The Golden Age of Book Musicals

• The Golden Age of the American Book Musical lasted from 1943 to 1964.
• Questions to consider include:
• What the Golden Age was and how it started
• Why it was a significant era
• What major developments and shows occurred during it
• How and when it ended
• The next class will focus on Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Book Musical

• Book Musicals emphasize character and story in contrast to Musical Comedies.
• Book Musicals contain realistic characters and stories.
• In Book Musicals characters are motivated by their desires.
• Book Musicals have plot structures that make sense.
• Book Musicals feature music, lyrics, and dance that are plot-driven.
• Book Musicals feature realistic dialogue.
• Music and lyrics in Book Musicals are influenced by American idioms.
• All these points took place in a different cultural context.

Contrasting Eras: Silver Age vs. Golden Age

• The Silver Age of musicals occurred during the 1920s and 1930s.
• Silver Age musicals consisted of musical comedies.
• Silver Age musicals generally had little concern for the integration of script and score, but Show Boat attempted it.
• The main purpose of Silver Age musicals was entertainment.
• The Golden Age of musicals occurred from 1943 to 1964.
• Golden Age musicals feature Book Musicals.
• Golden Age musicals showed integration of script and score.
• Golden Age musicals provided both entertainment and lessons.

Launch of the Golden Age: Oklahoma! (1943)

• Oklahoma! showed a new, deeper integration of book + song/dance.
• Oklahoma! displays music and dialogue connecting in deeper ways.
• Songs/dance and scenes flow into and out of each other in Oklahoma!
• In Oklahoma! dance plays a role in storytelling, such as the Dream Ballet at the end of Act I.
• Oklahoma! did not introduce a new idea, but a degree of integration.
• Other previous musicals:
• Lady In the Dark (Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin) in 1941
• Pal Joey (Rodgers & Hart) in 1940 Show Boat (Kern & Hammerstein) in 1927
• Oklahoma! launched a new style of writing and caught on almost immediately.
• Oklahoma! changed the way people wrote musicals.

Golden Age Examples, Part 1

• 1944: Mexican Hayride, On the Town
• (Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden & Adolph Green)
• 1946: Annie Get Your Gun, St. Louis Woman
• (Harold Arlen + Johnny Mercer)
• 1947: Street Scene, Brigadoon (Lerner & Loewe), Allegro, Finian's Rainbow
• (Burton Lane + Yip Harburg)
• 1948: Kiss Me, Kate
• 1949: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
• (Jule Styne & Leo Robin), Lost in the Stars, South Pacific
• 1950: Call Me Madam, Guys & Dolls
• (Frank Loesser)
• 1951: The King & I, Two on the Aisle
• (Styne & Comden & Green)

New Writers

• New writers in the late 40s/early 50s included:
• Leonard Bernstein
• Jule Styne
• Frank Loesser
• Lerner & Loewe
• Harold Arlen
• Comden & Green
• New kinds of stories were also present.
• Post-war literary boom
• Many adaptations of novels and plays
• Integration of acting-singing-dancing is the new norm.
• People sing and dance to express big emotions.
• Patterns in writing started to emerge.

Why Sing?

• Singing represents a character experience.
• Singing represents a transition, like "Soliloquy" (Carousel).
• Singing represents realization, like "If I Loved You" (Carousel) or "People Will Say We're In Love" (Oklahoma!).
• Singing represents a decision, like "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" (South Pacific).

Types of Songs in Book Musicals

• Ballad - "Out of My Dreams"
• Charm Song - "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'"
• Comedy Song – “All er Nuthin"
• Musical Scene – “If I Loved You"
• Reprise - repeat of an earlier song because of the story -"People Will Say...", "Oklahoma!"

Song Functions

• "I Am" - character explains how they feel, who they are, or what they are thinking.
• "I Want" - character's deep desire(s).
• The "I AM" song is "What Baking Can Do" in Waitress.
• The "I WANT" song is "My Shot" in Hamilton.

Song Placement

• Overture represents instrumental opening.
• Opening Number sets the tone and tells what the show is about.
• Main "I Want" Song(s) introduces the leading character(s) early in Act I.
• Eleven O'clock Number is about midway-2/3 of the way thru Act II. It is an emotional summation and propels the show to the end.
• Finale is an emotionally satisfying final impression.

