The Evolution of Musical Theatre Dance

Gordon 1 Jessica Gordon 29 March 2010 Honors Thesis Everything was Beautiful at the Ballet: The Evolution of Musical Theatre Dance During the mid-1860s, a ballet troupe from Paris was brought to the Academy of Music in lower Manhattan. Before the company’s first performance, however, the theatre in which they were to dance was destroyed in a fire. Nearby, producer William Wheatley was preparing to begin performances of The Black Crook, a melodrama with music by Charles M. Barras. Seeing an opportunity, Wheatley conceived the idea to combine his play and the displaced dance company, mixing drama and spectacle on one stage. On September 12, 1866, The Black Crook opened at Niblo’s Gardens and was an immediate sensation. Wheatley had unknowingly created a new American art form that would become a tradition for years to come. Since the first performance of The Black Crook, dance has played an important role in musical theatre. From the dream ballet in Oklahoma to the “Dance at the Gym” in West Side Story to modern shows such as Movin’ Out, dance has helped tell stories and engage audiences throughout musical theatre history. Dance has not always been as integrated in musicals as it tends to be today. I plan to examine the moments in history during which the role of dance on the Broadway stage changed and how those changes affected the manner in which dance is used on stage today. Additionally, I will discuss the important choreographers who have helped develop the musical theatre dance styles and traditions. As previously mentioned, theatrical dance in America began with the integration of European classical ballet and American melodrama. Theatre dance has come a long way from its earliest roots. To understand the complete evolution that dance has taken, it is important to Gordon 2 explore the early genres of musical theatre and how dance was included on stage during the early 1900s. The first American shows that incorporated dance were often more about the spectacle than story telling. Perhaps the best example of this idea is the famous Ziegfeld Follies of the early twentieth century. As described by the authors of Broadway The American Musical: “Ziegfeld poached the funniest comics, the most beautiful girls, the best composers and sketch writers from the worlds of vaudeville, burlesque, minstrel shows, and Tin Pan Alley. Rather than follow a conventional story, his reviews combined various acts, songs, and dance numbers, alternating in a non-narrative structure that would provide audiences with one laugh, gasp, and thrill after another.” (Maslon, pg.20) The Ziegfeld Follies was more about glamorous costumes and elaborate sets than conveying a story. Producer Florenz Zeigfeld brought big names and popular attractions to his reviews to excite his audiences. His contribution to musical theatre dance, however, can still be seen onstage today. The Ziegfeld Follies is best known for the chorus girls. Zeigfeld perfected an idea that had begun in 1866 with the dance spectacle The Black Crook- the use of attractive women with long legs, scantily clad, to sell tickets. Today, this classic showgirl image can be seen in such shows as The Producers, Spamalot, and Jersey Boys. Zeigfeld also brought the review to the forefront of the American theatre scene, and the genre became very popular during the early 1900s. The Zeigfeld Follies inspired such shows as The Passing Show, George White’s Scandals, and The Music Box Revue, but dance was still used to add to the spectacle of the show. Shortly after the final Zeigfeld Follies in 1931, dance was to take on a new role on the American stage. With the reviews of the early 1900s, Vaudeville, and Burlesque, theatre dance saw a change from ballet to mainly tap and ballroom. In 1943, however, Broadway would return to its Gordon 3 balletic roots with the arrival of Oklahoma!. The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic would change the way dance was used in musical theatre for years to come. Oklahoma! introduced the idea of narrative dance to the Broadway stage. Choreographed by the legendary Agnes de Mille, Oklahoma! was “the fullest expression to date of a movement toward the greater integration of a musical’s component parts: dialogue, song, and dance” (Maslon, pg. 202). De Mille broke the tradition of casting glamorous leggy showgirls for the ensemble of a musical, and instead cast strong dancers from her ballet corps. Dance was to become an integral part of the musical, granting the audience new insight to the characters and story. The greatest innovation in Oklahoma! came at the end of the first act with the famous dream ballet. De Mille took a risk in contradicting Oscar Hammerstein, who initially wanted a circus ballet at the end of the act. De