Musical Theatre Styles

• Revue: A series of short stories linked by a minimal common thread like music, dance, and sketches, exemplified by "The Band Wagon," "Ziegfeld Follies," and "Side by Side" (Sondheim).
• Book Musical: A show that uses songs to drive the narrative; the script is called the libretto, with examples like "The King and I," "My Fair Lady," and "The Sound of Music."
• Operetta: Characterized by strong musicality, and integrity, artificial plots, exaggerated characters, romance, life and death, and high stakes, such as "Oklahoma!," "Kismet," and "A Little Night Music."
• Musical Comedy: Marked by colloquial musicality, throwing in a song, quotation (everyday concerns), incoherent stories, and comedic everyday characters, exemplified by "The Play That Goes Wrong," "Little Me," and "Avenue Q."
• Concept Musical: Focuses on leaving the audience with a message or theme, which is more important than the story itself, often using experimental structures, as seen in "Cabaret," "Company," and "Man of La Mancha."
• Rock Musical: Employs rock music to carry the narrative, including "Hair," "We Will Rock You," and "Passing Strange."
• Megamusical: A large-scale, high-budget production designed for profit, like "Phantom of the Opera," "Les Misérables," and "Cats."
• Jukebox Musical: Uses pop music to carry the narrative, such as "Mamma Mia," "& Juliet," and "Moulin Rouge."

Musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein

• Notable works include "Oklahoma," "Carousel," "State Fair," "Allegro," "South Pacific," "The King and I," "Me and Juliet," "Pipe Dream," "Cinderella," "Flower Drum Song," "The Sound of Music," and "A Grand Night for Singing."

Broadway Musicals by Steven Sondheim

• Includes "Anyone Can Whistle," "Company," "Do I Hear a Waltz," "Evening Primrose," "Follies," "The Frogs," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," "Gypsy," "Here We Are," "Into the Woods," "A Little Night Music," "Marry Me a Little," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Pacific Overtures," "Passion," "Sweeney Todd," "West Side Story," and "Sunday in the Park with George."

Key Figures in Musical Theatre

• Elisabeth Marbury: A lesbian director who aimed to create refined chorus girls, viewing musical theatre as a social product for women.
• Otto Harbach: A mentor to Hammerstein who started as a college professor in the 1880s, teaching structure and using it to create dramatic coherence in musical theatre through characters singing from their point of view.
• Hassard Short: Transitioned from actor to director, pioneering technology with the first lighting bridge in 1921 and the revolving stage in 1931; also known for revues, including "Lady in the Dark."
• Yip Harburg: The writer of "Wizard of Oz" and "Flahooney" (1951); as a Marxist, he was interested in creating satire with a political flavor.
• Larry Hart: Known for using colloquial, everyday language in his lyrics, praised for wit and technical sophistication, pre-Hammerstein.
• Rouben Mamoulian: Studied with Stanislavski; aimed for a clearer narrative with fluidity, exemplified in "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel."
• George Abbott: A musical comedy director known for farce, works include "Damn Yankees," "Once Upon a Mattress," "Call Me Madam," and "Pajama Game."
• Agnes de Mille: A choreographer-director who sought to find storytelling within dance and created the concept of a dream ballet; works include "Oklahoma!," "Carousel," and "Allegro."
• Gower Champion: A choreographer-director who used physicality within performance; works include "Hello, Dolly!" and "Bye Bye Birdie."
• Bob Fosse: A choreographer-director known for physical energy in dance, creating musicals with dance coming from a dancer's sensibility; works include "Chicago," "Sweet Charity," and "Pippin."
• Jerome Robbins: Emphasized movement as essential to the show and driving the narrative; works include "West Side Story," "The King and I," and "Gypsy."
• Hal Prince: Worked alongside Sondheim, aiming for a sense of concept without overwhelming; works include "Cabaret," "Sweeney Todd," and "Phantom," with "Cabaret" addressing fascism and capitalism.
• Michael Bennett: A choreographer-director whose choreography was motivated by form and distinct characters; died of AIDS, known for an artistic mind; works include "A Chorus Line," "Dreamgirls," "Company," and "Follies."
• Cheryl Crawford: A producer in the 1930s-50s who began as a stage manager and produced artsy shows like "The Golden Apple" and "Porgy and Bess," focusing on projects without commercial opportunities.
• David Merrick: A theatre producer known for "Hello, Dolly!" and "Gypsy," famously intimidating men; a brilliant strategist named "The Abominable Showman" who found people with the same names as critics to give reviews.
• George C. Wolfe: An African American director who brought racial dynamics of minstrelsy to the forefront; re-did "Showboat" and "Hello, Dolly."
• Wright & Forrest: Adapted music from classical composers to bring it to the stage, such as "Strange Music" from "Songs of Norway" and "Stranger in Paradise" from "Kismet."
• Sissle & Blake: Co-created "Shuffle Along" (1921), a musical comedy that broke from caricatured imagery of blackface minstrelsy to restore authentic Black artistry.
• Goddard Lieberson: Introduced the LP, improving narrative flow with completed songs in albums (ex: "South Pacific," "Kiss Me Kate").
• Boris Aronson: Believed sets should vary, hold mood, fuse color and form, and be beautiful; sets are complete when actors move through them (ex: "Cabaret").

