Passion And Assassins: The American Musical Theater

The very first theatre production credited with being the first Broadway musical impacted the theatre world in many ways. (The Black Crook, p.1) In the spring of 1866, the Academy of Music in New York City burned to the ground, leaving a troupe of Parisian ballerinas with nowhere to dance. (The Black Crook, p.1) William Wheatley, who was producing playwright Charles M. Barras’s melodrama The Black Crook, approached the dancers and offered them a spot in his show. (The Black Crook, p.1)

Many veteran producers and writers, such as A .L. Erlanger, E. F. Albee, Frederick Proctor, and David Belasco, all died in the early 1930’s, and with them “the creators of Broadway as it existed were passing” (Talkin broadway). As new artists took their place, new shows and ideas about social issues began to take center stage, causing groups like Actor’s Equity to speak out and cause argument over public censorship. Commercial Theaters also didn’t want to produce controversial pieces, so many theater professionals ended up creating their own groups or companies so they could produce the pieces they wanted to. This also allowed them to gain more profit, since they didn’t lose money to a big company. Theater still provided “relief from the world,” but it was more acceptable to discuss what was going on in the world, and musicals were able to discuss even more that dramas “because the appeal was to a far wider spectrum of theater going public”(Musicals101).

In my paper I will be discussing what makes Rent such an extraordinary rock musical, the care that went into creating it, and how it was different from what came before. I will provide analysis of characters and the plot, plus I will be describing the importance and relevance of certain songs.

Theatre and Musical Theatre has been a form of entertainment since before North America was “discovered”. Broadway shows have been dated back to the early 1920’s and 1930’s. By 2016, over 25,000 tickets are sold to Broadway shows in a week. Thousands of people enjoy the shows that are featured on Broadway but have no idea the work and process that brought it to life. The process of getting a show on to Broadway can be broken down into three phases: pre-production, staging, and performance/promotion.

In recent years, the trend on Broadway has been to adapt films and books into musical productions. Mel Brooks found huge success with a musical version of his comedy, The Producers. Off-Broadway plays have also found mainstream success, led by Jonathan Larson's hit show,

The Golden Age began the tradition of transforming classic literature into musical theater. During the 1950s, directors and collaborators took a central role in integrating movement and dance fully into musical theater productions. Many productions emphasized the storytelling power of dance. West Side Story (1957), a musical where dance held an integral part in, was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet to modern-day New York City. Guys and Dolls (1950), My Fair Lady (1956), The Music Man (1957), and Gypsy (1959) were all very influential and successful musicals of that time. The 1950s ended with Roger and Hammerstein’s last hit, The Sound of Music, and with its extremely successful film version, it became one of the most popular musicals in history.

On December 27, 1927 when the premiere of Show Boat opened in the spectacular new Ziegfeld Theater, producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. had brought something new to Broadway. As Katherine Leigh Axtell writes, the show was “neither an operetta nor a musical comedy, neither a vaudeville nor a revue.” For the first time, composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II seamlessly integrated plot, character, music, and dance into a modern musical production -- starting a new genre of musical, which is often called “musical theater” or “book musical.”

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.

Over the course of approximately one-hundred years there has been a discernible metamorphosis within the realm of African-American cinema. African-Americans have overcome the heavy weight of oppression in forms such as of politics, citizenship and most importantly equal human rights. One of the most evident forms that were withheld from African-Americans came in the structure of the performing arts; specifically film. The common population did not allow blacks to drink from the same water fountain let alone share the same television waves or stage. But over time the strength of the expectant black actors and actresses overwhelmed the majority force to stop blacks from appearing on film. For the longest time the performing arts were

African American Theatre has a very dynamic and rich entity which comes from ancient Egyptian practices, and the African background of Greek legends contributed by Shakespeare. While black theatre was in its early stages, plays echoed of the lives they were living. Black American artists were constructing and preforming plays for mixed audiences as early as 1821. The dance and rhythm black people inherited caught the eyes of European audiences. Black theatre involves all sorts of black tradition with ancient stories, mythology, dances, music, and rich practices. It also contributed to the formation of America’s musical comedy acts. Social restrictions that

. Broadway which was the king of entertainment for such along time became replaced by the musical once the country became settled and well appointed after the war. Musicals became part of the American culture and also increased its boundary lines past the Theatre District. Technology also had a major impact on the musical, because it made it easier for folks to see their favorite Broadway performers right from their own living rooms. One of the reasons why I think the musical replaced Broadway is because shows before were focused on the musical comedy, but then all of a sudden musical comedy was dropped which then allowed for their to be a focus on the character development.

The musical, Shultz explains, was written in the Spring of 1890, and although at the beginning was considered scandalous, it is now considered a classic of dramatic literature, as it has influenced and anticipated a lot of other dramatic forms. It is a very influential play even though not well known to mainstream audiences. At the time of its creation it was very reviled and controversial, and because of that it was not given a sage until 1906 in Berlin. After than, the production was banned in many places until 1974, when in England the

In the 2016-2017 season, over 13,000,000 people saw a Broadway show. (CBS New York p. 1) Were you one of them? The Great White Way has been a focal point of American culture for centuries, dating all the back to 1866. Fans of all ages have been left in awe of dazzling costumes, glittering dance numbers, and exquisite scenery. Over the course of American history, Broadway has delighted people from around the world, from the very first Broadway musical The Black Crow to the smash hit Hamilton. History has influenced Broadway in many ways, by breaking racial boundaries, producing timeless musical classics, and creating a culture in America that will never fade.

Most viewers would often find themselves uncomfortable watching a film of characters diagnosed with AIDS. Rent [Musical Live on Broadway, 2008], by Jonathan Larson, is a musical about a group of young adults struggling to pay rent in the, impoverished, East Manhattan, NY. These events Jonathan Larson’s musical is similarly based on the La Bohéme opera composed by Giacomo Puccini. East Manhattan is impoverished with a plethora of homosexual, transvestite, and homeless residents. In the beginning of Act One, the main actors, Roger and Mark, express their irritation after their landlord demands them for rent money. Collin, Roger and Mark’s mutual friend, dates a transvestite named Angel. Mark’s ex-girlfriend, Maureen, is dating another woman, Joanne. Roger dates a dancer named Mimi. These characters, excluding Mark, are diagnosed with the HIV virus and develop a sincere relationship. A traumatic event resonates within the group, realizing that their days are limited because of the HIV virus and Mark will watch the process. This leads them disregard past instances and appreciate the days they have left with each other. Rent’s target audience was aimed at young adults, 18-25, with diverse situations. Rent’s dialogue, music/sound, and events are used to evoke the audience’s emotion evokes joyfulness and remorse for the cast’s by their experiences and diversity. Rent’s dialogue, music/sound, and events evoke the audience to feel cheerful and sympathetic through the diverse groups

According to Joseph Swain in his book The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey, there are a number of