THAR 281 1st Edition Lecture 21 Outline of Last Lecture I. Background on AbsurdismII. Edward AlbeeIII. Harold PinterIV. Samuel BecketOutline of Current Lecture I. The Golden Age of BroadwayII. Oklahoma!III. Rodgers and HammersteinIV. Men and Women Who Made BroadwayV. West Side StoryVI. GypsyCurrent LectureI. The Golden Age of Broadwaya. Never before has theater been such a driving force in cultureb. Songs on Broadway were popularc. Playwrights were celebritiesII. Oklahoma!a. Writen by Richard Rodgers and Hammersteinb. 1943 = debut on Broadwayc. A universal masterpieced. First musical that is unifiedi. Every component is working together to create one experience for the audiencee. Songs reveal characterf. Writen in a direct style that portrays what characters sayi. Not proper Englishii. More colloquial/realisticg. Tells story of 2 groups of people in Indian territory at beginning of 20th century (Ranchers vs. Farmers)h. After this play, people expected songs that revealed character and reasonable actions in other plays as well III. Rodgers and Hammersteina. Most successful song writing team in musical historyb. Collaborated in 11 projectsc. Famous Works: “Oklahoma!”; “Oklahoma South Pacific”; “The King and I”; “Sound of Music” d. Hammerstein dies before Rodgers IV. Men and Women Who Made Broadwaya. Jerome Robbins (choreographer and director)b. Leonard Beinstein (composer)c. Mary Martin (musical theater performer)d. Arthur Laurents (playwright and director)e. Lerner and Lowe (song-writing duo) “My Fair Lady”f. Julie Styne (very brassy in sound; director and playwright)g. Ethel Merman (musical theater performer)h. Shirley Jones (performer)i. Gordon MacRae (performer)j. John Raitk. Irving Berlin (composer and lyricist) “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”l. Cole Porter (composer)m. David Merrick (producer; over 200 Broadway musicals)V. West Side Storya. 1957 = Broadway debut; Sharks vs. Jets (Whites vs. Puerto Ricans)b. Book by Arthur Lawrence; choreography by Jerome Robbins; music by Ernstein; lyrics by Steven Sondheimi. First time Sondheim is involved in Broadway (very young)c. Contemporary writing of Romeo and Julieti. In west-side New Yorkd. Not a happy ending musicale. Places dramatic action within songs/dancesf. Story telling stops in the songs/dances after West Side Storyg. Most credit goes to Jerome Robbins (choreographer)VI. Gypsya. 1959 = Broadway debutb. Book by Lawrence; directed by Robbins; music by Stein; lyrics by Sondheimc. Tells story of burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Leed. Considered the greatest American musicale. Combination of comedy and dramaf. Mama Rose is iconic in musical
View Full Document
Unlocking...