Tony Awards History

• Tony Awards celebrate and reward excellence in Broadway theatre.
• The American Theatre Wing created the awards.
• It was originally the Stage Women's War Relief.
• It was founded in 1917 by 7 women – playwrights, directors, and actresses.
• They wanted to raise money via theatre to support WWI troops.
• In 1940: SWWR became the American Theatre Wing.
• Focus was on education and advancement of theatre in service of community.
• Their Professional School was founded by Antoinette Perry. This is where the "Tony" award comes from.
• The first awards took place in 1947.

Golden Age Examples, Part 2

• 1952: New Faces of 1952 (revue), Wish You Were Here (Harold Rome)
• 1953: Can-Can, Me and Juliet, The Boy Friend (Sandy Wilson), Wonderful Town (Bernstein + Comden & Green)
• 1954: Peter Pan (Styne + Comden & Greene & Carolyn Leigh), The Pajama Game (Adler & Ross)
• 1955: Damn Yankees (Adler & Ross), Pipe Dream, Saturday Night (Stephen Sondheim)
• 1956: Bells Are Ringing (Styne + Comden & Green), My Fair Lady (Lerner & Loewe), The Most Happy Fella (Frank Loesser)
• 1957: The Music Man (Meredith Willson), West Side Story (Bernstein & Sondheim)
• 1958: Flower Drum Song (R&H)

Golden Age Examples, 1959-1960

• 1959:
• Fiorello! (Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick)
• Gypsy (Jule Styne & Stephen Sondheim)
• Once Upon a Mattress (Mary Rodgers & Marshall Barer)
• Redhead (Albert Hague & Dorothy Fields)
• The Sound of Music (R&H)
• 1960:
• Bye Bye, Birdie (Charles Strouse & Lee Adams with Michael Stewart)
• Camelot (Lerner & Loewe)
• Oliver! (Lionel Bart)
• The Fantasticks (Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt)
• Wildcat (Cy Coleman & Carolyn Leigh)

New Faces of the Golden Age

• Building & Changing Traditions
• Golden Age of Shows and New Writers + New Style
• 1944: On the Town (Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden & Adolph Green)
• 1946: St. Louis Woman (Harold Arlen + Johnny Mercer)
• 1947: Brigadoon (Lerner & Loewe), Finian's Rainbow (Burton Lane + Yip Harburg)
• 1949: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Jule Styne & Leo Robin)
• 1950: Guys & Dolls (Frank Loesser)
• 1951: Two on the Aisle (Styne and Comden & Green)
• 1952: Wish You Were Here (Harold Rome)
• 1953: The Boy Friend (Sandy Wilson), Wonderful Town (Bernstein + Comden & Green)
• 1954: Peter Pan (Styne + Comden & Greene + Carolyn Leigh), The Pajama Game (Adler & Ross)
• 1955: Damn Yankees (Adler & Ross)
• Leonard Bernstein collaborated with Betty Comden & Adolph Green on On the Town (1944) and Wonderful Town (1953). He also collaborated with Stephen Sondheim on West Side Story (1957).

Jule Styne

• Jule Styne was part of High Button Shoes (1947).
• Jule Styne was part of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949).
• Jule Styne was part of Two On the Aisle (1951).
• Jule Styne was part of Peter Pan (1954).
• Jule Styne was part of Bells Are Ringing (1956).
• Jule Styne was part of Gypsy (1959).
• Jule Styne kept writing into the early 1970s.
• Lerner & Loewe were part of Brigadoon (1947).
• Lerner & Loewe were part of Paint Your Wagon (1951).
• Lerner & Loewe were part of My Fair Lady (1956).
• Lerner & Loewe were part of Camelot (1960).
• Frank Loesser was part of Where's Charley (1948).
• Frank Loesser was part of Guys & Dolls (1950).
• Frank Loesser was part of The Most Happy Fella (1956).
• Frank Loesser was part of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961).
• Meredith Willson was part of The Music Man (1957).
• Meredith Willson was part of The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960).
• Meredith Willson was part of Here's Love (1963).
• Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick were part of The Body Beautiful (1958).
• Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick were part of Fiorello! (1959).
• Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick were part of She Loves Me (1963).
• Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick were part of Fiddler on the Roof (1964).

