American Musical Theater

Early forms were mostly without plots

á          Minstrel Shows are one contributor

á          Vaudeville: included circus stunts, jugglers, comedy acts, dancing, etc, a variety show

á          Burlesque: also a variety show; began as series of acts, all either ridiculing something or treating something silly with great seriousness; stripteases between these acts, gradually became the most popular part of show

á          Revue: variety show with common theme (but still not plot), e.g. one personÕs popular songs or other organizing theme

á          Ziegfeld Follies created a series of revues over 25+ year period; extravagant staging, costumes etc. Tin Pan Alley composers wrote for revues

Other forms with plots: story told in song, speech, or combination

á          Operetta: A Òlight opera.Ó Imports from Europe; also American operettas. 

á          Gilbert and Sullivan: an English team writing operettas in the late 19th Century.  Extremely popular in US.  Famous examples: HMS Pinafore, The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance. Famous for Patter Songs, with very rapid declamation of multi-syllable words and ridiculous rhymes. 

á          Viennese Operettas were more romantic, not as comical, usually had happy endings.  Johann Strauss Jr. and Franz Lehar were famous composers.

á          American Operettas: mostly written by European-born immigrants to US, e.g. Victor Herbert (Naughty Marietta), Rudolf Friml, and Sigmund Romberg (The Student Prince)

á          Musical Comedies

á          Earliest examples had very scanty plots, but more than Revues,. George M. Cohan began as Vaudeville performer and wrote a number of these early musicals. 

á          Black Musicals succeeded the Minstrel Show; most were between Revue and Musical Comedy; music and texts often by African-Americans (Eubie Blake, William Grant Still), and cast was too.

á          Show Boat with music by Jerome Kern, text by Oscar Hammerstein II broke new ground:

á          Based on a novel by Edna Ferber; a much more involved plot than previous musicals

á          Story was on sensitive subjects; among others, an inter-racial marriage

á          KernÕs music uses recurring melodies associated with specific characters, making the music reinforce the drama

á          Great melodies, including Old Man River. 

á          ÒGolden Age Broadway MusicalsÓ included songs that were popular apart from the show, as well as major dance sequences. Written by musical-writing teams, e.g.

á          Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (1930Õs)

á          Rodgers re-teamed with Oscar Hammerstein II on Oklahoma!, went on to write many of the most popular musicals together, e.g. The King and I, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music. (1940Õs, 50Õs)

á          Alan Jay Lerner (lyricist) and Frederick Lowe teamed up for Brigadoon, Camelot, My Fair Lady.

á          Leonard Bernstein wrote Òcross-overÓ musicals that had characteristics of opera and musical theater; also great dance sequences, e.g. West Side Story. 

á          More Recent Musicals: some attempts to incorporate Rock and other popular styles, but revivals of old shows are more popular than new ones. Stephen Sondheim is the one American stand-out from the late 20th Century; wrote some traditional musicals (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), and some really dark shows (Pacific Overtures, Sweeny Todd).  Also won Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for Sunday in the Park with George.

American Opera:

á          Virgil Thomson: American-born, but primarily educated in Europe.  Four Saints in Three Acts was a collaboration between Thomson and Gertrude Stein, and was conceived in Paris (though premiered in New York).  Stein wrote ÒnonsenseÓ poetry, with emphasis on sound created by the words rather than meaning. 

á          Gershwin: Porgy and Bess was same year as ThomsonÕs opera; based on novel by Du Bose Heyward.  Gershwin researched by going to Charleston SC for a summer, then incorporated musical styles he heard there, e.g. work songs, lullabies, religious songs (shouts etc.). 

á          Gian-Carlo Menotti: Italian born but lived in US most of his life.  Life mate of Samuel Barber.  Wrote numerous operas in English; most famous is Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951), the first opera conceived and commissioned for television.

á          John Adams and Philip Glass are currently writing operas incorporating the Minimalist style of composition.