1. Chapter 12Chapter 12
The MusicalThe Musical

2. On MusicalsOn Musicals
““American musical theatreAmerican musical theatre
is our indigenous art form.is our indigenous art form.
We can’t claim drama,We can’t claim drama,
ballet, or opera, butballet, or opera, but
musical theatre is our verymusical theatre is our very
own. . . . Musicals are inown. . . . Musicals are in
our blood and in ourour blood and in our
bones, are part of ourbones, are part of our
collective personality.”collective personality.”
Molly Smith, ArtisticMolly Smith, Artistic
Director of the Arena StageDirector of the Arena Stage
SaraKrulwich/TheNewYorkTimes/ReduxPictures

3. Musical Theatre GenresMusical Theatre Genres
 OperaOpera
 OperettaOperetta
 RevueRevue
 Variety showVariety show
 VaudevilleVaudeville
 BurlesqueBurlesque
 Musical comedyMusical comedy
 Straight musicalStraight musical
 Rock musicalRock musical
SaraKrulwich/TheNewYorkTimes/ReduxPictures

4. Scripts of MusicalsScripts of Musicals
MusicMusic
LyricsLyrics
LibrettistLibrettist
ComposerComposer
LyricistLyricist
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times /Redux Pictures

5. Broad Categories of MusicalsBroad Categories of Musicals
 Book musicals
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Lerner and Loewe
 Dance musicals
Michael Bennett
Bob Fosse
Tommie Tune
 Operatic musicals
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Stephen Sondheim

6. The Music of MusicalsThe Music of Musicals
 Overture
Previews the music from
the show by playing a
medley of tunes before
the show begins.
 Ballad
Usually a slow love song.
 Comedy number
Designed for comic relief.
©MarthaSwopePhotography

7. The Music of MusicalsThe Music of Musicals
Showstopper
A big brass
production
number
Reprise
Repetition of
pieces of a
song or
melody line
MichalDaniel/Proofsheet

8. Stephen Sondheim (b. 1930)Stephen Sondheim (b. 1930)
 West Side StoryWest Side Story
 A Funny ThingA Funny Thing
Happened on the Way toHappened on the Way to
the Forumthe Forum
 CompanyCompany
 FolliesFollies
 A Little Night MusicA Little Night Music
 Sweeney ToddSweeney Todd
 Sunday in the Park withSunday in the Park with
GeorgeGeorge
Robbie
Jack/CORBIS

9. Opera: High Art and Comic ReliefOpera: High Art and Comic Relief
 Opera
 Originated in Italy in the 1500s
 Reached its peak in the 19th
century with composers
like Wagner, Mozart, Puccini, Rossini, and Handel
 Comic Opera
 Developed from intermezzi
 Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera are regarded by most as
the epitome of this form

10. Early American MusicalsEarly American Musicals
Vaudeville was its height of popularity from
1890 – 1920.
Bettmann/Corbi
s

11. Early American MusicalsEarly American Musicals
 Ballad Operas
 Began with John Gay’s Three Penny Opera in 1728
 Minstrel Shows
 Caricatured African-American plantation life in song
and dance
 Revues
 Ziegfeld Follies was the epitome of this unique form of
the American musical theatre
 Extravaganzas
 The Black Crook in 1866 spawned this unique form of
musical that emphasized elaborate scenery and
scantily glad female dancing chorines

12. African American MusicalsAfrican American Musicals
 A Trip to Coontown
(1898)
 The Origin of the
Cakewalk (1898)
 Runnin’ Wild (1923)
 Dixie to Broadway
(1924)
 Blackbirds (1926)
TheMarylandHistoricalSociety,Baltimore,Maryland

13. TheThe Show BoatShow Boat (1927) Revolution(1927) Revolution
 The quintessential American
musical
 Integrated book, lyrics, and music
into a unified whole
 Focused on serious themes in
American culture
 First musical to win the Pulitzer
Prize
 Established Jerome Kern and
Oscar Hammerstein II as major
figures in the development of the
American musical The Ronald Grant Archive

14. Thoroughly Modern MusicalsThoroughly Modern Musicals
 Porgy and Bess (1935)
 Oklahoma! (1943)
 Guys and DollsGuys and Dolls (1950),(1950),
 My Fair LadyMy Fair Lady (1956),(1956),
 The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (1959)(1959)
 Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof (1964)(1964)
 Cabaret (1966)
 Hair (1967)
 A Chorus Line (1975)
Photofes
t

15. Hooray for Bollywood!Hooray for Bollywood!
The term “Bollywood” blendsThe term “Bollywood” blends
“Hollywood” and “Bombay” and“Hollywood” and “Bombay” and
refers to the cinema of India.refers to the cinema of India.
An average of 800 films areAn average of 800 films are
made every year in India, manymade every year in India, many
of them musicals. That’s moreof them musicals. That’s more
than twice the number of filmsthan twice the number of films
Hollywood produces per year,Hollywood produces per year,
making India not only the topmaking India not only the top
producer of movies around theproducer of movies around the
world, but also the top producerworld, but also the top producer
of musicals.of musicals.
Photostage

16. The Beginning or the End?The Beginning or the End?
SaraKrulwich/TheNewYorkTimes/ReduxPictures

17. The Beginning or the End?The Beginning or the End?
 RentRent (1996)(1996)
 UrinetownUrinetown (2001)(2001)
 Avenue QAvenue Q (2003)(2003)
 WickedWicked (2003)(2003)
 The 25th AnnualThe 25th Annual
Putnam CountyPutnam County
Spelling BeeSpelling Bee (2005)(2005)
 Monty Python’sMonty Python’s
SpamalotSpamalot (2005)(2005)
 Spring AwakeningSpring Awakening
(2006)(2006)
EthanMiller/GettyImages

18. Curtain CallCurtain Call
Depending on whom
you talk to, the
American musical is
alive and well or on its
deathbed.
Music and theatre have
been traveling hand in
hand for thousands of
years, and even though
the shape of the
musical can’t be
predicted, there will be
musicals as long as
people like a story told
with song.
SaraKrulwich/TheNewYorkTimes/ReduxPictures