Changed For Good Summary

While many will agree that Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is critically acclaimed to be one of the most entertaining and well-liked pieces that he has written, there tends to be a discrepancy over how the characters in the play are portrayed when it comes to the importance of gender roles. After reading James C Bulman’s article over the Globe’s more recent performance of Twelfth Night and Shakespeare’s original written version, I realized that there are many ways that this famous piece has been portrayed and each has its own pros and cons.

“On Broadway, although some female roles are narrow, demeaning, passive, or long-suffering and convey weakness, the performer sings with incredible strength. Listening to the female singing voice is a more complicated phenomenon. Visually, the character singing is the passive object of our gaze. But aurally, she is resonant; her musical speech drowns out everything in range. A singer, more than any other musical performer, stands before us having wrested the composing voice away from the lyricist and composer who wrote the score.” Said Musicologist Carolyn Abbate (Wolf, p.31)

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.

This past weekend, I experienced the University of Virginia Drama Department’s production of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. This performance was wonderfully entertaining, and I applaud the department for choosing this play in particular to perform. Its themes, which focus on the desire to achieve success, acceptance, and a greater knowledge of ones place in the world in the face of adversity, are as relevant today as they were when Wilson first conceived this play. The plot pays special attention to the importance of race and gender in society, allowing the viewer to realize the unfortunate reality that some of the issues experienced by black men and women during the 1940s survive to this day. The devotion and commitment of the cast and crew in their attempt to fulfill Wilson’s dreams and ideas was palpable, and their energy radiated throughout the audience. Although it was a lengthy production (taking around three hours to complete), the performance seemed to keep everyone on the edges of their seats, and, at its eventual conclusion, left those in attendance yearning for more from this talented group. There were four specific elements made this production of Seven Guitars so enjoyable: its actors, costumes, varied rhythm, and video design. I would highly recommend attending this play directed by Theresa M. Davis, and eagerly await her next production.

Many, if not all, plays are written to evoke thoughts from people in the audience. Through their scripts, authors deliver messages about their opinions on various issues ranging from gender roles to class ranks. These messages are developed to provoke thoughts and questions from people who experience performances. In the play Rome Sweet Rome, the Q Brothers Collective use both new and old theatrical techniques to make parallels between the Roman and United States governments by addressing issues involving women’s roles in society, class rank, and homosexuality. The play uses methods both similar and different to other classic plays to deliver a message that is relatable to issues in today’s world. This message is enhanced through the use of acting styles, set design, costumes, music, and lighting.

the rest of the century. As you watch these videos notice how musicals come to represent

In 1951, Frank Loesser’s Guys & Dolls opened and received what were said to be “the most unanimously ecstatic set of reviews in Broadway history” (Block 200). For a show whose development included disappointing librettos from eleven different writers, this feat was truly unbelievable (Lewis 73). The unprecedented success of Guys & Dolls and its ability to remain culturally significant, as a popularly revived piece, is the product of several attributes unique to this show. The unusual writing progression that led to a truly integrated libretto in terms of the relationship of the score to the text, Loesser’s assimilation of a unified, yet distinctive style of speech into his lyrics for the

I attended UCLA’s May 11th production of Carousel on a Wednesday night at the Freud Playhouse. Jeremy Mann and Dan Belzer directed the production. The musical opened on April 19th, 1945 (Hauser). Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the book and lyrics, while Richard Rodgers wrote the music in collaboration. In this paper I will expound on the history of Carousel’s writers, it’s historical significance in the world of American theater, as well as the plot of the play and it’s implications on the evolution of theater history.

The hit broadway musical tells the story of one girl's american dream to make it on broadway. The cast of around 30 people, completes multiple tap dance ensembles that vibrate the Clemens Center Stage. At Tuesday night's show, the crowd gave the performers a standing ovation. The shows stars' say this musical is relatable to anyone looking to make it in show business.

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.

I continued to see strong women in musicals like Wicked, Legally Blonde, and Little Women. I learned from Elphaba, the protagonist of Wicked, that if your dreams come at the cost of compromising your beliefs, find new aspirations. I learned from Legally Blonde’s Elle that, with a great group of friends around you, the impossible becomes possible. Jo, from Little Women, taught me that blind ambition isn’t the only path to success. Unlike some of the women portrayed in other forms of media, women in musicals kicked derrière and took names, while singing and dancing in three-inch

Being that documentaries and musicals are both a way of addressing concerns happening in the political, economic or social culture of a certain region, it would seem that there would be many documented cases of how documentaries have impacted the American musical. However, not many results seem to surface when searching for this. For the layperson who does a quick search and does not dig deeper into different ways to search, it may seem that there is only one result: Broadway The Great American Musical by Michael Cantor. Thankfully, that is not the case. There are other sources with information about the film form of the documentary and musicals.

- [Alex Brightman] One of the interesting things about this Broadway season is that the two most nominated shows are Hamilton and Shuffle Along, which feature big and almost entirely non-white casts. Additionally, there 's Eclipsed, the first Broadway production be written, directed, and performed exclusively by black women, and The Color Purple, which centers around black actresses. The list goes on. What can Hollywood, learn from Broadway because they are obviously having their own struggling with diversity at the moment?

The musicals Billy Elliot and Grease present both conventional and unconventional representations of gender throughout. Both musicals also seem to obscure the message of the underlying gender stereotyping issues by overshadowing them with elements such as music, dance and costume.

Bilitis and other "homophile" groups, were ultimately failed in their attempts to encourage the acceptance of homosexuals by society. Later, they have realized that the gays and lesbians were not alone. The broadway theater seems to be the greatest center for the LBGT. Unfortunately, the Broadway seems to be degenerating these days when it comes to presenting shading portrayals by the Lesbians Gay Bisexual and Transgender characters on the stage.