. Les singing. To cite my colleague Jeannette In addition to writing "The Bach to Rock Miserables with both traditional and LoVetri, voice teachers who, "believe Connection" column for the Journal of contemporary legit and belt may have classical voice technique is 'one size Singingfrom 1985 to 2002, Robert Edwin the most vocal diversity, while La fits all' vocal training," may not be has served NATS as NJ Chapter President, Bohème sung in Italian by traditional successful in helping singers become and as a presenter/clinician at national opera singers would certainly have more diverse. It is imperative that we conventions, summer workshops, regional the least. acknowledge the physiological and and chapter events. His present NATS Although many of the "new" musi- stylistic differences between classi- responsibilities include national Secre- cals are relatively recent additions to cal and nonclassical singing, and tary/Treasurer as well as Associate Edi- Broadway and have pop and rock- adjust our pedagogy accordingly. tor of the Journal of Singing. 432 JouRNAl. OF SINGING.