1. Bell Work Take out a sheet of paper Write down these 5 terms, make sure to leave space in between each term:  Opera  Operetta  Vaudeville  Musical Comedy  Musical Theatre My suggestion, make a table.

2. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 5 MAJOR TYPES OF MUSICALS Types of Musicals

3. Objectives Define the 5 Major typed of American Musicals List several characteristics for each Student will understand the progression from one genre to the other.

4. 5 Types of Musicals Presently we have 5 Major types of Musicals that all are still performed. Some are more popular than others, but each genre is responsible for creating the next. Each has responded to the society it wished to entertain

5. Opera Opera was the first genre of Musical to arrive in America. It arrived in the US as early as the 1700’s. Opera was popular from the early 1700’s to the early 1800’s. It literally arrived in the US, because Opera was very popular in Europe. Since most of the early settlers were European, they brought the style with them.

6. Some More Characteristics of Opera Opera is mainly performed in 2 foreign languages:  Italian  German English was added to opera in the 1800’s Opera is all sung This means there is no talking and little to no dance Opera’s will normally end tragically, meaning your main characters will usually die. We have also gotten a phrase from opera that we still use today…..”It isn’t over until the fat lady sings.” Because people did not have TV or radio, operas were usually 3-5 hours long Opera’s began being written just for royalty, but eventually it became a common man’s entertainment too.

7. Operetta Because opera was so long and at times depressing, composers began to write a lighter story, and called it operetta. Operetta literally means “Light Opera”

8. How is Operetta Different then Opera Operetta is slightly shorter than opera, time wise. Operetta’s were mostly performed in English Some of the major differences are:  Operetta usually ended happily  Operetta was mostly sung  Operetta had little talking  Operetta would have little dance in it as well  Operetta was introduced in the US between the 1800’s and 1900’s. Operetta was still a European form of theater that the American’s adopted.

9. Vaudeville Is the first American genre of theater we see invented in this country. Vaudeville came around during the early 1900’s and was very popular during the Great Depression Vaudeville’s main focus was on comedy and making people laugh. Vaudeville shows were considered to be variety shows, where you would have several different performers who would do their special talent for a certain amount of time

10. Gimmicks A Gimmick is a special talent that separates one act from another. Some gimmicks that would be included in a Vaudeville show would be:  Acrobats  Illustrated songs  Jugglers  Athletes  Lectures from Celebrities  Dancers  Comedy Teams  Trained Animal Acts  Magicians

11. Other Forms of Vaudeville Vaudeville later created different forms of entertainment such as:  Burlesque Shows  Extravaganza  Circuses (like Barnum and Bailey’s Circus that is still around today)  Dime Museums  Freak Shows  Minstrel Shows Vaudeville was the first time we saw performers having to be triple threats and multi-talented.

12. Musical Comedy Musical Comedy had a very short lived popularity in this country from the years 1900-1943. Musical Comedies were stories that included all three components of a musical, acting, singing, and dancing. This meant that performers had to be Triple Threats These types of stories were lighter in plot, but rarely had anything to do with comedy. The main difference between this genre and the others is that the Songs and Dances did not tie into the plot. A composing team that specifically wrote musical comedies are Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

13. Musical Theatre Musical Theatre is the most popular of these genres Musical Theatre was invented by the composing team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II The very first musical was titles “Oklahoma!” Again, all these stories incorporated all 3 components of a musical, acting, singing, and dancing and the performers had to be able to do all 3 The Biggest difference between Music Theatre and all the other genres is that THE SONGS AND DANCES TIE INTO THE PLOT!!!!

14. Questions I know this is a lot information to absorb, but you will need to know at least 5 characteristics from each genre. Please if there are any questions about these genres, please ask them now!

15. Dismissal Have a great day and I’ll see you tomorrow.

16. Assignment We will view 2 musicals. Your job will be to:  Identify the songs  Decide how the songs and dances fit into the story  Decide if those songs and dances showcase the Actors Talents or the Character’s story  By the end of the musical, you will need to decide if the musical is a Musical Comedy, or a piece of Musical Theatre