Claim OwnershipWords and Music: Musical Theater in America
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© 2007 ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Description
This series is designed to introduce middle and high school audiences to the many aspects of musical theater. Using examples of the best that Broadway musicals have to offer, Heather Nathans, Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Maryland, talks about the history of musical theater in America; its structure and elements of a musical (do you know what an "I Want" song is?); musical theater's role in making social commentary, and its legacy.
6 Episodes
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In an odd turn, the Broadway musical - exported by Walt Disney to cartoons in the 1930s - was returned to Broadway by Disney in the 1990s. Heather Nathans, Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Maryland, explains this transition.
In this piece, Heather Nathans, Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Maryland, is joined by Joe Stein and Sheldon Harnick, writers of "Fiddler on the Roof" and Stephen Schwartz, who wrote "Pippin," Godspell," and "Wicked" to talk about how a musical gets written.
As the rock musical gave way to the spectacle musical, shows like "Cats," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Starlight Express" came to rely less on story and more on technology. We'll talk about the changes in musical theater in the last forty years and where musical theater appears to be headed.
From The Beggar's Opera to Avenue Q., musicals have commented on social issues for as long as there has been musical theater in America.
A musical is not a cabaret show and it's not an opera - join us as we deconstruct the musical and examine the distinct elements that must be present.
From minstrel shows and Vaudeville to the modern stage, a look at the trends and ideas that shaped American Musical theater.
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