Long-running musical theatre productions

In the early 1940’s, the audience members of the theater knew exactly what they would see at a musical comedy. Defined by the “Follies formula,” the American musical followed a very precise recipe that produces success every time: a chorus line of beautiful women in revealing costumes; jazzy, upbeat tunes; coarse jokes and cheap gags; and a rollicking opening number. Most musicals consisted of great numbers strung together with a decidedly flimsy plot. Even in a more narrative show, irrelevant…

The Lion King is a good adaptation of Hamlet for the following reasons. First the characters were very similar, second what happens to the characters was fairly similar, and lastly in both the kings child was sent away, and they both came back home. I will go more into depth with the following paragraphs. First i think the lion king is a good adaptation of Hamlet because the characters have a lot of similarities such as Mufasa was a great king, and so was the old Hamlet they are both praised…

The Lion King has What? In Margaret Lazarus essay “All’s Not Well in Land of “The Lion King”” she points out all of the all the stereotypes she sees in the movie The Lion King. The stereotypes she talks about are racism, sexual orientation, and feminism. This essay is a summary and response over her essay and all of the stereotypes she points out, using the movie as our evidence. One of the stereotypes Margaret Lazarus states in her essay about the The Lion King is racist. She states in her…

Jonathan Larson, the composer of Rent and Tick, Tick....Boom! Both were musicals released in the early 2000s. The music in these musicals were not entirely an orchestra more of classic rock, which I believed made both movies even better and brought out the storyline even more. Jonathan Larson was born to a Jewish family on February 4, 1960 in White Plains, New York, USA. At a young age he was exposed to performing arts being music and theater. He was very involved in his high school arts…

When it first started, musical theatre wasn’t what we think of today, it wasn’t even called musical theatre. The roots of this art form go all the way back to ancient Greece. In America, however, it goes all the way back to minstrel shows, then vaudeville, follies after that, musical comedy and then finally it developed into what we recognize as musical theatre. This paper will tell a brief history of how musical theatre, or more specifically, Broadway, developed. There’s one prominent person…

incorporation of both theatrical elements and rock music in the musical theatre has matured significantly, which has been notable in the show Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Advocated by Fricke (1998), Hedwig had been by the time the first rock musical that truly rocked. On the one hand, Hedwig serves as a successful model where elements of musical theatre and rock have been harmoniously integrated. For instance, based on only eleven songs of its musical score, the story of Hedwig unfolds in the form…

the orchestra was introduced it wouldn't take long, and I would drop all interest in telling the person next to me all about my new red firetruck. I was mesmerized by the Nutcracker and barely blinked as the stage came to life with color and story. I can even remember the smells – odd for a child, but all my senses were put on high alert as I took it all in. I consciously realize the thread of grace that was so intricate throughout the production, and as I relived those moments as a…

from reality, musicals are often a utopia of wealth and happiness (Belton, 2009). Through dazzling song and dance, they make routine look like pageantry and loneliness feel like individuality. Even the most conservative of musicals transform the everyday into a spectacle, transitioning dramatic tensions into a melodic fanfare. Singing liberates the characters to express themselves in a way that mere words never could, giving them a freedom from the doldrums of reality that moviegoers long for.…

the PGH Science Hall back in September 31, fog and dimmed lights signalled the start of the show, and a dance number to a special rendition of Beep Beep by Juan dela Cruz band, no less, ensued afterwards. Despite the venue being compact, the stage production team was able to maximize it, and produce a set similar to that of a waiting shed in UP Diliman. In addition to the shed, there was also a ‘sari-sari store’ labeled…

Labeling Sleep No More as a commercially minded show they debate whether this show is more concerned with commerciality than its own theatrical production. With its Broadway priced tickets, private event offers which include very expensive drinks and gift shop they focus on getting your money than actually doing their theater. It gets to such a point where the actors reappear and attempt to sell souvenir…