Jukebox Musicals Essay

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.

Reading these alien terms through its application in musical theater gave me a better understanding and at the same time shattered my susceptive way in enjoying a musical. From the stage direction, lyrics, books, and even costume design, I have started to read musicals differently in reference to the class material. I admit that I miss enjoying musical gullibly, but again, I found great joy in critically reading these musicals through a different performative

Many people look at musicals as unrealistic and pointless, mostly because "no one can learn anything by singing and dancing." People who think this way couldn't be more wrong. There are many things to be learned from these masterful musical selections.

Musicals are a wonderful experience for everyone involved. Whether someone is watching the musical, preforming in the musical, or working behind the scenes of the musical, it really turns out to be a magical experience all around. My project was to help out the directors of the musical by guiding students working backstage and by operating the backdrops for the musical. The project is extremely significant to me because I have been volunteering to help out with Middle School East’s musical for years and it feels so great to be able to help out the directors while working with my friends. In this paper I will be touching on what the project is, why I chose to do this project, and what I have learned from completing the project.

Ever since the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and 1930s, the film musical has been a prominent genre. However, up until the end of the “Golden Age” of the film musical, the majority of these musical films produced were geared towards an adult audience to help raise morale during the depression, World War I, and

This musical was a style of presentational acting. The way the Musical of Musicals: The Musical portrayed this form was used whenever the Audience Contriage Brittany Hines asked the on floor stage seaters what plays have they attended, and also what types of musicals they have either been a part of or attended. I felt the pacing was appropriate in most cases, however in some cases I felth that a few of the main stage actors started to rush through long lines, which made it hard to understand clearly. An example was when the Haley Mizelle was singing and was on top of the box when she started singing and dancing then had to switch to talking to Garrett D. Reese she had a hard transition. All the

For many, musical theatre is an experience that not only posses the power of entertainment, but the power of transformation. Masters of music such as Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Berstein, and George Gershwin used music as a theatrical element by which intense emotions and ever changing moods could be expressed. Their beautiful scores are regarded as the most impressive and moving in musical theatre history. Joining them at the top is Andrew Lloyd Webber, a man who through his compositions has enchanted millions of theatre goers not only on West End but around the world.

It is of great importance that a production be cast correctly in order to give a show it’s best chance at being successful. Mrs. Brill aside, the director did an excellent job at casting this musical. Each actor seemed to fit the description of their role perfectly! Costumes were all ideal for the time setting and for the lives they represented. For instance, the Bank’s family had nice suits and dresses, while the housekeep wore older dress clothes. The cast was always strategically placed on stage as to not block anyone out, and to make the scene more visually appealing. Normally, they appeared a bit staggered or in a triangle. This is something that I would have never picked up on had it not been for this class. However, there were a few faulty instances that I did notice. One scene disappointed me and that was when the Bank’s children were standing on the stairs appearing to have a normal conversation, while their mother spoke with Mary Poppins. As soon as Winifred yelled for the children to come meet her, they instantly started shouting and pushing each other down the stairs. I just think it would have been better if they had been behind stage and then called on, rather than jumping from calm to crazy so quickly. Another major indiscretion occurred when Mary Poppins was pulling large objects out of her bag to place in the children’s bedroom. As an audience member, you could clearly see someone lifting the object up from a hole in the stage to make it appear as if they were coming out of the bag. Obviously this was a high school play, so I wasn’t expecting that stunt to be pulled off professionally. However, I still think they could have done a better job at hiding where the object was really entering from. Although there were a few major upsets with the direction of the show, the majority of the time the directing was astonishing. The placement of actors, their facial expressions, tone of voice, and

The first jukebox named ‘’Edison Speaking Phonograph’’ was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in 1889. The jukebox is a device that plays a selected song after a coin is injected. They used to be found in catering occasions such as a Fast food restaurant. The jukebox was already invented in 1889 but became popular around the 1930’s. The Jukebox was most popular in the fifties. In the early fifties manufacturer Seeburg developed the Seeburg M100A. This Jukebox could as first be contain 50 plates and had a new modern design. Shortly thereafter, a new jukebox was added, the first 45-RPM jukebox; The M100B. In the sixties the popularity off the jukebox took off by new entertainment forms, such as the television.

For this project I began by researching the term concept musicals. On many websites there seemed to be controversy as to what exactly this form of theater was. Although there are many variations, all sources seem to accept that concept musicals distracted from the narrative and don’t promote the plot. Also, there were sources that didn't believe Harold prince was the true founder of concept musicals and that he rather found inspiration from other directors such as Bertolt Brecht. Focusing on the theory, I found it important to know the types of musicals. This was because with the ability to compare and contrast these forms I would be able to truly understand what made this

complex. Music, dancing, and costumes all play crucial roles in creating a spectacular performance. In all musicals, music is an obvious essential. Besides being necessary, it’s what makes up a musical. Through the use of music also comes dancing. Dancing and music go hand and hand and it is the dancing in the musical that makes it visually appealing and interesting to the audience. The costumes also help define musical theater. They allow the audience to better understand the setting, place, and time. Although music, dancing, and costumes contribute a lot to the musical, the stories and plots musicals contain also play a role in defining musical theater. Musicals

Modern Musicals are Making a Comeback Music is an eternal source of entertainment that has embedded itself into the film industry over the years to the point of the creation of a genre dedicated to its sole purpose; namely “musicals.” The Australian-born director Baz Luhrmann has broken the stereotypes associated with musicals through the use of unique techniques visible in the films “Australia,” “Moulin Rouge!” and his latest adaptation “the Great Gatsby” in an attempt to emphasise the themes of passion, tragedy and love. The film Australia makes definite use of non-diegetic sounds, primarily through orchestrated items in order to reemphasise not only the themes of oppression and love, but the characteristics within characters such as Sarah Ashley, Nullah and the relationships between them.

The Broadway musical is the product of opera’s evolution in America. Although these two musical genres have key differences between plot and structure, they have many similarities such as voice type and production structure. While it would be uncommon for Broadway stars of 2016 to sing classical music at their solo concerts, this was widely accepted and encouraged of singers in the first half of the 20th century in

Musical theater lets me watch and listen to a story being told that opens your eyes and mind to a life that takes you away from anything that might be bothering you. Before I went to see Dear Evan Hansen, I was stressed with homework’s and being far from home but I got lost in the art the musical that I could only focus and enjoy the play. The theme of this play is acceptance and teen suicide. This plays says and show that people will do anything to be accepted. Evan Hansen never been liked by anybody and his mother who loves him is never around. In this play, Evan Hansen seek acceptance from another family after the death of their kid. He lies to the family about the latter and when he gets accepted by the family, school and internet, he lost connection about his mother who accepted for who he is even before the lie. After the truth came out, he found out that he didn’t need to look for acceptance from far when his mother was always there. In the future I would like to see more great musicals that I can relate to with themes like racial discrimination, political drama and African culture. I would like to see more characters that are popular so that people can go watch theater and benefit from this beautiful form of

As I sat down at dinner with my family, I attempted to research a show that I knew little about. The two-and-a-half-hour musical, “Lost in the Stars” written by Maxwell Anderson, immediately intrigued me, as musicals are my forte. After walking into a semi-crowded Royce Hall (which has been fairly empty at the various shows I have seen), I took my seat, examined the program, and buckled my seat belt for what I expected to be an amazing piece of art. Little did I realize that “musical” was the incorrect term to describe what was basically, an opera. With the substandard acting, uneventful plot and bland appearance, seconds began to feel like minutes and minutes seemed like hours. Although the performers had amazing voices, there is much more to a production than singing and music.