Musicals Day ’s – 1940’s

Musical Comedies 1 Light hearted, often with forgettable plots “Musical Standards” – Individual songs that have stood the test of time even though the shows did not. Gershwin Brothers – Girl Crazy. (song “I Got Rhythm”) Cole Porter – Anything Goes (song “Anything Goes”) Major role that firmly established Ethel Merman)

Musical Comedy 2 Rodgers and Hart – Songwriting team Babes in Arms – Song (standard) – My Funny Valentine Boys from Syracuse – Sing for your Supper

Golden Era The era between 1940 and 1960 where musicals popularity were at their height Shows began to have longer runs Even with “talkies”, this was still a major form of entertainment Oklahoma...nuff said (okay, we will find out on the next slide)

Rodgers and Hammerstein Richard Rodgers (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) Songwriting team created some of the most prolific and well loved musicals in history Oklahoma – what was started by Showboat (changed to serious musicals) by tightly integrating all the aspects of musical theatre, with a cohesive plot, songs that furthered the action of the story, and featured dream ballets and other dances that advanced the plot and developed the characters, rather than using dance as an excuse to parade scantily clad women across the stage. ( Agnes DeMille (choreographer), dance as the third component of musical theater. Similar idea to what Wagner was trying to do with opera Show ran over 2,000 performances Song – Oh What A Beautiful Morning

R + H 2 Other works by R+H included – Carousel (1945) – dealt with spousal abuse, suicide, and the afterlife Song (You’ll Never Walk Alone) – South Pacific (1949) - racial issues - Pulitzer Song (Some Enchanted Evening) – The King and I (1951) – The Sound of Music (1959) – rise of the Nazi party – Tell story of Carousel and South Pacific

40’s continued 1939 – Wizard of Oz – song (Over the Rainbow) R + H opened up the opportunities for many other shows/stories...and shows ran longer Annie Get Your Gun – Irving Berlin – Star vehicle for Ethel Merman Finnian’s Rainbow – Yip Harborough – Racist senator gets turned into a black man by a leprechaun Kiss Me Kate – Cole Porter

1950’s Musicals continued to explore more challenging issues and time periods. Popular standards and shows that have had many revivals appeared during this era. Guys and Dolls (1950) – Frank Loesser My Fair Lady (1956) – Lerner and Lowe – Based on Pygmalion by Shaw – Star Vehicle for Julie Andrews – The Rain in Spain falls Gently on the Plain Movie Musicals start to become made and sell out at the box office.

1950’s part 2 West Side Story loses 1957 the Tony Award (musical theater most major award) to The Music Man by Frank Loesser Choreographer v. Director begins to blur the line – Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Michael Bennett. Gypsy (1959) – Story of death of vaudeville. Written as vehicle for aging Merman – Music by Julie Styne, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (suggested by Hammerstein) – Story of overbearing stage mother and her saga with her children – Songs to know – “Roses Turn”

Bernstein Born in 1918, was best known as a conductor of the NY Philharmonic as well as classical composer and musical composer 1944 – On the Town – sailors in NYC for just one day...hijinks ensue Wonderful Town 1957 – West Side Story

West Side Story Originally meant to be Jews and Catholics (East Side Story) Modernized retelling of Romeo and Juliet Incredibly dance heavy show (choreography and direction by Jerome Robbins) All music based upon the idea of the tri-tone (tension throughout) Acts 1 and 2 end with dead bodies on stage What is the moral...what do we learn? Hate is learned Song to Knows – “Mambo”, “Maria”