MSMTP - Lesson 1
• Historical Highlights of American Musical Theatre
– Each slide has a reflection question – jot down some
notes and then post them to the wiki discussion board
• Note - You need to watch the PowerPoint in Slide
Show view in order for the hyperlinks to be active
Please contact me at egrimes-droessler@wcpss.net
if you have any questions or concerns
Historical Highlights
Click on the linked title to see a sample
• 1900-1920 - Birth of Broadway – As theatre
styles and personalities from around the world
and the country come to New York – the
theatre district is born and so is the American
musical
• Little Johnny Jones – 1904 – Give My Regards
to Broadway
What do you notice about the setting & the
choreography?
Historical Highlights
Click on the linked title to see a sample
• 1920-1934 – Broadway Melody – Broadway
enters its most prodigious period, songwriters
create a new musical mythology of Broadway
and send it across the country
• Anything Goes – 1934 – Revival
This setting & choreography is similar to the
previous clip (Give My Regards to Broadway) –
why do you think this might be the case?
Historical Highlights
Click on the linked title to see a sample
• 1934-1942 – Hard Times – During the Great
Depression, Broadway distracts audiences
with escapism, while also offering political
commentary and social engagement
• Boys from Syracuse is a 1940 musical based on
Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors – future musicals will
be based on Shakespeare’s work – Kiss Me Kate
(Taming of the Shrew) – West Side Story (Romeo &
Juliet) – All Shook Up & Play On (12th Night)
Why is classic literature a good basis for a musical?
Historical Highlights
Click on the linked title to see a sample
• 1943-1959 –Golden Age - Rodgers & Hammerstein
pioneer a new form of narrative storytelling that brings
a new age of musical classics. Carousel & Oklahoma
Dream Ballet
• Lerner & Lowe create a musical based on Shaw’s
Pygmalion – My Fair Lady
• Bernstein & Sondheim create West Side Story – based
on Romeo & Juliet - choreographed & directed by
Jerome Robbins
Comment on how each story is told - through
movement – text – song – acting??
Historical Highlights
Click on the linked title to see a sample
• 1960-1979 – Changing Times – Broadway
confronts the seismic changes in American culture
by reinventing it own tradition
• The Wiz provided an all-Black version of the Wizard of Oz
• Andrew Lloyd Weber brought us the controversial Rock
Opera - Jesus Christ Superstar
How does the music in these musicals reflect the culture of
this time period?
Historical Highlights
Click on the linked title to see a sample
• 1980-2004 – 2nd Century - Broadway becomes a truly
global phenomenon as new innovations respond to
economic challenges
– 1982 Cats – Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical based on the whimsical
poetry of T.S. Eliot
– 1987 Les Miserables – A sung-thru musical based on Victor Hugo’s
famous novel
– 1988 Phantom of the Opera – another Andrew Lloyd Weber musical
– 1994 Beauty and the Beast – musical based on a Disney movie & classic
French story
– 1997 Lion King – musical based on a Disney movie with choreography by
Garth Fagan, Puppets by Julie Taymor
– 2002 Hairspray - based on a film – features 1960’s dance-style music
and downtown rhythm/blues
– 2003 Wicked – The untold story of the Witches of Oz by Stephen
Schwartz
How do these examples reflect a global society?
2009 Tony Awards
Contemporary & a Retrospective
•
Billy Elliott – contemporary musical about a young man who pursues his dream against the
odds and his father’s wishes
•
West Side Story and Guys & Dolls revivals of shows from the Golden Age
•
Rock of Ages a contemporary rock/jukebox musical based on the songs of glam metal
bands of the 1980s
•
Pal Joey – revival of a famous musical from the 1950s
•
Next to Normal – contemporary musical based on family challenges
•
Shrek – contemporary musical based on a children’s movie
•
9 to 5 – a contemporary musical based on the 1980s movie with words & music by Dolly
Parton
•
Liza’s at the Palace – Solo concert featuring Liza Minelli (Judy Garland’s daughter)
•
Hair – revival of a protest musical of the 1970s
What are your thoughts about the plots for musicals – the source material – and the
need for revivals?
2010 - Spotlight on Matilda
• Based on a famous children’s story by Roald Dahl
• When I grow up is a great way to introduce the
theme of our original musical
What are your dreams and how can the arts help you
get there??
Coming Soon …
• Lesson 2 = Getting to Know You & the Work
– Self-assessments on learning preferences
– Elements of a Musical
• Lesson 3 = Production Responsibilities
– Transferable Skills (virtual chalk talk)
– Career Interest Inventories
• Lesson 4 = Writing our story