George And Ira Gershwin: A Broadway Musical

Not only was Duke Ellington well-known for his involvement in jazz during the 1900’s, George Gershwin was also popular during that time. Gershwin was born in Brooklyn in 1898 to a family of immigrants. He left school at the age of 15 in order to work as a “song plugger” (a pianist that demonstrated songs) on Tin Pan Alley (Hingley, 2013). He soon began to write his own pieces, and his first published song was “When You Want ‘Em, You Can’t Get “Em”; although this song was composed of new techniques, he only received five dollars (“George,”

Unlike Hammerstein, Rodgers family was not working in the theatre, but they were real theatre-loving household. By the age of six, he started playing the piano by ear and had began receiving piano lessons. His mother would play music from the shows that they had seen on the piano when her husband brought home the sheet music to sing. Rodgers inherited all of this and quickly adapt to the music and harmony. By 1917, he chose to continue his studies in musical theatre. He looked at Jerome Kern as one of his biggest influences. By 1918, Rodgers was accepted to Columbia University, where he would also write for the school's famous Varsity Show, an annual production. At a Varsity Show, his older brother, Mortimer introduced him to Oscar Hammerstein II, and a friend of Mortimer's introduced him to Lorenz Hart. Rodgers would develop an instant partnership with Hart that would last until Hart's death in 1943. Rodgers started to collaborating with Hart when he was only 16. Rodgers was the composer and Hart was the lyricist. "Manhattan" was their 1925 breakthrough hit, and scores of other songs generated many of today's standard musicals. Together, Rodgers and Hart wrote the music and lyrics for 26 Broadway musicals. When Hart became too ill to write anymore, Rodgers began teaming up with Oscar Hammerstein II. They rocked the musical world with Oklahoma!. After Hammerstein died, Rodgers collaborated with Stephen

Goldberg, Isaac. George Gershwin; a Study in American Music. New York: F. Ungar Pub. 1958. Print.

George Gershwin‘s opera Porgy and Bess is said to have been racist and outdated even in the time that it was written in 1935. There are many aspects of this work that are incorrect and prolong stereotypes about African Americans by depicting them as violent and religious. Gershwin classified this opera as a folk opera, a term which was offensive to African Americans. George Gershwin, arguably a great composer, composed an opera that is considered to be controversial due to its negative representation of African Americans. Porgy and Bess is a cultural artifact and when discussing it we bring up complex issues of race from the time it was written and even to this day in the United States.

The name of the play I watched is called Newsies: A Broadway Musical filmed at Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, CA. This was based on the 1992 musical film with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, and book by Harvey Fierstein. The play was directed by Brett Sullivan and released on February 16, 2017. The show began with a newsboy named Jack Kelly, who dreams about a life that doesn’t consist of living in the streets everyday selling newspapers, although he doesn’t mind that life either. However, one day the company they work for decides to raise the price of the papers by ten cents, causing the newsboys to be enraged.

There are many well-known lyricists and composers, but none of them have left a mark on the theatre world like Rodgers and Hammerstein. The duo produced eleven musicals during their partnership and made an extensive change in musical comedy. They set a new standard that are still followed to this day in musical history.

Oscar Greeley Cladenning Hammerstein II was born in New York City to Alice and William, a Jewish family, on July 12 of 1985. Though William Hammerstein worked at a theater he did not want his son to having anything to do with theater. Hammerstein attended Columbia University from 1912 until 1916, and then went to Columbia Law School for a year. While at school Hammerstein’s father died of Bright’s Disease in June of 1914. Later Hammerstein quiet law school and began to purse the theatre. In 1920 Hammerstein, and his associate Herbach, opened their first play, Always You. He teamed up with Jerome Kern to create Forty Years. Then in 1927 Hammerstein’s very popular Show Boat hit the theatre. Hammerstein’s teamed up with all different people like

George Gershwin, born in Brooklyn, New York on 26 September 1898, was born the second of four children of Morris and Rose Gershovitz, Russians who immigrated to New York in 1891. George and his family lived on Manhattan's lower east side in a poor Jewish community. After settling down in New York, his father changed the family name to Gershvin. It was George who later altered his last name to Gershwin when he entered the professional world of music. Most of his family was not musically talented, but his brother Ira became a wonderful well-known musician.

Similar to Dvorak in his ninth symphony, the idiom that Gershwin employed for his opera was that of the Negro spiritual and folk song. Before composing Porgy and Bess, Gershwin made a trek down to Charleston, South Carolina and some of its outlying island communities with the purpose of studying “rural African American” culture. It was there that he became immersed in the music of that community and it was there that he garnered his inspiration for the opera’s score. Again harkening to the traditions of the European masters, Gershwin decided against the note-for-note transcription of the songs he had heard, but rather used them as inspiration for a continuous musical narrative of folk-inspired themes. Thus, we arrive at the term “folk opera.” Gershwin’s use of African American folk material in the composition of an opera gave rise to the literal terminology

George Gershwin (b Brooklyn, NY, 26 Sept 1898; d Hollywood, CA, 11 July 1937). He is an American composer, pianist, and conductor. He began his career as a song plugger in New York’s Tin Pan Alley; by the time he was 20 he had established himself as a composer of Broadway shows. Gershwin wrote the “Folk Opera” Porgy And Bess in three acts and published it in New York, Alvin Theatre, on October10, 1935. DuBose Heyward wrote the libretto text after his publication of novel Porgy (1925); Heyward and Ira Gershwin wrote the lyric. Porgy and Bess was one of Gershwin’s most popular musical works, nourished by his long held interest

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is a song from the British rock band, Queen. Queen is one of my favorite bands, and my favorite song from them is “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It is one of my favorite songs, because of its range of different music and the story the song tells. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a single from the album, A Night at the Opera. The song was released October 31, 1975.

Musicals use the songs in them to further the plot and story. The music gives the audience insight into what the character is felling, what their background is or what is happening. In the musical The Countess of Storyville, there are multiple songs that help to further the story and push the plot along. Out of the numerous numbers, I have chosen three that I think make this musical ideal.

According to Rick Altman, American folk musicals have essential components: idealized depiction of ‘America,’ merge of past and present, depiction of the family, home, or community, and secondary conflict between two groups. Likewise, the Broadway musical In the Heights depicts the pursuit of “American dreams” and “home” as well. Therefore, audiences and readers start to question that if Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría’s In the Heights is a typical American folk musical that Altman describes or not. Thus, I will use evidence of songs, plots, and lyrics from In the Heights to prove that this musical piece partially fulfills Altman’s definition of American folk musicals.

Rhapsody & Rhythm is a captivating multimedia experience celebrating the music of George and Ira Gershwin. A blend of songs and stories with historic photos and film clips provided by the Gershwin Trust will paint a vivid picture of the era that inspired the brothers’ music. Providing musical accompaniment is award-winning pianist and master storyteller Richard Glazier. Songs featured include favorites such as “‘S Wonderful”, “Summertime”, “I Got Rhythm”, and “They Can’t Take That Away from

As the 1960’s came to a close, Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince joined forces to create a milestone in the development of American musical theater titled Company. Although the musical did not have a strong plot or much character growth, the musical had something new that audiences had never seen before. Together, Prince and Sondheim created the concept musical, which had a profound effect on Broadway for years to come. Through research, I will travel back to the beginning stages of Sondheim and Prince’s start of the concept musical, then venture to the 1970’s collaborations, and finally look to the effects that the concept musical had for the future creators.