1. History of
Musical Theatre

2. Origins
Ethnic Theatres
Tin Pan Ally
Vaudeville
Burlesque Shows

3. Origins
Tin Pan Ally
Name given to the collection of New York City music publishers
and songwriters.
Established about 1885 when a number of music publishers set up shop in the same district.
The name refers to sound of the many pianos resembling
the banging of tin pans.

4. Origins
Vaudeville
Began as verity entertainment around 1850 and 60s in frontier settlements and urban centers.
Originally catering to only males, as it grew Vaudeville became prime family entertainment around 1881.

5. Origins
Vaudeville
Usually a dozen or more acts that included
Musicians
Acts of physical talent such as contortionists, tumblers, dancers.
Actors performed short plays.
Magicians
Jugglers
Comedy teams became the hallmark by which Vaudeville would forever be remembered.

6. Origins
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a fusion of many different cultural traditions, with influences and performances from English Music halls, American minstrel shows, Yiddish theatre, among others.
Performers would often have a signature act or song that they would perform most nights.

7. Florenze Ziegfeld “Impresario Extraordinaire”
“Details are what makes a show’s personality. I hunt for chances of putting in a laugh or talking out a slow bit. I keep my shows combed, polished and groomed.”
- Ziegfeld

8. Florenze Ziegfeld Born in Chicago, March 15, 1867
Child of German immigrants, his father ran a successful College of
Music
Even as a child he shows a talent for publicity, Used to sell tickets to see
a school, of “invisible fish” that turned out to be nothing more than a glass bowl filled
with water.
Always prided himself on building his shows around the best talent he could find.
Always attempting to build his legend. In later years told people that at age 16 he ran off
with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and beat Annie Oakley in a shooting match in 1883.
But Oakley did not begin touring until 1885.

9. Ziegfeld Follis
In 1893, his father opened a nightclub in an attempt to capitalize on the cities World’s Fair. However, when the club’s mix of music and variety acts failed to attract a crowed, Flo stepped in. He booked Eugene Sandow, a local strongman and staged a massive publicity campaign. This became an instant hit.

10. Ziegfeld Follis First Follies opened July 8, 1907
Follies offered audiences creative visual spectacle, topical comedy, and beautiful girls.
Show ran every day and updated every year.

11. Lavish musical numbers Ziegfeld Follis 2. Comedy routines 3. Tableaus
Follies usually had three parts;
Lavish musical
numbers
2. Comedy routines
3. Tableaus

12. Ziegfeld Follis
Follies embraced glamour and beauty. “Ziegfeld Girls” were regarded as the standard of beauty, often appearing in scanty costumes.

13. George M. Cohan

14. George M. Cohan
Vaudeville song and dance man, playwright, mangers, director, producer, comic, actor, and popular songwriter.
During the first two decades of the 20th century, Cohan’s style of light comedic drama dominated American Theatre.
Fiercely patriotic, Cohan always claimed that he was born on the 4th of July, when in fact he was born on the 3rd in Providence, Rhode Island

15. George M. Cohan
Spent his childhood as part of a vaudevillian family, along with his mother, father, and sister.
By 11, he was writing comedy material and by 13 he was writing songs and lyrics for the act.
In his late teens he began to direct the Four Cohans, which became a major attraction. He also wrote songs and sketches that his family performed, and that he had many of the starring roles.

16. George M. Cohan
His first major hit was his production of “Little Johnny Jones” in 1904, in which he played a jockey accused of cheating. The show included the soon to be classic numbers, “Give My Regards to Broadway” and “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy”

17. George M. Cohan
In 1906, in the show “George Washington, Jr” sang, “You’re a Grand Old Flag”
In 1917, as America was preparing to enter WW1, he wrote “Over There”

18. George M. Cohan Review: Show Little Johnny Jones Songs:
“Give My Regards to Broadway”
“I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy”
“You’re a Grand Old Flag”
“Over There”

19. Jerome Kern

20. Jerome Kern Popular composer of musical theatre
Songs reflected the changing times and styles of
America. departed from the customary waltz-rhythms of European influence and fitted the new American passion for modern dances such as the Fox Trot.
His song “Magic Melody” was the first Broadway show tune with a basic Jazz progression.