Golden Age timeline (highlights)

• 1943 - Oklahoma! – Rodgers & Hammerstein
• 1945 - Carousel - Rodgers & Hammerstein
• 1947-Brigadoon – Lerner & Loewe
• 1949 - South Pacific – Rodgers & Hammerstein
• 1950- Guys & Dolls - Loesser
• 1951 - The King & I – Rodgers & Hammerstein
• 1953 - Wonderful Town – Bernstein + Comden & Green
• 1954 – The Pajama Game – Adler & Ross
• 1956 - My Fair Lady – Lerner & Loewe
• 1957 - West Side Story - Bernstein & Sondheim
• 1957 - The Music Man - Willson
• 1959 - Fiorello! - Bock & Harnick
• 1959 - Gypsy - Styne & Sondheim
• 1959 - The Sound of Music - Rodgers & Hammerstein
• 1960-Camelot - Lerner & Loewe
• 1960 - Bye Bye, Birdie – Strouse & Adams
• 1961 - How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – Loesser
• The Golden Age moved into the early 1960s.

Jule Styne

• Jule Styne was a popular songwriter.
• "It's Been a Long, Long Time"
• "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"
• "Saturday Night..."
• Jule Styne was an MT composer.
• Peter Pan (1954)
• Bells Are Ringing (1956)
• Gypsy (1959)
• Funny Girl (1964)

Funny Girl (1964)

• Funny Girl featured Fanny Brice.
• Barbra Streisand acted in Funny Girl.
• Funny Girl has many very famous songs. -"Don't Rain On My Parade" -"People" -"My Man" (film – 1968)

Still writing...

• Frank Loesser:
• Guys & Dolls
• The Most Happy Fella
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• Meredith Willson:
• The Music Man
• Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick:
• Fiorello! (1959) – Pulitzer Prize
• She Loves Me (1963)
• Fiddler on the Roof (1964)

Fiddler on the Roof (1964)

• Fiddler on the Roof starred Zero Mostel.
• Based on stories of Sholem Aleichem.
• The first musical to run over 3000 performances.
• 9 Tonys, had many Broadway revivals and tours, and many international productions.
• Film version - 1971
• Cy Coleman & Carolyn Leigh:
• Wildcat (1960) – Broadway debut.
• Starred Lucille Ball
• Little Me (1962) – FLOP! Revivals have been FLOPS, too!
• He goes on to write many shows Leigh's most lasting contribution may be Peter Pan with Jule Styne
• Jerry Herman was from Jersey City, NJ.
• Jerry Herman had early success in writing for revues and a couple of early 60s flops.
• Jerry Herman had huge hits in the late 60s and early 80s: Mame, La Cage aux Folles...
• Hello, Dolly! (1964) was written for Ethel Merman, but She and Mary Martin turned it down.
• Carol Channing starred.
• Hello Dolly had 10 Tonys including Best Musical.
• It had a record for most Tonys for almost 40 years.
• It ran almost 3000 performances.

Stephen Sondheim

• Stephen Sondheim's parents were divorced.
• Stephen Sondheim had a psychologically and sexually abusive mother.
• He saw Very Warm for May (Kern & Hammerstein, 1939) when he was 9 years old!!
• Sondheim was mentored by "Uncle Oscar”: Taught him how to write musicals and met Harold Prince at the opening night of South Pacific.
• He studied composition at Williams College and goes on to be one of the most important MT writers ever.

Early works by Stephen Sondheim

• Saturday Night (1954) - never happened
• West Side Story (1957) – w Bernstein
• Gypsy (1959) – w Styne
• 1960-Hammerstein dies
• Sondheim does the eulogy
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) (HIT!!)
• Anyone Can Whistle (1964) (NOT a hit!!)

1964

• Hello, Dolly! – January 16th
• Funny Girl - March 26th
• Anyone Can Whistle - April 4th
• Fade Out-Fade In - May 26th
• Fiddler on the Roof - September 22nd
• Golden Boy - October 20th
• Culture
• The Beatles begin their takeover
• 2 of the top 3 movies are Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music
• Lyndon Johnson wins his own term after succeeding JFK upon his assassination
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Vietnam War just starting...