Download MUSICAL THEATRE IN AMERICA

MUSICAL
THEATRE IN
AMERICA
WHAT’S IN A MUSICAL
THE BOOK
The book refers to the
words that the
characters say, while
lyrics are words that the
characters sing.
BOOK AND LYRICS
The book and lyrics
together are called the
libretto.
LYRICS AND MUSIC
. The lyrics and the
music together are
called the score.
TRAITS OF AMERICAN MUSICALS
 On the most obvious level, American
musicals adopt a tone with unmistakably
American traits.
 Characters are often brash, bold and
optimistic.
 Dialogue contains American colloquialisms
and slang.
 Music stems from American folk songs and
relies upon melodies with an American
flavor.
MUSICAL PLAYS VS. MUSICAL
REVIEWS
 Musical plays distinguished themselves from
musical reviews in American theatre by focusing
on the plot rather than on individual songs.
“Oklahoma” is example of an American musical
play and is widely recognized as the first
American musical.
MUSICAL REVIEWS
MUSICAL REVIEWS are a series
of songs that are loosely held
together by a theme or idea.
It may also be a tribute with a
person or event being the
central idea.
AMERICAN MUSICALS
 History of the musical in America
 1. European influence still existed in the colonies.
 2. First musical production in the colonies was FLORA,
which was really an ballad opera.
 3. Ballad operas were created to satirize Italian
opera influences. It used satirical dialogue mixed
with contemporary music and folk music of the time.
The songs were kept short so they wouldn’t disrupt the
story. The story was usually about the lower class and
showed an upside down perspective of the high
morals of the Italian opera.
BURLESQUE
EUROPEAN IMPORT
 BURLESQUE is the form used to create a style that
was a parody of famous plays. It began after the
colonies became a nation.
 The performances ridiculed the dramatic works
by means of grotesque exaggerations or comic
imitations or mockery. It incorporated music as
well as dance and various variety acts. Most
were still foreign imports.
IMPORTS CONTINUED
 Another characteristic of Burlesque was the
focus on the beauty of women.
 Lynda Thompson and her English maids shocked
audiences in 1869 when she and her “girls”
appeared in skin-colored tights in the production
of IXION.
 BURLESQUE consisted of parodies of works such
as Hamlet which was produced in 1828. The
performance included dancers, singers,
pantomime artist as well as dialogue.
AMERICAN FLAVOR
 SEPTEMBER 12 1866
 THE BLACK CROOK was produced in New York. It was
totally written by Americans.
 This play was extremely successful for many years. It
ran for 474 record breaking performances.
 It introduced the elements that would later define the
American musical. Those elements are: chorus girls,
ornate production numbers, elaborate costumes,
songs with sexual innuendos and large dance
numbers.
THE BLACK CROOK CONT.
 IT CAME ABOUT BY ACCIDENT.
 A Parisian ballet troupe had no where to perform
when the theatre that hired them burned to the
ground. The troupe approached the owner of the
New York theatre where The Black Crook was going
to be shown. They wanted to collaborate with them
any way they could. The theatre owner offered them
the chance to participate in a “musical spectacle”
by dancing in the production of The Black Crook. It
was the most successful production put on in America
at that time. It was the beginning of the search for the
American musical form.
THE WORK CONTINUES
 They continued to develop a musical entertainment
that was totally American in style, spirit and format.
 One attempt was the minstrel show. It was primarily
exploitation of the humor, dance and song of the
African American of the time. But they did not have a
plot, characters or settings.
 In 1879 the marriage of European Burlesque and the
American way of life produced the Mulligan farces.
These stories were based entirely on the New York
multi cultural every day way of life. These were
popular for many years.
NEWSIES THE MUSCIAL
NEWSIES THE MUSICAL
BASED ON FACTS
 The newsboys' strike of 1899 was a youth-led
campaign to force change in the way that
Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst's
newspapers compensated their child labor force
of newspaper hawkers. The strike lasted two
weeks, causing Pulitzer's New York World to
reduce its circulation from 360,000 to 125,000.[1]
The strike was successful in increasing the
amount of money that newsboys received for
their work.[2]
Notes location
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