21. Jerome Kern
1920, wrote the score for “Sally”, which was staged by Ziegfeld, which ran for 570 performances, one of the longest runs of any Broadway show in the decade.
Featured the song “Look For the Silver Lining”

22. Jerome Kern
By 1925 Kern had grown far less outgoing, far more difficult to work with. He once introduced himself to a producer by saying; “I hear you’re a son of a b****. So am I.”
Rarely collaborated with anyone lyricist for long.

23. Jerome Kern
1925 he joined forces with Oscar Hammerstien II. Their first collaboration was a show called “Sunny” which ran for 517 performances on Broadway, and another 363 in the West End.

24. Jerome Kern Review: Shows Sally Sunny Songs:
“Look for the Silver Lining”

25. the Most Influential Lyricist of the American Theater
Oscar Hammerstein II
the Most Influential Lyricist of the American Theater

26. Oscar Hammerstein II
His grandfather, Oscar I, was an opera impressario and showman. His father, William, was the manager of Hammerstein’s Victoria, one of the most famous vaudeville theaters of its day. His uncle, Arthur, was a well known producer.
Dabbled in theatrical activities as a youth, but when it came time for a career choice his father pushed him away from the theater. Oscar went to Columbia University in preparation for a career in law. It was at Columbia, however, that Oscar’s career in theater actually began when, at age 19, he joined the Columbia University Players as a performer

27. Oscar Hammerstein II
He participated heavily in the Varsity shows for several years, first as a performer and later as a writer. It was at Columbia that Oscar first met the young man who would later collaborate with, Richard Rodgers.
After Oscar’s first year of law school, he convinced his uncle, Arthur, to hire him as an assistant stage manager on one of his upcoming shows.
By 1919 he was promoted to production stage manager for all of Arthur’s shows. In his position as production stage manager Oscar was able to do some writing and re-writing on scripts in development. Eventually he was writing musical comedies of his own.

28. Oscar Hammerstein II
His first success as a librettist came in 1922 with “Wildflower
A more major success in 1924, “Rose-Marie,” which would led to his collaboration with composer Jerome Kern

29. Oscar Hammerstein II
Kern and Hammerstein had both been concerned with the “Integrated Musical,” a musical in which the book, lyrics, and score all grow from a central idea and all contribute to the story line

30. Irving Berlin
“…having faith in the American vernacular and was so profound that his best known songs seem indivisible form the country’s history and self-image.”
- Jerome Kern described the essence of Berlin’s lyrics

31. Irving Berlin
Born Israel Baline on May 11, 1888 in Temun, Sibera, the family fled to America to escape the Russian persecution of the Jews.
Arrived in New York in 1893, settling on the lower east side
Made money as a child singing on street corners and later secured a job as a singing waiter at a local café, where he also began writing songs on his own

32. Irving Berlin
Published his first song, “Marie from Sunny Italy” in 1907.
When the sheet music was published, the publisher misspelled his the name, making “I. Baline” into “I. Berlin”, hence he changed his professional name to Irving Berlin.
Most famous patriotic work was “God Bless America” written during
WW1

33. Irving Berlin
In 1911, published the best seller; “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” this became a huge hit earning him the nickname, the King of Tin Pan Alley.

34. Irving Berlin King of Tin Pan Alley Review Songs:
“Alexander’s Ragtime Band”
“God Bless America”

35. Fanny Brice
“I breathed and ate and drank and lived theatre- in my neighborhood were all the nationalities of all of Europe. That is where I learned my accents”
- Fanny Brice

36. Fanny Brice Native of Newark to Coney Island and then to Harlem.
From a young age she was taken by her mother to every show they could catch.
Quit school to perform on the low-down burlesque shows outside Manhattan.
By the age of 18 her career was not going well. She had been fired by Cohan from the chorus of one of his shows and was bouncing from one burlesque house to another.

37. Fanny Brice
Approached Irving Berlin and asked him for a specialty number for a benefit performance the next night; she had lied to her producer about having one.
Berlin gave her the song “Sadie Salmoe”, a tune about a Jewish Girl who improbably joins a stage to play a famous character.
Berlin insisted she use a Yiddish accent to pull the song off. This would become her trademark.

38. Fanny Brice
A year later, Brice received a telegram, offering her a spot in the Ziegfeld Follies at $75 a week, then $100.
Over the next two decades, she was a fixture in the Follies, appearing in seven different editions.
At her best spoofing the grand pretensions of the middle-class – Classical ballet, the Barrymore acting style, ragtime, and even herself. When her husband was arrested for gambling, her bad luck made it into the act.

