CHAPTER 35 MUSICAL THEATER Broadway Musicals Name Broadway
CHAPTER 35 MUSICAL THEATER
Broadway Musicals • Name Broadway musicals emerged from many shows produced on or near Broadway in New York • Musicals influenced by • English ballad operas • Vaudeville shows • European operettas (short, small-scale operas) • Gilbert and Sullivan’s European operettas were precursors to American musical • Operettas: H. M. S Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado Sheet music to the song "Give My Regards to Broadway" from Little Johnny Jones, 1904
Oprettas to Musicals “Give My Regards to Broadway” (Cohan) Plot based on everyday stories “Ol’ Man River” (Kern & Hammerstein) “Summertime” (Gershwin) Musicals differed from oprettas in several ways Individual songs were musically important for their own sake and sometimes became popular apart from the musical Spoken dialogue in everyday language
Serious or controversial plots emerged • Show Boat (Kern & Hammerstein) • Porgy and Bess (Gershwin) Success on Broadway in with national tours Memorable musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein 1950 s Began with “boy meets girl and they fall in love” 1940 s Every day language and plots - George M. Cohan’s musicals 1920 s and 30 s Early 1900 s Musical Development Bernstein’s West Side Story introduced Latin -influenced instruments and rhythms to genre Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Sound of Music Also known as a folk opera; included jazz and African American spirituals with classical music
Rock music influenced musicals: Hair, Tommy, Grease Jesus Christ Superstar (Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice), called a rock opera, used sung rather than spoken dialogue 1980 s and 90 s 1960 s and 70 s Musical Development Operatic influence and elaborate staging continue in works by Andrew Lloyd Webber • Cats, Phantom of the Operatic plots basis for new musicals • Claude-Michel Schonberg’s Miss Saigon based on Puccini’s • Madame Butterfly • Jonathan Larson’s Rent based on Puccini’s La Bohéme
Leonard Bernstein • 1918 -1990 • Born Leonard Bernstein in rehearsal of his "Mass“ (1971) Massachusetts • Graduated from Harvard • Conductor of New York Philharmonic at age 40; first American-born conductor of orchestra • Composed in a variety of genres: orchestral music; choral music; chamber works, operas • Interested and successful in concert and popular music
Featured Listening: West Side Story • West Listening Guide “America” from West Side Story Listen to this excerpt of the A and B sections of “America” Listen to this excerpt of the dance section of “America” Side Story is one of Bernstein’s most successful works • Musical in 1957, film in 1967 • Based on Romeo and Juliet • Set in New York City • Feuding families became rival gangs: Jets and Sharks (Puerto Rican immigrants) • Romeo became Tony and Juliet became Maria • Stephen Sondheim was lyricist and later created musicals like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Sweeny Todd Soloists and chorus Orchestra with Latin-influenced instruments (guitar, claves, maracas) AB form with dance sections Alternating meters
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