1 / 29

Musical Theatre History

Musical Theatre History. Development of the Musical. Primitive Man -Medieval Europe. Caveman - explained customs through music, song, dance, and acting 5th Century B.C. - sang (chanted) lines, chorus moved rhythmically to music

audrey-leach
Download Presentation

Musical Theatre History

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Musical Theatre History Development of the Musical

  2. Primitive Man -Medieval Europe • Caveman - explained customs through music, song, dance, and acting • 5th Century B.C. - sang (chanted) lines, chorus moved rhythmically to music • Rome - pantomimes used a dancer to relate story through movement as chorus sang narration • Medieval Europe - wandering performers provided entertainment for castles (nobles) and town festivals (everyone else)

  3. Renaissance - 18th Century • Italian • Commedia dell’arte used singing and dancing • Intermezzo (between acts) used songs, dancers, music, scenery, SFX • 1st opera: Dafne 1597 (chanted lines to music) • English • Used masques, intermezzos and background musicians for entertainment as well as pantomime (the English version of commedia dell’arte) • Burlesques which featured scantily dressed women • Ballad Operas which featured plots, dialogues songs with new lyrics to old melodies (A Beggars Opera) • Comic Opera which featured original music (Pirates of Penzance)

  4. 19th Century - USA • Comic Operas and Pantomimes performed • Minstrel shows - played banjos, tambourines, “bones”, sang, danced, and made jokes • Music Halls and Vaudevilles - unrelated acts, magic, jugglers, acrobats, sketches, animals, singers, and dancers

  5. 1st Musical • The Black Crook - Sept 12, 1866 in New York • Ran 474 performances • 5 1/2 hours long • Mixture of drama, spectacle, scenery, transformations with ballet and scantily clad dancers • Lots of scenic special effects

  6. Early 20th Century - USA • Ziegfield Follies (and other revues) were the main source of entertainment • Composers such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Victor Herbert, Richard Rodgers, and George Gershwin got their start in these venues • Foreshadowed our demands for glitz, glamour, and expense in entertainment • Preproduction expenses topped $250,000 with $123,000 going to costumes alone (the average American earned $19.20 per week in 1920)

  7. 1920s • By the time the “Roaring 20s” came around… • Melodramas took rise • Realism and naturalism were introduces • Lots of pressure on technical theatre to accommodate both styles of theatre • In reaction to these styles, anti-realistic and anti-traditional modes of theatre began to arise

  8. 1920s (continued) • “New age of American Musical” • Showboat in 1927 by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II • Events span 40 years • Serious theme with musical #s and plot • Represented the departure from standard musicals by introducing new elements including spectacle, details,realism, in depth characters • Influenced by Opera, Blues, and current dances (Charleston) • Grossed $50,000/wk for 2+ year run • Revived in 1966 where it grossed $100,000/wk

  9. 1930s • The public became more aware that quality theatre was more important than it being cheap, thoughtless entertainment. • By the time the Great Depression too hold of NY, theatre in general began to suffer. More than 1/3 of the 68 commercial theatres in the Broadway district closed by the end of the 30s. (the only other time in American history this many theatre companies closed at one time was right after 9/11)

  10. 1930s • Technically: • Spectacle and razzle-dazzle OR • Realistic details • 1st Pulitzer Prize for Best Play of the Year • Of Thee I Sing • 1931 • George and Ira Gershwin, Geory Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind • Raised the status of what musicals should be

  11. 1930s • 1st Innovative Operatic Musical • Porgy and Bess • 1935 • By Gershwins and Heyward • Other 30s Hits • The Bandwagon 1931 • Anything Goes 1934 • Dead End 1935 • The Boys from Syracuse 1938 • DuBarry Was A Lady 1939

  12. 1940s • As the Depression ended, so did the falling economy. • WWII left an impression on Broadway - one of pride and nationalism • This was reflected in Theatre of this decade • 1st Book Musical - Oklahoma! 1943 Rogers and Hammerstein - 2 year run • Reflected foundations previously set by Show Boat • New Element - Opening Number • Emphasis on character and book rather than spectacle • Plot progressed through songs closely integrated w/book • Full Orchestra, large cast of singers, dancers, and actors

  13. 1940s • Other 40 hits • Carousel - 1945 • Annie Get Your Gun - 1946 • Kiss Me, Kate - 1948 • South Pacific - 1949 • Brigadoon - 1947 • State Fair - 1945

  14. 1950s • War was over - economy healthy • Average ticket price for a show - $6.00-$8.00 • Musicals during this decade were a strong mix of script and music • Movie versions of live musicals start to happen • Focus - less on spectacle and more on Dance • West Side Story - 1957 • Specific dancing as a means to advance the plot and reveal characters (Jerome Robbins) • Based on Romeo and Juliet

