"Just as we continue to forget that immigrants are the backbone of the country, we forget that musical theater is a mongrel art form"- was once spoken in the words of Lin-Manuel Miranda, musical mastermind behind the hit broadway show Hamilton. The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, and Hamilton all prove that the arts are an essential aspect in American culture and history. To start off, The Phantom of the Opera, musically composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, arrived in Broadway in 1988 and preformed on the stage of the Majestic Theatre. The Phantom of the Opera tells a the story of young Christine Daae who takes center stage as leading soprano. The opera's supposed phantom cuts the rope, which connects the stage lights, causing the old lead singer to quit after nearly being killed by falling lights. Christine claims to have had lessons from an angle of music that her late father had promised. Unknown, the angle is the supposed phantom. The phantom is just a man named Erik who …show more content…
The first scene starts right after Elphaba is killed and Glinda is having a flashback of how they became friends. The memory starts at Shiz, a wizard academy, where Glinda and Elphaba become roomates and unikely become friends. Then when Animals start loosing their voices, Elphaba and Glinda go on an adventure to plead for the Wizard to help in this nonsense, only to find that he's behind it all. He threatens to tell everyone Elphaba is behind it but she will not let the animals suffer. She has to deal with the repercussions of standing up for what she believes in, and the shame she gets from being who she really is. The story has a great meaning behind it all. It tells that true friendships can form unexpectedly with unexpected people. The soundtrack includes inspiring songs like Defying Gravity, and Not that Girl. Like Phantom of the Opera, Wicked has received awards for its soundtrack and leading
An American transplant from the Caribbean was Hamilton and Miranda’s family came from Puerto Rico. Lin-Manuel spent many days at his father’s offices where he had previously worked as an advisor to New York City mayor Ed Koch, while Hamilton once served as advisor to George Washington. Their linked history with political worlds and a penchant for using words to reach people helped Miranda relate to Hamilton while reading Chernow’s biography of the historic figure. He felt the connection and knew there was potential for “extraordinary drama” (Mead) in his story. With that first connection, Lin-Manuel Miranda began to construct a 21st century version of a piece of the American Revolution. Weaving past and present by connecting the two with modern-day musical genres and a mix of actors to represent current American society without sacrificing historical accuracy, Miranda has created “the first real hip-hop musical” (Hiatt) that brings history to life in a most entertaining way and is “transcending Broadway to become a full-on phenomenon.” (Hiatt)
The Phantom of the Opera, a classic play just as known as Romeo and Juliet, because of the love, the hatred and the fights. Little Ms.Christine Daae and her mysterious love triangle between the Phantom and Raoul. The thrilling end scene, where she has to pick for the love of her life to live and marry the Phantom, or to stay with the one she loves and die. Oh the tragedy! The conflict of having to choose between the one you love or your life! Choosing between what is right, and what your heart tells you to choose. The choices made can influence her and the fate of her theatre troupe. She has to make the difficult choice between what is right and what her heart tells you to do. The
Miranda’s cultural appropriation of music and bodies is what allows Hamilton to be
The Phantom of the Opera started out as a book written by Gaston Leroux, published January 8th in 1910 (Haining, 1). There have been several adaptations since then, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical. The other adaptations were Das Phantom der Opera, which is also known as Das Gespent im Opernhaus produced during 1916 in Germany as a silent drama film, this is known as a lost film due to no known copies existing at this time. A silent drama horror was produced on November 15th, 1925, a drama thriller was produced during August 27th in 1943, a horror film was produced June 25th during 1962, and an indie thriller, called Phantom of the Paradise was adapted from Phantom of the Opera and then produced in October 31st of 1974.
the training ground and inspiration for the birth of the American musical. As the primary
Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is the hit broadway show that has taken over America. It tells the story of one of our founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, who accomplished many great things through this life. He was “the chief aide to General George Washington, one of the most influential interpreters and promoters of the U.S. Constitution, the founder of the nation’s financial system, the founder of the Federalist Party, the world’s first voter-based political party, the Father of the United States Coast Guard, and the founder of the New York Post” (Kirov). The musical’s delightful melodies and dramatic storyline not only entertain America, but educate and inspire them.
