Musicals & Broadway

What is a Musical? The musical, in all its various forms, is very much a living art form. musical: a stage, television or film production utilizing popular-style songs

What is Broadway? Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City.

The Beginnings... In the 1700s there were many stage entertainments, though they were not called musicals. The first English language work that had any lasting value was "The Beggar's Opera" which was done in It was a satirical spoof of the times. This was typical of the type of entertainment one would find until the 1800's.

1800's Musicals, as we know them today, started in the 1800s with the French and Viennese Operettas. The works of Offenbach and Strauss were the first musicals to achieve international popularity. The contemporary Broadway musical, as we know it today, took its form from these operettas and was done in what we call Minstrel Shows. These eventually gave way to a new form of musical known as Vaudeville. It wasn't until 1860 with the success of The Black Crook that the American musical really began to take off. During this time we were treated to the great works of Gilbert and Sullivan from 1871 to 1896.

The Modern Era By the 1930s the American musical had reached popularity never seen before. Popular composers of the time include Rogers and Hart and Cole Porter. By the 40's and 50's some of the greatest musicals were created in what was called the modern era. These musicals included such classics as Oklahoma, Annie Get Your Gun, The King and I, and My Fair Lady.

1960's & 1970's In the 1960s we saw such great musicals like Hello Dolly and Fiddler On The Roof. By the 1970's musical theater had become pretty extravagant with the advances in technology and design. The 70's brought great shows such as A Little Night Music, A Chorus Line, and Sweeney Todd.

1980's & 1990's The 1980s and 1990s saw the influence of European "mega-musicals" or "pop operas," which typically featured a pop-influenced score and had large casts and sets and were identified as much by their notable effects—a falling chandelier (in Phantom), a helicopter landing on stage (in Miss Saigon)—as they were by anything else in the production. Many were based on novels or other works of literature. The most important writers of mega-musicals include the French team of Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, responsible for Les Misérables, which became the longest-running international musical hit in history.

Broadway Broadway is the street in New York that has come to symbolize live theater entertainment throughout the world.

Elements of Musicals Songs Dance Plot Good and Evil Choreography Costumes

Terms to know: BROADWAY: While "Broadway" refers to the central street in New York City's theater district, the term is also used to describe the popular musicals and plays produced there. MUSICAL THEATER: A type of theatrical production that combines music, song, spoken dialogue, and dance to convey a story. Musical-theater influences include opera, operetta, vaudeville, jazz, and popular song. OPERA: A theatrical production that is entirely dependent on the use of singing and orchestral music to present and convey a story. In opera, the words or text are sung rather than spoken, and the music highlights, underscores, and supports the story. Topics of operas ranges from folklore, mythology, history, and religion to poems, plays, and novels.

CHORUS: A groups of singers. The term also refers to a musical selection in which more than one individual performs each voice part. In opera and musical theater, the chorus usually represents collective groups. DUET: In opera and musical theater, a composition for two voices supported by instrumental accompaniment. A duet is often performed by pairs of lovers, but may also be used to express conflict between two characters. ENSEMBLE: In opera and musical theater, a work performed by more than two singers. The term can refer to a trio, a quartet, a quintet, etc. However, it is often used to refer to a sung portion of a work in which multiple characters are expressing different emotions simultaneously or are communicating concern when confronting a difficult situation. ARIA: In opera, a musical work for solo voice that expresses the innermost thoughts and feelings of an operatic character.

PRELUDE: A short instrumental work for orchestra that leads directly, with no pause, into the opening act of an opera or other theater work. Preludes differ from overtures in that they are shorter works, and usually are not works that could be performed independently from the opera for which they were written. OVERTURE: The overture, which originated in opera, is an instrumental or orchestral musical composition that acts as an introduction to an opera or other theater work. The overture often introduces musical themes that will occur later in the performance. INTERLUDE: In opera, instrumental music performed between scenes.

FINALE: The concluding segment of an act or the concluding segment of the entire opera. The finale is often a formal, extended work during which the principal characters have the opportunity to dramatically evolve their situations either to a climactic point or to the completion of the drama. LIBRETTO: The complete text of an opera. It is an Italian term meaning "little book." The libretto was published for opera audiences to enable them to read the text before or during the performance. ACT: Operas and musicals are generally composed and performed in large segments called acts. An act is one segment of the entire performance

Musicals Today