Iconic Roles in Musicals

• Carol Channing: Dolly in "Hello, Dolly!"
• Ethel Merman: Rose in "Gypsy"
• Mary Martin: Nellie Forbush in "South Pacific"
• Robert Preston: Harold Hill in "The Music Man"
• Alfred Drake: Curly in "Oklahoma!"
• Chita Rivera: Anita in "West Side Story"
• Gwen Verdon: Lola in "Damn Yankees"
• Paul Robeson: Joe in "Show Boat"
• John Raitt: Billy Bigelow in "Carousel"
• Elaine Stritch: Joanne in "Company"
• Dolores Gray: Annie Oakley in "Annie Get Your Gun"
• Angela Lansbury: Mame Dennis in "Mame"
• Leslie Uggams: Mimi in "Hallelujah, Baby!"
• Pearl Bailey: Dolly in "Hello, Dolly!"
• Dorothy Loudon: Miss Hannigan in "Annie"
• Patti LuPone: Rose in "Gypsy"
• Bernadette Peters: Rose in "Gypsy"
• Rex Harrison: Professor Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady"
• Richard Kiley: Don Quixote in "Man of La Mancha"
• Jerry Orbach: Billy Flynn in "Chicago"

The Black Crook and Floradora

• "Floradora" (1900): Featured performers of identical height and weight, creating an unprecedented direct connection with the audience and presenting women for reaction; elevated the "chorus girl" while still depicting her as a potentially scandalous figure.
• "The Black Crook" (1866): Is considered the first musical by some becuase it was the first time when ballet dancers, instead of freezing, moved ballet dancers moved. Written by Charles Barras. The actors died so the ballet dancers had to step in.

Burlesque in Musical Theatre

• Burlesque originated as a sexualized theatrical form in the 19th century, contributing satire, physical comedy, and sensuality in a vaudeville style, Golden age examples include "Ziegfeld Follies" and "Chicago." "Anything Goes" (1934) used clever lyrics and suggestive humor. "Guys and Dolls" (1950) uses playful and risque situations. "Moulin Rouge" and Chicago: Idolizing dangerous and sexual lifestyles.

What is Burlesque?

• 19th-century entertainment that combines satire, music, comedy, dance, and sexuality. British burlesque parodied opera and literature. American Burlesque added striptease, vaudeville, working-class appeal

Musicals influenced by Burlesque

• "Gypsy" (1959): A story of Gypsy Rose Lee, shows behind-the-scenes Burlesque, song "Let Me Entertain You" evolves from innocent to seductive
• "Chicago" (1959): Styled like vaudeville/burlesque acts, satire of crime and fame, uses performance and sexuality for manipulation.
• "Cabaret" (1966): Set in a Berlin nightclub, blends sexual themes and political commentary, the Emcee embodies provocative tones.
• "The Rocky Horror Show" (1973): Satirical, gender-fluid burlesque that mixes sci-fi, horror, rock, and drag performance. "Burlesque" (2010): Direct homage to burlesque featuring empowering themes and performance routines.

Legacy of Burlesque in Musical Theatre

• Combines satire and spectacle, empowers characters to improve performance, influences choreography, expresses sexuality, identity, and political critique.

Minstrelsy's Influence on Musicals

• Minstrelsy (19th century): Comedic sketches, tap dance, and scenes with "black, yellow, and red faces". Rural societies romanticize it because industrialiazation occured, and fantasies of blackness seemed attractive. Impact can be seen in development of musical styles in ragtime and jazz and shows such as "The Black Crook" and "Showboat"
• "Porgy and Bess," incorporated African American music but lyrics portray African American life without blackface stereotypes.
• "The Wiz" utilizes African-American musical styles including R&B and gospel.
• Minstrelsy shaped performance styles, comic formats, song traditions. Musical and dance forms (cakewalk, tap) evolved into vaudeville, early Broadway. Many shows (ex: Scottsboro Boys) challenge or subvert the legacy.

Challenging Musicals vs. Operas

• "Phantom of the Opera": Features operatic style vocals and orchestration
• "Les Misérables:" A sung-through musical with operatic vocals, instrumentation.
• "Sweeney Todd:" Continuous music and vocal demands.
• "West Side Story:" Classic music and operatic technique.
• "Evita:" Sung with operatic lines/dramatic scope
• All feature use of leitmotifs, complex/ensemble writing, Grand/tragic themes, minimal dialogue.

Relationship Between Musicals and History

• "Lady in the Dark" & "Oklahoma!": Powerful women w/ problems resolve and settling with men.
• Links to World War: Addressed the energies of liberties in women.
• 80's Mega Musicals: Show the small feeling of people being around the infrastructure.