  15. 1950s • Other 50s Hits • Guys and Dolls - 1950 (Best Director, Best Musical, Best Producers) • The King and I - 1951 • My Fair Lady - 1956 • Gypsy - 1959 • The Sound of Music - 1959

  16. 1960s • Broadway money-making machine • Went from Artistic to business-driven • The Rock Musical is born • 1st Rock Musical - Hair 1968 • Minimal plot - sharp political commentary (anti-Vietnam war) • Simple scenery and props • Actors change costumes and roles in front of audience • Informal and spontaneous • Full frontal nudity • Amplified sound

  17. 1960s • Hits of the 60s • Bye Bye Birdie - 1960 • Camelot - 1960 • How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - • Hello Dolly - 1964 • Funny Girl - 1964 • Fiddler on the Roof - 1964 • Man of LaMancha - 1965 • Mame - 1966

  18. 1970s • Undertones of the 60s carried over to the 70s • Pushing the limit technically • Large-scale musicals and spectacle sets • Emphasis on concept - idea or theme not “boy gets girl” plots • Not melodic/singable tunes • Episodes = illustrate concept • Songs reveal character’s feelings, comment on action and are tailored for the situation • Workshop method • Writers and Composers write with performers • Potential backers go to the workshops

  19. 1970s • Cabaret - 1972 - Bob Fosse choreographer • Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince take control • Company - 1970 • A Little Night Music - 1973 • Sweeney Todd - 1979 • Sunday in the Park With George - 1984 • Into the Woods - 1987

  20. 1970s • Other 70 Hits • Jesus Christ Super Star - 1971 • Godspell - 1971 • Grease - 1972 • Pippin - 1972 • The Rocky Horror Show - 1974 • A Chorus Line - 1975 • Chicago - 1975 • Annie - 1977 • Evita - 1978

  21. 1980s • Lots of musicals being imported from England • Costs continue to rise, making it more difficult to recover investments. • Decline was so sharp in 1987-88 only 31 new productions were mounted (compare to the 34 new musicals and 57 plays that opened in 2009)

  22. 1980s • 80s Hits • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - 1982 • Cats - 1982 (grossed over $915 million by April 1991) • Phantom of the Opera 1988 ($8 million initial investment - grossed $413 million by 1991)

  23. 1980s • Other 80 Hits • Les Miserables - 1980 • Little Shop of Horrors - 1982 • Sunday in the Park - 1984 • Big River - 1985 • Into the Woods - 1987 • Fame - 1988 • Miss Saigon - 1989

  24. 1990s • Lots of Technical Overkill • The Corporate Musical is created • Hits of the 90s • City of Angles - 1990 • Jekyll & Hyde - 1990 • Kiss of the Spider Woman - 1993 • The Lion King - 1994 • Rent - 1996 • Titantic - 1997 • Ragtime - 1998

  25. 2000s • Musicals run the gamete between technical overkill and very simple. • Movies are becoming sources • “Jukebox” Musicals also becoming popular • “Disneyfication of Broadway”

  26. 2000s • Hits from this era include: • Aida - 2000 • The Full Monty - 2000 • The Producers - 2001 • Urinetown - 2001 • Mama Mia - 2001 • Hairspray - 2002 • Thoroughly Modern Millie - 2002 • Wicked - 2003 • Avenue Q - 2003 • 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee - 2004 • Mary Poppins - 2004

  27. 2000s Continued • Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - 2004 • Billy Elliot - 2005 • Spamalot - 2005 • Jersey Boys - 2005 • The Drowsy Chaperone -2006 • Spring Awakening - 2006 • The Wedding Singer - 2006 • Legally Blonde - 2007 • Next to Normal - 2008

  28. The Future of Musicals • “Musicals flourished into the early 60s, but there were few new playwrights and there seemed room for only one new writer of musicals, Stephen Sondheim. By the early 80s Broadway became a tourist attraction mounting fewer shows each year, some years not even 10, and these 10 were often star vehicles or extravaganzas that depended on sensational stage effects…It is difficult to imagine when Broadway will again play a significant role in NY’s literary life”

  29. Future • “You have 2 kinds of shows on Broadway - revivals and the same kind of musicals over and over again, all spectacles. You get your tickets for The Lion Kin a year in advance, and essentially a family comes as if to a picnic, and they pass on to their children the idea that that’s what the theatre is - a spectacular musical you see once a year, a stage version of a movie. It has nothing to do with theatre at all. It has to do with seeing what is familiar. We live in a recycled culture…. I don’t think the theatre will die per se, but it’s never going to be what it was. You can’t bring it back. It’s gone. It’s a tourist attraction.” Stephen Sondheim

More Related