The Production of an Amateur Musical Revue
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This dissertation has been 64—6939 microfilmed exactly as received NOVAK, Elaine Adams, 1922- THE PRODUCTION OF AN AMATEUR MUSICAL REVUE. The Ohio State University, Ph.D.,1963 Speech—Theater University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE PRODUCTION OP AN AMATEUR MUSICAL REVUE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Elaine Adams Novak, A. B., A. M. ****** The Ohio State University 1963 Approved by jTffi Adviser ' Department of Speech CONTENTS Page LIST OP T A B L E S ..................................... Ill LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS............................. Iv Chapter I. INTRODUCTION .................................. 1 The Purpose Definitions of Terms Organization of Remainder of Dissertation II. THE PROFESSIONAL MUSICAL REVUE IN NEW YORK .. 10 Survey of the Professional Musical Revue in New York Organization for a Professional Musical Revue Procedure for Producing a Professional Musical Revue III. THE LOCALLY-PRODUCED AMATEUR MUSICAL REVUE .. 66 The Gay Capers Organization for the Gay Capers Procedure for Producing the Gay Capers IV. THE PACKAGED AMATEUR MUSICAL REVUE ............ 124 The Jerome H. Cargill Producing Organization Organization for a Cargill Revue Procedure for Producing a Cargill Revue V. A SUGGESTED ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE FOR THE LOCAL PRODUCTION OP AN AMATEUR MUSICAL REVUE . 131 Organization Procedure Summary BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................... 209 AUTOBIOGRAPHY ..................................... 216 il LIST OP TABLES Table Page 1. Income and Expenses for the Gay Capers of I960, 1961, and 1962 ....................... 73 2. Budget for the Gay Capers of * 6 0 ............. 94 lil / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Organization for the Gay Oarers ................ 77 2. Rehearsal Schedule for the Gay Capers.............113 3. Suggested Organization for an Amateur Musical R e v u e ................. ..................... 136 iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Since the nineteenth century, the musical revue has been one of the chief forms of theatrical entertainment in this country. ¥ith the rise in popularity of television and musical comedy in the late 1940*s, the number of pro fessional musical revues declined; but the musical revue continues to be popular with amateurs because it can be written to fit the number and the talents of available performers and the tastes of the spectators. Also, it can attract and entertain large audiences. For these reasons, schools, colleges, universities, women's clubs, leagues, community theatres, church associations, service organiza tions, lodges, guilds, and the like often turn to the musi cal revue as a means of raising money, having fun, and giving their members a chance to exhibit their abilities in writing, acting, singing, dancing, and designing. The Purpose Statement of the purpose The purpose of this dissertation was to design an organization and a procedure for the local production of an 1 amateur musical revue which would be appropriate for most clubs, schools, lodges, and other groups which wiBh to present a show of this kina. Importance of the study While many amateur musical revues are being given each year in the United States, no one has as yet written a detailed description of a suitable organization and pro cedure for the local production of amateur musical revues. The purpose of this dissertation was to offer an organiza tion and procedure with the hope that they might prove useful and profitable for those who want to give this type of production. Method of procedure The method of procedure for this dissertation was to make a comparative study of the organization and procedure used for three different types of musical revues: the professional musical revue, a locally-produced amateur musical revue, and the packaged amateur musical revue. First, a study was made of the professional musical revue in New York from I89A to the present and the usual organization and procedure used in producing modern pro fessional musical revues. Second, a study was made of eight locally-produced amateur muBical revues presented by the Junior Department of the Woman's Club of Huntington, West Virginia, the organization used for these shows, and the procedure followed in producing them. Third, a study was made of the Jerome H. Cargill Producing Organization, the largest packager of amateur musical revueB in the United States, the organization which this company ordinarily establishes for a show, and the procedure used in producing Cargill revues. After making these studies, the writer reached cer tain conclusions regarding weaknesses in the two types of amateur revues studied and a design for an organization and a procedure which should counteract these weaknesses and be useful and profitable for groups which wish to produce their own musical revues. The writer's suggestions in this regard are expressed in the last chapter of this