Module 10: Musical Theatre Flashcards
Time period of Musical Theatre
1950s - today
Stephen Sondheim was a _____ & ______
Composer and Lyricist
Sondheim is regarded as ____
One of the most important figures in 20th century musical theater
What was Sondheim known for
His complex and sophisticated musical style, witty and clever lyrics and a notable exploration of dark and challenging themes
Showboat was a ____
1920s American Hybrid musical that progressed the Musical Theatre Movement
What is a hybrid musical?
A show featuring silly throwaway songs and serious songs
Define Minstrelsy
- Native form Where American Musical Theatre spawned
- Originally featured white actors in blackface performing variety shows
- most popular songs came from minstrelsy (o Susanna)
- even when black actors were included they were also made to put on black face and become caricatures
Vaudeville
Spawned from minstrelsy!
A kind of variety show comprised of musical acts, skits, speciality performance
No need for a unified theme or story
American musical theatre heavily inspired by operetta
Ziegfelds Follies
Kickline-y leggy women for men to perv out to
Series of sketches and popular songs
“Perfect Women”
Tamer version of follies
Who was the producer of the Ziegfelds Follies
Florenz Ziegfeld
Comedy Burlesque
Different from regular burlesque
Musical theatre was big into
Stereotyping
Themes of : Sweeney Todd (1979)
Anti hero trope
Industrialism
Melodrama
Grand Guignol
Does Vaudeville need to have a unified themed or story?
No
Define Operetta
Similar to operas but they are lighter in tone and plot, also includes dialogue
Songs could be removed and the story wouldn’t change
We owe operetta a lot for musical theatre
Who fathered Book Musicals
Jerome Kern
Define Book Musicals (1920s)
The turning point in musical theatre, shows now featured songs that made sense to the plot
Who wrote Showboat
Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein
Importance of showboat
Offered rich roles for African Americans giving them character driven songs
