Andrew Lloyd Webber: a Musical Theatre Virtuoso

At the end of World War I, an excited America was poised for a cultural renaissance; patriotism was on the rise, the strong concept of Manifest Destiny had passed its peak of influence, and, most importantly, there had not been a clear shift in culture for decades. The Jazz Age of the 1920s was about to dawn, bringing with it youthful, risqué morals and a carefree look on life. From these ideals, a new, strongly American form of entertainment would emerge: musical theatre. Most commonly found in New York City on Broadway even to this day, musical theatre became an escape from reality and an entry into the imagination. The grand and splashy components that make up what is considered a classic Broadway musical can ultimately be traced back to Cole Porter. Porter’s writing, albeit at times controversial or raunchy, was able to harness the frantically beating heart of the Jazz Age and turn it into treasured shows. Using his unique melodies, romantic or idealistic lyrics, and his pioneering of writing about the human experience, Cole Porter shaped American music and theatre from the 1920s through the 1940s.

Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25th, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. His father was a hand loom weaver and Chartist. Carnegie believed in the importance of birthplace. “I was supremely so in

There’s a reason that English classes have students study Oedipus the King, A Raisin in the Sun, The Crucible, and many other titles in schools across the globe. Adding music to a story focused on a serious issue doesn’t impact the message that it carries to audiences. Musicals like Next to Normal, and South Pacific carry themes of extreme social struggle like racism and mental illness all with soundtracks that stand the test of time. What I love most about how theatre affects people is that most theatre kids are well adjusted due to the exposure to these wide ranges of themes, making them the best people to be around; theatre kids are well adjusted because of the awareness of theatre, and not necessarily juggling education and stage productions.

Theatre and Musical Theatre has been a form of entertainment since before North America was “discovered”. Broadway shows have been dated back to the early 1920’s and 1930’s. By 2016, over 25,000 tickets are sold to Broadway shows in a week. Thousands of people enjoy the shows that are featured on Broadway but have no idea the work and process that brought it to life. The process of getting a show on to Broadway can be broken down into three phases: pre-production, staging, and performance/promotion.

Stephen Schwartz is a famous American composer, producer, and creator of music and film. With a degree in drama, Schwartz was first hired as a producer in his early years. Schwartz was interested in musical Theater since the early 1970’s when he was famous for three popular shows on Broadway; Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show (The Songwriters Hall of Fame). Stephen Schwartz accomplishments include winning the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, obtaining three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards and also being nominated for six Tony Awards. (circletheatre.org). Stephen Schwartz has made an impact on American Musical Theater by influencing Americans by composing famous musicals and earning many awards from which American’s remember him by.

This essay explores the influence composers had on the musical output of John Williams. Throughout his career, Williams has been able to provide his audiences with emotions and thoughts that were brought upon with the use of his musical compositions. Williams’ work has been able to capture the thoughts and feelings of individuals both onscreen and off screen. His film scores were able to tell a story in ways that previous composers were not able to.

Before they became the Rodgers and Hammerstein, they were Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers, both of New York City. Oscar Hammerstein II was born on July 12, 1895. He was brought up in a theatrical family. His grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein I, was a famed opera impresario. His father William managed a vaudeville theater, and Uncle Arthur was a successful producer of Broadway musicals. While Hammerstein was

Through out the years he has won eleven awards in one night. He has also written three broadways. He got married to vanessa nadal and had a child. Today his child is two years

Broadway show in 1997 won six Tony awards, eight Drama Desk awards and the Theatrical

I believe a musical, or any play is successful when it receives good reviews from critics, good reviews from the general audience, and tends to have a close to 100% of seats filled. My definition of a successful show is about as close to flawless as reality can allow. It pleases everyone and turns a profit.

Stephen Schwartz is a famous American composer, producer, and creator of music and film. Stephen Schwartz has been appointed as having one of the most significant careers in American musical theater for over four decades (Laird, 2014). With a degree in drama, Schwartz was first hired as a producer in his early years. Schwartz was interested in musical Theater since the early 1970’s when he was famous for three popular shows on Broadway; Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show (The Songwriters Hall of Fame). Stephen Schwartz accomplishments include winning the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, obtaining three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards and also being nominated for six Tony Awards. (circletheatre.org). Stephen Schwartz has made an impact on American Musical Theater by influencing people from composing famous musicals and earning many awards from which American’s remember him by.

A common theme in the 20th/21st century musical is their commentaries on world history, whether it is subtle, or not. These comments range from deep political messages about the current political climate of the world, to implicit ironies of past events. An example of the latter can be seen in Cabaret, when Maximillian dismisses the Nazi party as merely a means to an end, saying “Let them get rid of the Communists.” He then qualifies this statement by saying “Later, we’ll be able to control them.” The irony of Maximilian's dogmatic statements is only one example of musical’s commentary on history and the world around us.

A musical film is a genre of movie where songs sung by characters are added into the storyline, occasionally complemented by choreography. The musical numbers in these films do not always develop the plot and characters, but they do give the films a more exciting quality. The primary difference between musical theatre and film musicals is the use of extravagant scenery that would be extraordinarily unreasonable for a stage performance. While making movies, the individuals involved have the luxury of being able to shoot multiple takes and have the time to move backgrounds around or change their entire location. Stage performances, on the other hand, must have scenery that can be easily and efficiently moved on and offstage when it is needed. In order to be able to thoroughly comprehend this relatively recent- in the grand scheme of things- form of entertainment, one should understand the history behind these musical films, be aware of some of the “big names” that are well-known, and recognize major titles that revolutionized musical film forever (Scaruffi, P., 2005).

So famous are the classic musicals he created as part of not one but two of America’s most celebrated songwriting duos, that his name is rarely heard or seen alone. More commonly it’s linked to the name of one of his lyricist-partners, either Lorenz “Larry” Hart or Oscar Hammerstein, because it’s as the musical half of both Rodgers & Hart as well as Rodgers & Hammerstein that Richard Rodgers is best known. Without him, the Broadway musical as we know it would have been something else entirely; his work forever changed its course. It’s a body of work that is astounding for its greatness and lasting power and also for the sheer volume of it, an output unrivaled by any other Broadway composer: some 40 Broadway musicals (26 with Hart and nine with Hammerstein), one Broadway play, three London musicals (all with Hart), 10 original movie musicals (nine with Hart, one with Hammerstein), two television

Two great writers of American musical theatre, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, had one idea in common. They wanted to present to the American public a new and revolutionary musical that would stand out above the rest. They wanted to make an impact on the societies of the era. They wanted to be creative and do something that was considered rebellious. When they finally combined their ideas together they created an American masterpiece in musical theatre: Oklahoma!. It was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration, starting the most successful creative partnership in the history of American musical theatre.