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We are enroute from Athens,
Greece to New York City, NY
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• Should you need assistance please press
your flight attendant button.
And now…
Please enjoy your in flight
entertainment
Leaving Athens
You are now leaving…the birthplace of Theater
How we all got started…
• Dionysus
• Greek god of wine
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and fertility
Festival to him every
year
Playwriting
competitions-Tragedy,
Comedy, and Satyr
plays
The first actor was…..
• Thespis!!!!
• First person to step
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out of the Greek
chorus
Why actors are called
Thespians
Used to wear masks
to differentiate
between characters
Greek Playwrights
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Sophocles
Euripides
Aristophanes
Aeschylus
Menander
Plato
Diphilius
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Alexis
Philemon
Hegemon
Chionides
Sophron
Next stop…
Ancient Rome
How those Romans did it…
Influenced by the Greeks
Copied and adapted stories
from Greek plays
How they were different
• Didn’t like the tragedies as much as the
comedies
• Weren’t part of a religious ceremony
• Adapted the characters (stock characters)
and costumes so audiences would
understand the plays better.
Roman Stock Characters
• Characters were used over and over again
• Had certain colors and costumes to help distinguish
them and make them easily recognizable
– A purple robe meant the character was rich
– A yellow robe meant the character was a woman. (Needed in
early Roman theatre, as originally female characters were played
by men, however as the Roman theatre progressed, women took
the roles of women in plays.)
– A yellow tassel meant the character was a god.
– A red wig meant the character was an old man.
– Scarves meant the character was a servant
Adulescens
• The hero, who is young, rich, love-struck
and none too brave. He tends to bemoan
his fate and requires backup. Another
character often has to take action on his
behalf. His father is often the senex,
whom he fears, but does not respect. He
wears a dark wig and his clothes are
usually crimson.
Senex
• The old man has several
incarnations. As the father he is
either too strict or too soft; either
one he does out of love for his
son. As the lover he embarrasses
his son, his slave, and his wife. He
tends to be passionately in love
with the same woman as his son,
who is much too young for
the senex. He never gets the girl
and is often dragged off by his
irate wife. Sometimes he is a
friend of the family who helps
theadulescens. He is often a
miser, who wears a straight
undergarment with long doubled
sleeves. It is white and he
sometimes carries a staff.
Leno
• The leno runs the brothel. The love
interest of the adulescens may be owned
by the leno and work at his brothel so
the adulescens is often forced to deal with
him. He is unabashedly amoral and is only
interested in money. He dresses in a tunic
and mantel and is often bald with a
moneybag.
Miles Gloriosus
• The literally braggart soldier, is
a character that is especially
familiar today. He loves himself
more than anything else and
sees himself as handsome and
brave, while in reality he is
very stupid, cowardly, and
gullible. He may be interested
in the same girl as the
adulescens'. He wears a tunic
with long sleeves and has curly
hair.
Parasitus
• The parasite lives only for himself. He is
often seen begging meals or being refused
them. He lies for his own gain. He dresses
in a long, black or gray garment with long,
doubled sleeves.
Servi
• The slaves take up about half of
the cast and often have the
most monologues. They are not
the toilers typical of a real Roman
home. The servus callidus or
clever slave is always talkative,
but his other traits vary. Most of
the time he is loyal, more so to
the adulescens than the senex. He
brings tricks and comedy and
tends to drive the plot. He is often
the one who finds the truth out at
the end of the play. He could be
identified by his tendency to use
alliteration and meter in his
speech. The servi wear tunics and
hold or carry scarves.
Ancilla
• The maid or nurse of no particular age.
She is a minor character used to move the
plot by presenting information or helping
to develop another character. She is a tool
of her mistress and may be used as a
messenger.
Matrona/Mulier/Uxor
• The mother, woman,
or wife is shrewd. She
loves her children, but is
temperamental towards
her husband. She does
not have to be a devoted
wife, but sometimes is.
She wears a long
garment with flowing
sleeves and a mantel.
Meretrix
• The prostitute is either a mercenary or
devoted. The first type is older or more
experienced and has seen a lot. The
second type is truly in love with
the adulescens. Both are very attractive
with a complex hairdo and outfit, which is
yellow. She also has a mantel
Virgo
• The young maiden is
the love interest of
the adulescens, but
does not get much
stage time. She is
beautiful and virtuous
with little personality.
She is treated as a
prize.
A Funny Thing Happened on the way to
the Forum
Welcome to Medieval Europe
Where Christianity takes over the
theaters…
Theater
Liturgical Dramas
• Plays put on by the
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priests or the church
members
Run by the Roman
Catholic Church
Performed in Latin
Usually a complex
ritual that includes
theatrical elements
Vernacular Drama
• Series of one-act dramas performed in the town
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square or other parts of the city.
