Musical Of Musicals : The Musical

Broadway was one of the first forms of entertainment. Before there were television programs, or movies, there was Broadway. Broadway originated in New York in 1750, when actor-manager Walter Murray built a theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street. A musical would show about once every weekend. The shows were very male based, and would commonly show a relationship between young boys and their fathers. Women were slowly integrated into Broadway, and as society changed its point of view on women, so did theatre.

During Metropolitan's performance of this musical, there were multiple production elements that stood out: an actor's attitude, improvising

Humorous, energetic, enjoyable and all-around fun, Legally Blonde: The Musical captured my attention from the get-go. This comical yet heartwarming musical portrays the story of a young woman following an ex-love to Harvard Law School only to realize the potential she possessed within herself and in the new life she creates for her own. After viewing this hit Broadway production, I am fascinated with how this theatre play was brought to life on stage with the lighting, sound, spacing and overall entertainment from the cast to the costumes. Altogether, this play is one of my all-time favorite productions and it is one that keeps my attention from the moment it takes off to the closing of the curtain at the end.

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 will be honest with you I had a lot of trouble enjoying the play, like I said the dialect gave me trouble, plus my seats were not that great. I did however like the movie quite a bit, but I realize I am a product of a different generation as well. I have been brought up around TV and movies rather than plays

This show being a musical the actors are dancing during each number. In some numbers there are men wearing around 6 inch heels and short dresses while doing more complicated dance moves than there co-stars in jeans and tennis shoes. Encountering this difficult mix the chorography had to take this into account when coming up the routines that would be done. The music that is created by Cyndi Lauper allows for excellent dance routines that are a mix of upbeat and very slow. The men who were playing the drag queens performed to this music impressively. With the help of the chorography creating a routine that these actors could do with the obstacles that they were faced with, each number turned out perfectly. Not only did the Jerry Mitchel, the director and choreographer, created numbers that worked with the costume department, he also created movements that functioned with the set design. This simple layout created few issues to have the actors move around except for the main staircase in the center of stage. This item could have caused the issue of hiding actors behind it if they were to move there during a scene. If this would have happened the audience could have become confused on were the actor went and if they were suppose to be in another setting. Mitchel made sure this confusion didn’t happen during the show. He kept the staircase a fair space from the background, which allowed actors to

Produced in the midst of the politically troubled 1960s, Hair was quite a departure from the musicals with its counter-culture themes and rock-inspired score. With high energy and a sparse use of costumes and sets, it opened the door for a more aggressive, nontraditional form of musical, compared with the more elaborate song-and-dance shows from the previous decades.

One of the main magic’s of the theatre is for the audience to go into it unaware of what they will see, and exit with a whole new view in mind. This is still possible in jukebox musicals even if the audience member is familiar with some of the songs. Songs, text, and all literature can be interpreted in different ways based on the individual. Theatre is meant for all different people to enjoy. Some may like going to a show featuring songs that their favorite artists wrote or that speak to a memorable time of their life. It becomes a discussion about how the audience can relate to the characters.

Acting was awesome I really saw the actors get into their parts. The actors had moments of emotion portraying the characters personality in the story. The whole musical was very entertaining I watched both acts, found it to have different points of view on how the time in Berlin was for Cliff and Sally. How the Germans and Jew might have been like before World War II. It also showed how it was like to be an individual away from home and not knowing what would happen next. Cliff reminded me of how I would like to travel and meet people for inspiration even if there were differences about how they saw their lives. One of the character that got my attention was Sally she was very funny, serious and had Cliff worried for some reason she had a natural flow of just being herself. The other two characters I really liked was Herr and Fraulein Story it shows how these two were very good friends and slowly started dating and then got married. One was a Jew and the other a German to me it expressed that people did not see it as a bad thing to be with someone who is not from the same background or culture. Even through times that they could not be together they managed to be

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.

Director Ian Leonard put on a smooth and colorful musical with amazing actors and actresses. It was truly different, because of the colors and the small little rotating green “island”

Hamilton: An American Musical retells the story of Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. With the aid of hip-hop and rap, Lin-Manuel Miranda dramatises Hamilton’s struggles and contributions during the American Revolution and the formative years of the United States. It is praised for its breaking of Broadway conventions, compelling characters and their interactions, beautiful musicality, and the progression of its plot. There are many that see this musical masterpiece as Hamilton’s true autobiography. However, it is not an accurate telling of historical events. Hamilton: An American Musical intentionally alters the truth of Hamilton’s tale as it misrepresents the historical figures of America’s birth, falsifies a romantic interest between Angelica Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton, alters details of certain distressing events, and paints the main antagonist, Aaron Burr, as a villain.

The rhythm of the production was extremely fast paced due to the size of the cast and comedy. The costumes helped speeding up the pace with changes

Many people simply show up to musicals and often take the costumes for granted and concentrate only the performance of the actors. Many people don’t realize the

Twentieth century opera and Broadway musicals share the theatrical stage, but have completely differing musical styles. While musical theater and opera hold  their ground as two distinct genres, it can be hypothesized that musical theater emerged from opera. Giacomo Puccini’s operas reign supreme as early twentieth century compositions that can equate to Stephen Sondheim’s, Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s, and other dramatic musicals of the latter half of the twentieth century.