Themes
Name the musical based on its themes--
Family, mental illness, coping with trauma/grief, the medical system,
Next to Normal
Musical based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
West Side Story
Creator of Hamilton
Lin Manuel Miranda
Most musicals based on movies or TV, or jukebox musicals. Broadway is very commercialized.
Present day, modern musical theater
What is a concept musical?
The method of storytelling is more important than the story itself
Different definitions of family, community, "happily ever after", questioning the idea of right/wrong, black/white
Into the Woods
Musical based on a novel by Victor Hugo
Les Miserables
Composer and lyricist known for complexity and depth in his music, themes, and characters
Stephen Sondheim
Name the Era described:
Lots of mediocre theater, the theater district was a sketchy part of NYC, Era of the concept musical, introduction of British Megamusicals
The 1970s and 1980s
The development of which musical theater style made amplification become more common?
Rock musicals
Name the musical based on the themes-
What it means to be an artist, art's impact on humanity over generations
Sunday in the Park with George
Musical based on Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Big River
Musical theater writing team behind Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, and many others. For many years after their success with Oklahoma, all musicals were being written in their style.
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein
During this era, musicals were mostly lighthearted, with the focus on big stars and clever songwriting, not depth of plot or character development
Early Musical Theater-1920s & 1930s
Give two reasons why Showboat was groundbreaking in the development of musical theater
-Real people, real problems, large social issues
-First time music was used as a dramatic device and as subtext
-Directly addressed race related issues
-Two strong women at the center of the plot
-People don't only like what they already know
Name the musical based on the themes-
Reaffirming our common humanity, people of all different walks of life coming together despite horrific tragedy
Come From Away
Musical based on Puccini's opera La Boheme
Rent
His goal was to merge pop music and theater music
Jonathan Larson
During this era, musicals enjoyed widespread recognition in popular culture that would not exist again after this time period
The Golden Age-1940s and 1950s
Oklahoma was revolutionary for three main reasons. What are they?
-Challenging real world issues with SUBTLETY that had not been seen before
-Use of dance as a fully formed narrative language. Communicates story, character, and psychology
-Broke from lots of the conventions used by successful Broadway shows before it
Name the musical based on the themes-
Redemption, good can triumph over evil, people's ability to change for the better
Les Miserables
Based on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
With Sondheim, drove the creation of the Concept Musical
Hal Prince
During this era, costume design changed. Musicals were costumed more realistically so that actors looked like real people from the appropriate time period. Also, the material created Off-Broadway became more widely recognized.
The 1960s
What was one of the goals of the Federal Theater Project?
-To create theater that was close to the lives of ordinary people
-To reach across the country to bring theater to audiences who had never seen live theater before
-Led by Hallie Flanagan