Musical Theatre History

In the 1920’s, musical theater was “roaring” just like the economic situation in the United States. Florenz Ziegfeld was at his peak, buying shows and catapulting them to the forefront of pop culture. The most popular songs on the radio were songs that were written and performed in broadway shows.

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.

In 1943, the musical Oklahoma!, by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, influenced the artistic style of American musical theatre. The integration of music, book, dance, and design provided a new foundation for the future of Broadway. The musical illustrates the 1940s lifestyle by capturing the essence of rural America during World War II. Americans were at their rock bottom, as the Great Depression wiped them of all things good. Additionally, some of the most vivid and abrupt changes in the history of American civilization occurred, reshaping society forever. America at war and eight million Americans unemployed in the continuing depression, feared for safety of loved ones abroad fighting for freedom. These things affected American life intensely in 1940s. (Brinkley, 1994). Fortunately, Oklahoma! gave people the opportunity to escape from the real world for the duration of the show.

Newsies, a classic musical based on the late 1800’s is a very entertaining and family friendly musical-- except for the few profane words. On a cloudy, partially rainy saturday morning, I laid out on the couch and watched the movie from the comfort of my own home. I was hesitant to watch this movie because I am not much of a musical person. About midway through I found myself at the edge of my seat hypnotized by the movie. As the movie drew to an end, I was completely sucked in and waited for something more. The movie I so dreadfully did not want to watch became something I did not want to end.  In this movie the director and composer correlated their scenes and music perfectly together to touch the thoughts and emotions of the audience watching.

Jukebox musicals began in film and later shifted to theatre. They had begun to make theatre more popular with the public, which had begun to gravitate towards film and music. By combining the two, they gain some of the same as well as a whole new audience. I will discuss how this came to be by speaking of the shift that occurred.

Musicals are a very unique type of genre intended to give off good vibe, happiness and joy to the audience and to anyone who watches them. Countless amount of musicals have been created since their first introduction, but the one piece of film that really stands out was a classic called Singing in the Rain (1952) directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, and has been considered one of the most loved and celebrated film in the history of it’s genre. But a lot has changed since the introduction of this classical movie and in this present generation we have pieces like La La Land (2016) directed by Damian Chazelle, which has won many recognisable awards, such as “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role”, and “Best Motion Picture of the Year” and many more. But what makes these two particular films different

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 musical film has always held a special place for me. From my time as a drama student in high school, my eyes have been opened to the amazing world of the musical and especially the musical film. The musical film is a film genre in which the characters sing songs that are integrated into the overall story. Since musicals first began in theaters, musical films usually contain similar elements. These elements often simulate that there is a live audience watching. In a sense, the film viewers become the audience members, at a theater production, as the actor performs directly to them. Due to the popularity of musicals in the theater, the style was quickly brought over into film. In 1927, the musical film genre began

“Social Issues in Theatre” How has theatre reflected social issues throughout time? Olivia Little W.B. Ray High School Candidate Number: 006241-0009 Session: May 2015 Category: Theatre Supervisor: Mr. James Stroud Word Count: 3,092 Citation Style: MLA Abstract

When the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) strengthened its audience, the project proceeded to be broken down by the Depression.The FTP requested “free, adult uncensored theatre”. The plays had social and economic themes. That offended most of the political people because the FTP was funded by the government. First and foremost out of all people the decided to impersonate

A musical film is a genre of movie where songs sung by characters are added into the storyline, occasionally complemented by choreography. The musical numbers in these films do not always develop the plot and characters, but they do give the films a more exciting quality. The primary difference between musical theatre and film musicals is the use of extravagant scenery that would be extraordinarily unreasonable for a stage performance. While making movies, the individuals involved have the luxury of being able to shoot multiple takes and have the time to move backgrounds around or change their entire location. Stage performances, on the other hand, must have scenery that can be easily and efficiently moved on and offstage when it is needed. In order to be able to thoroughly comprehend this relatively recent- in the grand scheme of things- form of entertainment, one should understand the history behind these musical films, be aware of some of the “big names” that are well-known, and recognize major titles that revolutionized musical film forever (Scaruffi, P., 2005).

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.

The nineteen twenties’ film “ The Jazz Singer” is not entertaining to a modern audience, due to the contrasting values portrayed within the film, which differ from those in modern society. Ninety years after the film was released, much has changed in popular culture. Our population is much more fast paced, liberal, and enticed with audio and visual effects. “The Jazz Singer” is a silent, black and white film. As a result, the film is unappealing to contemporary audiences, who much prefer an action driven film, which include explosions and sexualized story lines.

These past two weeks, while the theatre has been relatively calm, I chose three different pieces of media in order to delve further into my theater knowledge. The first of which is "Waiting for Guffman", a mockumentary on the beginning of a theater company in Blaine, Missouri. The town's resident director, Corky St. Clair, and the amateur cast of a corny small-town musical production go overboard when they hear that Mr. Guffman, representative of the prestigious New York based Oppenheimer Organization, will be in attendance. This film was a suggestion from my mentor, Ms. Hawkins, because it relates to many of the experiences I've had in my third space. For example, the cast have to go around town promoting the show in order to get people to

Musical Theatre is an art that I always envisioned myself pursing at the collegiate level and what I want to make a career out of as well. My perfect musical theatre program that I would want, would be a program that would help me to achieve a better understanding of who I am as a musical theatre artist first and then hopefully I can expand my artistic goals and further develop myself through whichever institution that I am attending. The musical theatre training that I have received in high school through my creative arts high school New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) whether its been in dance, vocal, acting, or the productions that I have been cast