BELL WORK Set up a clean sheet of paper Please Title it “Lerner and Loewe”

LERNER AND LOEWE MUSIC THEATRE GOES INTERNATIONAL

MUSIC THEATRE GOES INTERNATIONAL!!!!!

BIOGRAPHY Frederick “Fritz” Loewe was a German composer who immigrated to America in the early 20’s after World War 1 He had already made his fortune in Germany and was doing well selling a lot of songs here in America as well. It wasn’t until he saw “Oklahoma!” that he realized that he wanted to tackle the American stage

HOW THEY MET For years, he had been searching for the right lyricist, and finally found one in the oddest place. While attending a party at his country club, he was on his way to the bathroom and bumped into Alan Jay Lerner. Yes Lerner and Loewe met in the Loo The two began talking, after their bathroom visit, and were very interested in starting a musical together

WHY MENTION THEY MET IN A COUNTRY CLUB??? WHAT DOES THIS TELL YOU ABOUT THEIR PERSONALITIES IF I TOLD YOU THEY MET IN A COUNTRY CLUB??????

ANSWER They Were Rich! They were used to getting what they want Certain rules didn’t apply to them They were also perfectionists

BECAUSE OF THIS….. It affected their music writing. A lot of these traits seeped into their professional work. You will see this as their writing progresses

THEIR FIRST PROJECT The hardest part of the composing business is getting a good idea that will get you started. But L & L didn’t want a Good idea, they wanted a PERFECT idea, so they took some time to travel the world and ended up in Scotland. While in Scotland, they were inspired by town folklore and began coming up with a story about a town that disappeared for 100 years and would return for 1 day

BRIGADOON The result of this was the Broadway smash hit “Brigadoon” (1947) Perhaps you’ve heard of it spoofed in a popular cartoon? That is the main theme from Brigadoon

THE CONTROVERSY AROUND THIS SHOW Lerner and Loewe, after the show was produced was that they stole the show from a German fable that was passed down for generations that speaks of the exact same thing. To this day, the families of Lerner and Loewe still contend that the story was completely original

L & L THE PERFECTIONISTS Even though the composing team now had a hit under their belt, the working relationship was strained due to the perfectionist attitude of both of the men. This was a blessing and curse How?

ANSWER It was okay for deadlines not to be met, because they were rich and could extend them However, they fought all of the time and insulted the others writing. This caused a “break” from writing together

YEARS OF WORKING TOGETHER Even though the two had to take breaks from writing with each other, they rarely produced a flop because they were perfectionists. Their major works include: Paint Your Wagon-1951 My Fair Lady-1956 Camelot-1960 Gigi-1973

THEIR LEGACY L & L were very similar to R & H in the sense that they had similar writing styles HOWEVER, the biggest difference was that because of Fritz Loewe’s world wide experience, he could adapt his music to match the part of the world their story was set in. Lerner was also gifted in this sense too. L & L made Music Theatre an International Sensation by: 1.Setting shows in different countries making Americans aware of different cultures 2.Starting a trend of bringing their shows over to Europe and other countries that we now call “International Tours”

QUESTIONS Any Questions about Lerner and Loewe?????

HAVE A GREAT SPRING BREAK