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 The performance included dancers, singers, pantomime artist as well as dialogue.

AMERICAN FLAVOR  SEPTEMBER  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]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   Ms. Dean’s Weebly address:  