Theater History AMERICAN THEATER HISTORY American Theatre History

Theater History AMERICAN THEATER HISTORY

American Theatre History q. The Two Area’s of theatre where American really excel: Musicals and Film q. The first original theater work of note in America was Uncle Tom’s Cabin. (1882) q. The musical production that began musical theater was Oklahoma! 1944

American Theatre History q. America’s first great teacher of playwriting and play productions, George Peirce Baker q. Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, the most discussed play in American Theatre History. q. The most successful musical theater writer/ Composer of the past 30 years: Stephen Sondheim.

American Non-Musical Theatre v. Eugene O’Neill / Long Day’s Journey into Night , presents a depressing and horrifying picture of a wealthy family in which one son is suffering from tuberculosis, and the father and other son are drunks. The play leaves its audiences drained, partly because it is so powerful and partly because it is about O’Neil’s own family, he being the son with tuberculosis.

Non-Musical cont. v. Little Foxes, a powerful drama about Southern corruption by our most celebrated woman dramatist, Lillian Hellman. v. Our Town by Thornton Wilder

Non-Musical cont. v. Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Keller v. Life with Father by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse

Non-Musical cont. v. The Glass Menagerie, A Street Car Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams v. All my Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and a View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller

Non-Musical cont. The Best playwright of this period Edward Albee. He wrote Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? v. Sam Shepherd August Wilson

Non-Musical cont. (3) v. Neil Simon the biggest money maker of all time and certainly one of the funniest writers in all theatre history. Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, and the Goodbye Girl v. Woody Allen

Musical Theater v. Great Collaborators: v. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein also knows as Rodgers and Hammerstein. Starts off Musical with Oklahoma! In 1944. They also collaborated on such hits as The King and I, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and Carousel.

Musical Theater v. Great Collaborators: v. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe also know as Learner and Lowe. Their greatest hits are Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, and Camelot.

Famous Contemporaries of the Great Collaborators v. Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein

Famous Contemporaries v. Meredith Wilson / The Music Man v. Highlights of the 1960’s v. Hello Dolly! The Fantasticks Fiddler on the Roof

The New Muscials v. Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil, and Herbert Kretzmer / Les Miserables v. Edward Kleban / A Chorus Line

The New Muscials v. Andrew Lloyd Webber / Cats, Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Phantom of the Opera

The New Muscials v. Stephen Sondheim / A Funny thing happened on the way to the forum, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods , and West-side story

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