Final Vocab

Question 1

The Shuberts

Answer 1

3 brothers, Lee, Sam, Jacob - Producing organization - own 17 Broadway Theatres

Question 2

Melodrama

Answer 2

a genre which aims to emphasize emotion - one characteristic is stock characters/stereotypes

Question 3

Vaudeville

Answer 3

a genre of theatrical entertainment that consists of multiple, unrelated acts - a variety show

Question 4

Actor’s Equity Association

Answer 4

American labor union that represents Actors and Stage Managers in live performance

Question 5

Tin Pan Alley

Answer 5

collection of NY song writers/publishers who dominated in the early 20th century - name is reference to the sound of many pianos compared to banging on tin pans

Question 6

The Nederlander Organization

Answer 6

largest operator of theatre and music venues in the US - Owns 9 Broadway Theatres (among many other theatres in other parts of the US)

Question 7

ASCAP

Answer 7

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, protects the copy and licensing rights of musical artists (particularly in live performance); they collect a fee when someone wants to do a song and pay the artists a royalty

Question 8

George M. Cohan

Answer 8

composer/lyricist/actor/playwright/performer/producer (mainly writer, producer, performer); known for his extreme American patriotism and understanding of the national identity; one of the early members of ASCAP

Question 9

Provincetown Players

Answer 9

group of writers and artists who went vacationing in Provincetown, Massachusetts to present their plays on the veranda of a cottage; PURPOSE: provide a venue for American playwrights and new plays (outside of the commercial theatre

Question 10

The Pulitzer Prize

Answer 10

award for achievements in 5 categories (newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the US); win a certificate /$15,000 cash prize

Question 11

American Theatre Wing

Answer 11

NYC-based organization “dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre” according to the mission statement; Jonathan Larson grant to support young playwrights

Question 12

The Theatre Guild

Answer 12

NY Theatrical society whose original purpose was to produce NON-COMMERCIAL works by American and FOREIGN playwrights; produced PORGY & BESS and OKLAHOMA!

Question 13

Burlesque

Answer 13

genre of variety show entertainment featuring female striptease and bawdy comedy; an older definition exists in the realm of parody/mockery

Question 14

The West End

Answer 14

theatre district in Central/West London - name was establishes to distinguish the nice parts of London

Question 15

The Hairy Ape

Answer 15

A 1992 expressionist play by Eugene O’Neil about a steamship laborer searching for a sense of belonging in industrial America

Question 16

Showboat

Answer 16

the first book musical (to merge singing, dancing, acting with plot/character) by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern; about a performing troupe on a boat; changed musical theater forever but was not capitalized on until 7 years later with the creation of OKLAHOMA

Question 17

The Broadway League

Answer 17

league for owners, operators, producers, and general managers; the national trade association for Broadway theatre; founded to prevent ticket scalping

Question 18

Anything Goes

Answer 18

musical with music/lyrics by Cole Porter; story follows madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from NY to London

Question 19

The Group Theatre

Answer 19

theatre collective formed in 1931 by Harold Clurman, Lee Strausberg, and Cheryl Crawford; pioneers of the American acting technique, derived from teachings of Stanislavsky; naturalistic, highly disciplined artistry

Question 20

Waiting for Lefty

Answer 20

1935 play by Clifford Odets; series of vignettes framed by a meeting of cab drivers who are planning a labor strike; first of Odets to be produced by the Group Theatre

Question 21

Harold Clurman

Answer 21

founding member of the Group Theatre; American theatre director and drama critic; directed over 40 plays (including many of those at the Group Theatre like Awake and Sing! By Odets)

Question 22

The Federal Theatre Project

Answer 22

New Deal program to fund theatre and other live artistic performances during the Great Depression

Question 23

Porgy and Bess

Answer 23

English opera by George Gershwin w/ libretto by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin; featured a cast of classically trained AA singers

Question 24

Mulatto

Answer 24

play by Langston Hughes; one of the earliest Broadway plays to combine father-son conflict with race issues

Question 25

You Can’t Take It With You

Answer 25

Comedic play in 3 acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart; won Pulitzer Prize for Drama; one of the top 10 shows produced at school

Question 26

Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre

Answer 26

Independent repertory theatre that company (1937) produced theatrical presentations, radio programs, and motion pictures

Question 27

Our Town

Answer 27

3 act play about people’s everyday lives in a fictional small town in America

Question 28

Pal Joey

Answer 28

Rodger’s and Hart musical that established the bar for dialogue in a musical. Original in 1940

Question 29

Oklahoma!

Answer 29

R+H musical. Was the first musical to have everything driving the plot, costumes, lighting. dance (deMill)

Question 30

A Streetcar Named Desire

Answer 30

play: dramatic - dealt with tough subject matter - abuse/rape

Question 31

The Actor’s Studio

Answer 31

a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights

Question 32

Death of a Salesman

Answer 32

play - won pulitzer prize and Tony Award,