dissertation. Limitations of study It was not the purpose of this dissertation to offer a complete history of the musical revue. A brief survey of the professional musical revue in New York from 1894 to the present is given in Chapter II to provide the reader with an historical background for a better understanding of this genre and to remind the reader that the musical revue was at one time one of the chief forms of professional theatrical entertainment in this country. It was not the purpose of this dissertation to offer 4 a design for the production of a professional musical revue. The purpose of this dissertation was to present a design for the production of an amateur musical revue only. A study of the professional musical revue was made only to determine what could be found in the typical organization and pro cedure for a modern Broadway revue which could be utilized in an amateur production. It was not the purpose of this dissertation to offer detailed information on comedy scrlptwriting. It is recognized that finding or writing comedy material is one of the biggest problems in producing an amateur musical revue, but writing comedy is a large subject which has already been the topic of many books. It was not the purpose of this dissertation to offer detailed technical information on designing, constructing and handling sets and properties, costuming, making up, lighting, and operating sound equipment. Many excellent books already exist on these subjects. It was not the purpose of this dissertation to show a club how to raise money for charities or other purposes. It is recognized that the principal reason held by most clubs for presenting a musical revue is to make money for charities or for themselves. Suggestions, therefore, are offered in this dissertation as to how the club can operate on a financially sound basis; but the emphasis in this 5 dissertation is on presenting an organization and a pro cedure for producing an entertaining revue which at the same time will, it Is hoped, make money for the sponsoring club because its excellence will attract large audiences. Definitions of Terms Musical revue Since there have been many types of variety musical entertainment in this country, it is necessary to define exactly what Is meant by the term musical revue. The word revue comes from revu. the past participle of the French verb revoir, which means ”to look over;" and from this definition it Is possible to obtain one of the chief characteristics of a revue which is that it looks over events making satirical comments upon them. The term revue can cover a wide range of theatrical productions from the large, spectacular musical revue, such as the Zlegfeld Follies. to the small, satirical non- musical revue, such as Beyond the Fringe. This disserta tion, however, Is concerned only with the musical revue. In the musical revue, songs and dances, which may range from solos to large group numbers, are Interspersed with specialty acts, blackouts, sketches, monologues, duo logues, parodies, pantomimes, running gags, and other numbers. The entertainment is light; each unit is brief; 6 the number of people on the stage may be small or large; pro duction is often spectacular; and there is no unifying plot which runs through the show, although there may be a theme. Musical comedy and musical are general terms that are sometimes used to refer to a musical revue as well as to other types of musical entertainment, such as operettas, light operas, comic operas, ballad operas, musical plays, extravaganzas, and spectacles. There is overlapping among the various kinds of musical productions; but, in general, one may say that the musical revue differs from musical comedies, operettas, light operas, comic operas, ballad operas, and musical plays in that a revue has no plot. It differs from extravaganzas in that it does not feature ballet dancing as extravaganzas did when they first appeared In the United States in the nineteenth century, although ballet may be a part of a musical revue. Later, however, any elaborate production was sometimes called an extrava ganza or a spectacle, and these terms were often applied to revues. The musical revue differs from variety, vaudeville, and music-hall entertainments in that the revue is more spectacular in production and it may have a theme. It differs from the nineteenth-century pantomime (which also contained comedy, songs, dances, and specialty acts) in that the revue does not feature the dumb show 7 and the typical characters (Harlequin, Columbine, Pierrot, and others) of the pantomime. The musical revue differs from the minstrel show in that the revue does not usually have the minstrel arrange ment of an interlocutor with Negro entertainers or white men in blackface makeup who feature Negro jokes and melodies, although Eddie Cantor, A1 Jolson, and others appeared in revues in blackface. The musical revue differs from burlesque in that it is more elaborate and it does not usually feature baggy- pants comedians, coarse humor, and stripteasing, although some producers have tried to introduce these elements into professional revues.