Musical theatre

Allison Atkenson Kevin Long Musical Theatre History December 16, 2015 Issues confronted At the start of the year my classmates and I were asked to define the true purpose of theatre. Our responses ranged from “a combination of song and spectacle” to “emotions communicated through spoken word, music, and movement.” But overall, we concluded it was an art form that was meant to both teach and entertain. Musical theatre has and will likely forever remain a vehicle to discuss societal issues and controversial topics. Furthermore, musical theatre has evolved a long way from some of its earliest beginnings, Minstrel shows: a form in which burnt cork was applied to the face in mock of African Americans. This “black face” was an attempt to conform…

Victor Herbert (1859-1924). At age 19 he had played as a cellist with every major orchestra in Germany. He was one of the greatest influences on American theater, bringing it from vaudeville to more operatic, story-based works. His first composition which showed he was a reputable composer was his Suite for Cello and Orchestra, Op.3. Herbert’s works were known for their mix of European Romanticism and American Tradition. He also worked as the composer of the first original background film score…

How boring would life be without musical theatre entertainment? I can answer that—boring. Entertainment in this industry has proved the world that musical theatre is just as amusing as a football event played on the weekends. Acquiring a job in this field can be difficult, but with hard work it can be done. Musical theatre has been around for a long time and has changed over decades. Entertainment in this industry started in the nineteenth century and still thrives today. It started off…

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…

‘’A musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines song, spoken dialogue , acting, and dancing. The story and emotional content of a musical-humor, pathos, love, anger-are communicated through the words, music movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and…

History of Musical Theatre When people imagine Musicals they think of Big Broadway lights shining down on people singing and acting but most do not know the story behind the curtains you see. People wouldn't’ ever first think of Athens on a hill in the fifth century B.C.E. Musical Theatre started as a unpopular idea but over the years it started to grow into a world wide famous reputation. A musical is a well written play that makes living art forms in dialogues that include music and…

My Place The seats are filled, my mic is on, let’s do this! Stepping into the light I open my mouth to let the music flow out. I see it bounce off the walls while I belt out the notes. This is the my favorite place in the world, it has been since I was a little girl. This is the place where I learned that the stage was the place for me. Imagine a little girl who knows nothing about musical theater. Her aunt takes her to see a musical one brisk fall evening. The air is crisp and cool and the…

There is a line in the musical Spamalot where Sir Robin sings to King Arthur; “In any great adventure, if you don 't want to lose ... you won 't succeed on Broadway if you don 't have any Jews!" (PBS, Broadway Musicals). If you can look past the sweeping generalization, Sir Robin’s surprising lyric turns out to be very true about musicals. Historians have recognized that Jewish immigrant culture heavily influenced the content of musical theatre when it was popularized in America during the early…

Being Black and Pursuing Musical Theatre Imagine yourself in kindergarten and having your teacher ask you “What do you want to be when you grow up”? From a young age, my answer was always different each time someone asked me about my potential career. I wanted to be a professional dancer, a hair stylist, an author, and so much more. As I grew older, I discovered a career where I could be all of these things onstage. I was twelve when I first introduced the idea of pursuing musical theatre in…

Musical Theatre is a term that most people in today's society would recognize. Referring to stage productions fueled by song, dance and often a thriving plot, musicals can bring out emotions in humans, from joy to sorrow. However, it has taken years for theatre to become what it is today. The 1920's especially, with its boom years, elaborate creations and even struggles and controversies, was the peak of musical theatre and it is clear today to see everything the population has developed from…