Within Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda brings history back into the present through his musical. Originally performed at The Public Theater in 2015, the musical was quickly a popular hit and made its way to Broadway. Now performed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, Hamilton has won 11 Tony awards and multiple honors. Director Thomas Kail and lead producer Jeffrey Seller made many of the final decisions of the production, and through them Miranda’s time and investments, the musical became a success. Now, the musical functions as a public history as it revives the importance of the past, as well as redefines the ways history is made and learned through the integration of rap and hip-hop style in musical theatre.
Throughout time, art has changed the way people perceive history. Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Hamilton has had a strong influence how people view one of the Founding Fathers and the era he lived in. Before Lin Manuel-Miranda took on the task of producing a musical for Hamilton, people had an idea of who the Founding Fathers were and what they stood for. However, Manuel’s take on Hamilton wanted to present American history in which people of diverse cultures and women share the same spotlight with the Founding Fathers. In the musical, Manuel thought it was important for Hispanics and African-Americans to play as the Founding Fathers, so it reminds the audience American history is not composed of one race. Although critics, like Nichols, believe "superficial diversity” of the play’s casting results in a failure to
The musical “Hamilton” is the most sought after musical in years. It is the first seen rap musical and it has received the most ‘Tony’ awards and nominations in Broadway history. Hamilton premiered off Broadway in 2015 and soon moved to Broadway to stun the world with it’s incredible everything, from plot to casting. For best albums, Hamilton was second ranked in Billboard magazine and has got endless supply of recognition for the ingenious play written by the phenomenal Lin Manual Miranda. Hamilton is currently the most popular sensation on Broadway because of the music with its creative lyrics and hidden messages, it’s stellar performance and the perspectives it gives us on the people that founded our county. (on the people that shaped our past and developed our future).
Easily one of the most sought after artists of this age, Lin-Manuel Miranda has made a name out of himself as a creative genius. After already writing In the Heights, Miranda’s first musical to win the Tony of Best Musical, and cowriting music for another Broadway musical, Bring it On!, he shook the world by writing the hit musical Hamilton: book, music and lyrics by Mr. Miranda, in addition to him originating the role of Alexander Hamilton. From that point on, Miranda’s career skyrocketed. Coming from humble backgrounds, Miranda uses his platform on social media to discuss topics like racial and gender inequality, as well for fighting for help for his family’s home of Puerto Rico in financial and physical distress after Hurricane Maria.
Your Obedient Servant is one of the last songs in the musical Hamilton: An American Story. This song is based off a set of interactions between the title character, Alexander Hamilton, and his antagonist, Aaron Burr. It follows the Song, Election of 1800, in which Hamilton openly supports Thomas Jefferson to become president instead of Burr after the electoral tie between the two candidates. The tension that has been growing throughout the entire musical has climaxed at that point and then the infamous duel is set. All the letters that are written to each other during the song are ended with, “your Obedient Servant,” to add humor and also a reference to the actual series of five letters sent in 1804. While this makes for fantastic theatre, it is not completely accurate. Part of what makes Lin Manuel Miranda’s writing so compelling is that he takes Aaron Burr and makes him more dimensional than the man who killed Alexander Hamilton. However, the actual exchanged letters that the song is based off of show the tension breaking by a small incident, not directly relating to the presidential race, and do not actually set the terms of the duel.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton divulges the human need to have a purpose and the transformative journey in obtaining it. The musical follows one of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, from the time he was a young boy to the successful creator of the national banking system. Hamilton encounters many challenges, both environmental and internal, in his lifetime, while also acquiring long-time foe, Aaron Burr, in America. Alexander Hamilton’s character develops as a hard-working, honest man that transforms into a conniving individual in order to pass his legislation and scale up the political totem pole. Aaron Burr’s jealousy of Hamilton’s progress instigates a transformation in his quietest character.
Musicals were originally developed in the 20th century with the purpose to entertain, however, they have surpassed this and have accomplished to entwine with the emotions of an audience group through the manipulation of certain musical elements. One of the musicals that correspond to an unadulterated musical is The Wicked. The wicked is based on a book by Winnie Holzman with the Music and Lyrics written by Stephen Schwartz. The musical focuses on the basis of an unlikely friendship and who struggle with opposing viewpoints, personalities and rivalry. This friendship is shown through the pop melodies with an addition of sophisticated musical theatre song construction.
In 1984 Andrew Lloyd Webber, transformed the original The Phantom of the Opera novel (written in 1911 by Gaston Leroux) into a dialogic, emotional masterpiece. The prologue starts at the end of the story, in an auction in the Paris Opera House, in 1905. Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny is buying a papier-mâché music box,
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.