Mille told Hammerstein: “…this is the kind of dream that young girls who are worried have. She’s frantic because she doesn’t know which boy to go to the box social with. And so, if she had a dream, it would be a dream of terror, a childish dream, a haunted dream. Also, you haven’t any sex in the first act. He said, haven’t I? I said, goodness, no. All nice girls are fascinated by [the darker side of sexuality]. Mr. Hammerstein, if you don’t know that, you don’t know about your own daughters.” (Maslon, 203) De Millie’s choreography came from the heart and psyche of the characters. The dream ballet, which became known as “Laurey Makes Up her Mind,” would forever change the Broadway musical. While there had been dream ballets in musicals prior to Oklahoma!, such as the ballet in Pal Joey, the dream ballet in Oklahoma! was the first to reveal new information to the audience. This dream ballet disclosed both something the audience did not know about the characters, as well as something the characters did not even know about themselves. De Mille Gordon 4 had discovered a new way to tell a story through dance on the musical theatre stage. Oklahoma! found a way to use dance as a fully formed narrative language, in a similar manner as the words and lyrics. Dance was no longer mere spectacle, but a method to inform the audience. De Mille’s influence has been seen in nearly all shows since Oklahoma! including The King and I, Carousel, and the next show to redefine how dance could be used onstage: West Side Story. As choreographer Susan Stroman explains: “Today, those of us who want to use dance and story as one, we all stand on the shoulders of Agnes de Mille” (Maslon, pg. 205). Agnes de Mille set the stage for future choreographers and challenged artists to integrate dance, singing, and acting into a seamless story on the Broadway stage. The role of dance was to change again in 1957 with the controversial West Side Story. Directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins (co-choreographed by Peter Gennaro), West Side Story redefined what could and could not be presented onstage. The show is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and tackles such subjects as gang violence, rape, and racism. Jerome Robbins was not only to create a new standard for musical theatre, but a new breed of Broadway performer as well. With West Side Story came the birth of the “triple threat” performer. Much of the cast was expected to act, sing, and dance throughout the piece. Today, this is expected of all performers, however, in 1957 this was unusual. Jerome Robbins also brought about the idea of individual integrity for each of the chorus members. There were no unnamed characters in the show, and the ensemble members were expected to define their characters in detail. The individual work came through onstage, especially in the opening “Prologue.” Stephen Sondheim, the then unknown young lyricist, said of the “Prologue:” “It’s an entire history, a prelude to the events. It’s a true prologue- a Shakespearean prologue. You know who these gangs are, you know their rivals, that’s all you need to Gordon 5 know. It’s all done in a style that says, ‘You’re going to see an evening of a kind of choreographed movement that’s neither ballet or traditional musical comedy dance, but you’re going to see action in movement.’ It was in a zone of choreographed movement that had never been done before. That was what was new about Jerry’s work in West Side Story” (Maslon, pg. 265). Each performer brought a different physicality and personality to his or her role. This created an entirely new level of theatre in which the ensemble truly came to life. Since West Side Story, the ability to sing, dance, and act has been expected of performers and more emphasis has been put on the ensemble’s ability to further the plot. When it opened on September 26, 1957, it received generally positive reviews. The public, however, was unsure of the piece; they had never seen death and violence onstage in a Broadway musical. Nearly one hundred people walked out of the theatre each night after intermission. It was not until the film adaptation was released in 1961 that West Side Story became a global sensation. West Side Story was also influenced by Oklahoma!. At the beginning of the second act, there is a dream ballet in which the lead characters, Tony and Maria, share their deepest desires with the audience and each other. There would never again be a show as perfect as West Side Story- the music and choreography would never mesh as well as they did at the Winter Garden theatre in 1957, but West Side Story would set the bar for how closely a creative team should work in order to create a strong musical theatre piece.

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