Musical theatre

A1) For this paper I will be covering Phoenix Productions INC DBA Shakespeare From the Heart (SFTH) SFTH began in 1999 when a group of friends wanted to use their love of acting to help raise money for local charities. The group started with people who loved to be on stage and those who had not ever even set foot on a stage. The group had no formal backing and made everything themselves. They built sets out of ply board flats and tarps. Handmade costumes from clothes purchased by the members…

Question #2: Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll's House premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, on December 21, 1879. Considering this date in time, it is obvious that this is the type of work that fueled the avant-garde movement. Not to take anything away from Ibsen’s play, but from the eyes of the Futurists, the characters were mirrors of the audience members, and performed what was ‘expected’ of them in the current male-centric culture. The Norwegian critic Erik Bøgh, writing for newspaper Folkets…

Grease musical was written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey based on students in Rydell high with fun-loving and different personalities. Mainly the play focuses on Sandy, Danny and Danny’s gang as they make their way through senior year of high school. As the show progressed, Sandy is introduced to the show as a new girl in the high school and over the summer Sandy and Danny start having an emotional involvement. While Sandy shares her new school friends about the story of emotional attachment…

Jacques Copeau was born in a well off middle class family in Paris, France. He had always had a love for poetry, theatre, and literature and became acquaintances with some of the theater people and playwrights of his time. He became known as an advocate for theater reform after he was impatient with commercial theater, and was a director, producer, actor, and dramatist. Copeau’s first stage play was Brouillard du Matin at the Nouveau Theater in France. Copeau’s Career Timeline In 1909, he became…

Working a Musical was performed at the Tillie Lewis Theater adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso from the book by Studs Terkel directed by Ashlee Temple. Working a Musical was a play on the American working class which shined light onto the daily lives of the average American worker. It depicted some of the hardships that most of the American public have to endure, but the play also had a few wealthier characters. This play is not about working but rather what America is all about. One of…

creative process while creating his hit musical, Hamilton. The musical utilizes rap music and a diverse cast to tell the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton. Miranda was inspired by Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton, which he read while on vacation in Mexico, which gave him the idea to write Hamilton’s life as a musical. Miranda spent many years working on the music and characters associated with this project. Eventually, he was able to bring the musical to Broadway and see his hard work…

Premiering in 1997, the musical Ragtime, written by the trio of Terrence McNally (Book/Script), Stephen Flaherty (Music), and Lynn Ahrens (Lyrics) was something along the lines of a smash hit. Featuring a star studded cast, with such luminaries as Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, and Audra McDonald, the musical won four Tony Awards and was nominated for 14, including Best Musical. The musical is based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1974 novel Ragtime, a work of historical fiction that has various…

show is about. Whether you like plays and musicals, I’m sure at one point in your life you will see one or hear a song from one. The 1940’s and the 1950’s were a golden age for Broadway. (Gordon, John Steele) The industry was booming. Television wasn’t popular yet, so everybody’s form of entertainment was either on the radio or musicals. Everyone would go to shows. New Yorkers didn’t…

I Am What I Am from La Cages Aux Folles Jerry Herman’s (b. 1931) dazzling score, and message of acceptance, has made the musical La Cages Aux Folles popular with audiences since the show’s opening night at New York’s Palace Theatre on August 21, 1983. Sung by the character of Albin, I Am What I Am, is an anthem about embracing your true self. This was the final piece I sang as a finalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Although I had the love and support of the audience, some on the judging…

In the twentieth century, theatrical representations of A Midsummer Nights Dream (The Dream) underwent a revolution. Leading the breakthrough was Peter Brook’s 1970 production, a challenge to traditional interpretations of Shakespeare’s work. Directors like Robert Lepage (1992) and Tim Supple (2006) followed Peter Brook’s success and explored their own interpretations of The Dream with famous and influential productions. Each of these directors accentuated the contrasts between the play’s…