Spoken in the language of the common man
Mystery Plays
– Plays based on stories of the Old and New Testament
• Miracle Plays
– Plays based on the lives of saints
• Morality Plays
– Taught a lesson through allegorical characters
representing virtues or faults
Music and Dance
• Almost all music was religious
• Choirs would use the same Latin lyrics and
put them to different tunes
• Dance was considered evil.
• Only dancing done in a performance was
done by actors portraying the devil.
The Captain has turned on the
fasten seatbelt sign
Please remain in your seats.
We may be experiencing some turbulence.
The Renaissance
The “rebirth”
“Mom, the Italians started it!!”
• Italians loved the Greek style of performing
• The Renaissance version of Greek plays became
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what we know as Opera
Monologues became arias
A dialogue between two people became a duet
A conversation or the chorus parts became
recitatives.
The Ballet
• Catherine of Medici married
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Henri II
Brought her love of arts with
her from Italy to France
Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx was
hired as the chief musician
He created balletos for the
royalty and upperclass
King Louis XIV participated in
his ballets and became the first
famous ballet star.
The Captain has just informed
me that we’re making excellent
time
We’ve just flown over the Southern
part of the USA and will be taking a
small stop in the Pre-Civil War South!!!
Pre-civil war South
Music and Dance influences
• Influenced modern
tap-dancing—was
know as juba or
hambone dancing.
Origins in Haiti and
was performed by
slaves on the
plantations
Singin’ the blues
Modern Blues
Louis Armstrong
Welcome Back
Your flight with Great White airWays will resume shortly!
Minstrel Shows
Next stop….
Vaudeville
Vaudeville
• Songs and dances
• Pet tricks
• Travel to different
venues to perform
Modern Day Vaudeville
Our Modern Day Vaudeville Acts
Pirates, Police, and Ladies
The Pirates of Penzance
And
Gilbert & Sullivan
And now it’s time for the Pirates
of Penzance Sing-a-long!
Showboat
1927
Showboat
• Considered to be the first well-known American
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made musical
Started what was known as the “Golden Age” of
musical theater.
Integrated dialogue with the music further
distinguishing the musical theater genre from
opera and straight theater.
Dealt with difficult issues (broken marriages,
abandonment, class issues, race issues,
alcoholism, etc.)
Oooooooooook
lahoma!
Where the wind comes sweeping
down the plains!
Oklahoma!
• 1947
• First and most well know show done of
the Golden Age
• Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein
• Landmark because of its legendary Dream
Ballet
• It was know for its realism
Other shows by Rodgers and
Hammerstein
• The King and I
• South Pacific
• Cinderella
• State Fair
• Carousel
• The Sound of Music
Jets vs. Sharks
West Side Story
West Side Story
• Based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo
and Juliet
• Won 10 Academy Awards (including Best
Picture for 1961)
• Story of street gangs in NYC
• Legendary because it incorporated dance
into everyday movements
The End of the Golden Age
And the beginning of the age of
Aquarius
Hair
• One of the first “rock musicals”
• Much of the music was introduced into
pop culture like “Age of Aquarius”
• Mirrored the social unrest of the 1960s
with drugs, anti-war protest, and free-love
• Ended the golden age of musical theater
The British are coming!!
A foreign invasion of musical
theater
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Boublil and Schonberg
1970s and 1980s
• Lots of big scenery and spectacle (huge
chandelier falling on stage in Phantom, a
huge helicopter landing in Miss Saigon,
etc.)
• European shows came over and kind of
stole the show from the Americans
A Division on Broadway
Disney vs. Rent
Disney
• Wanted more family friendly shows
• Started with Beauty and the Beast
• Show a cleaner side of musical theater
• Have since produced The Lion King,
Tarzan, The Little Mermaid, and Mary
Poppins. They are workshopping Finding
Nemo for Broadway
Rent
• Promoted and alternative lifestyle to
traditional family values
• Raw edge
• Social decay
• AIDS
• Promoted tolerance for those with
alternate lifestyles.
Where are we now?
Musicals of today
Currently on Broadway
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The Addams Family
American Idiot
Anything Goes
Billy Elliot
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
The Book of Mormon
Brief Encounter
Chicago
Driving Miss Daisy
Elf
Elling
Fela!
A Free Man of Color
Good People
How to Succeed in Business Without Really
Trying
In the Heights
Jersey Boys
La Bete
La Cage Aux Folles
A Life in the Theater
The Lion King
A Little Night Music
Lombardi
Love Never Dies
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Mamma Mia
Mary Poppins
Memphis
Merchant of Venice
Million Dollar Quartet
Mrs. Warren’s Professsion
Next to Normal
The Pee-Wee Herman Show
Phantom of the Opera
The Pitman Painters
Promises, Promises
Rain, A Tribute to the Beatles
Rock of Ages
The Scotsboro Boys
Sister Act
Spider Man: Turn off the Dark
Time Stands Still
Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Musical
West Side Story
Wicked
Women on the Verge of a Nervous
Breakdown
Wonderland