39. Fanny Brice
The first major cross over star in America, appearing on stage, radio, and movies.
Her life became the inspiration for the musical “Funny Girl”
“In anything Jewish I ever did, I wasn’t standing apart making fun. I was the race and what happened to me on stage is what could happen to my people. They identified with me, which made it all right to get a laugh.”
– Brice in 1936

40. Fanny Brice REVIEW Signature Song: “Sadie Salmoe”
The first major cross over star in America, appearing on stage, radio, and movies.
Her life became the inspiration for the musical “Funny Girl”

41. Bert Williams
“Bert Williams was the funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest man I ever knew.”
- W.C. Fields

42. Bert Williams America’s first black celebrity
Born in New Providence, Nassau, in the British West Indies, in 1874.
Became a showman in 1893
While performing with the Minstrels he met African American song-and-dance man George Walker, and the two men teamed up

43. Bert Williams
Their act consisted of songs, dance, and quick-paced patter that centered on Walker trying to convince the slower Williams to join him in get-rich-quick schemes.
Bert would play the a slow witted country bumpkin who typically dressed in ill fitting, overly large clothing. While George would play the role of a smooth talking man about town.

44. “In Dahomey”
Williams & Walker’s show, “In Dahomey” was the first all black show to appear on Broadway, opening in 1902.
“In Dahomey” featured the dance the cake walk. A dance so easy, anyone could do it.
“In Dahomey” would go on to be a huge smash, and would tour though London, even having a performance for he Royal family

45. Bert Williams
For “In Dahomey” , Bert created the character that would become his signature, the character he called “Jonah Man”.
Unlike the bumpkin, Jonah Man was a character to whom troubles knew no end. A man who, in Bert’s words; “even if it rained soup, would be found with a fork in his hand and no spoon in sight.”

46. Bert Williams
Instead of focusing on the perceived stereotypes of blacks, Bert shifted his character to dealing with everyday troubles that everyone in the audience could relate to.
Bert went solo when George was forced to retire, and joined the Follies in Playing the Jonah Man and singing his signature song “Nobody” about a man so turned off by his treatment is society that he refuses to ever help anyone again.

47. Bert Williams Review: America's first black celebrity
Teamed with George Walker.
Co-Wrote/Co-Stared in “In Dahomey” - the first all black show to appear on Broadway
Signatures:
Song: “Nobody”
Character: the Jonah Man

48. Actors Equity Strike of 1919

49. Actors Equity Strike of 1919
In 1919 the Actors’ Equity Association strike spanned from August – September 6
Actors at the various theatres went out on strike against the Producing Managers’ Association on Aug. 7
As the strike gained support, other laborers in the industry walk out with them, including musicians and stage hands.
During negotiations, the managers gave the actors all of their demands after losing millions of dollars.

50. Actors Equity Strike of 1919
Before the strike, many actors faced terrible working conditions.
Required to give hundreds of hours of free rehearsal time
Pay for their own travel and costume expenses
Could be fired immediately for not play their roles to their manager’s satisfaction.
Strike led to the creation of Actors Equity, the Union for stage actors still going today.

51. “Show Boat”

52. “Show Boat”
the first real book musical, where the music and story worked together. Opened in 1927
Composer Jerome Kern, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
produced by Florenze Ziegfeld
In an ear of “willful nonsense” they attempted a complicated musical narrative epic with challenging themes and many different storylines.

53. “Show Boat”
Story is about Cap’n Andy’s show boat, the Cotton Blossom, as it travels up and down the Mississippi for decades, folding in its wake his brittle wife and glowing daughter, Magnolia, and her doomed romance with a gambled husband along with a troupe of complicated supporting characters, including Julie a performer on the boat whose mulatto roots are revealed
First time that serious black and white characters held the stage together as equals.

54. “Show Boat”
Huge hit, running 572 performances and proved so beloved by audience and profitable for Ziegfield, it was revived as early as 1932.
The first racially integrated musicals, and portrayed racial issues. Also one of the first more “realistic” portrayal of African Americans

55. “Show Boat”
the first real book musical, where the music and story worked together.
First time White and Black actors shared the stage
Composer Jerome Kern
lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
produced by Florenze Ziegfeld
Features the songs “Ol’ Man River,” “Make Believe,” “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man”