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Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Theatre, drama > Musical theatre
Like many national cinemas, the French cinema has a rich tradition
of film musicals beginning with the advent of sound to the present.
This is the first book to chart the development of the French film
musical. The French film musical is remarkable for its breadth and
variety since the 1930s; although it flirts with the Hollywood
musical in the 1930s and again in the 1950s, it has very
distinctive forms rooted in the traditions of French chanson.
Defining it broadly as films attracting audiences principally
because of musical performances, often by well-known singers, Phil
Powrie and Marie Cadalanu show how the genre absorbs two very
different traditions with the advent of sound: European operetta
and French chanson inflected by American jazz (1930-1950). As the
genre matures, operetta develops into big-budget spectaculars with
popular tenors, and revue films also showcase major singers in this
period (1940-1960). Both sub-genres collapse with the advent of
rock n roll, leading to a period of experimentation during the New
Wave (1960-1990). The contemporary period since 1995 renews the
genre, returning nostalgically both to the genre's origins in the
1930s, and to the musicals of Jacques Demy, but also hybridising
with other genres, such as the biopic and the documentary.
The American musical has long provided an important vehicle
through which writers, performers, and audiences reimagine who they
are and how they might best interact with the world around them.
Musicals are especially good at this because they provide not only
an opportunity for us to enact dramatic versions of alternative
identities, but also the material for performing such alternatives
in the real world, through songs and the characters and attitudes
those songs project.
This book addresses a variety of specific themes in musicals
that serve this general function: fairy tale and fantasy, idealism
and inspiration, gender and sexuality, and relationships, among
others. It also considers three overlapping genres that are
central, in quite different ways, to the projection of personal
identity: operetta, movie musicals, and operatic musicals.
Among the musicals discussed are "Camelot, Candide; Chicago;
Company; Evita; Gypsy; Into the Woods; Kiss Me, Kate; A Little
Night Music; Man of La Mancha; Meet Me in St. Louis; The Merry
Widow; Moulin Rouge; My Fair Lady; Passion; The Rocky Horror
Picture Show; Singin' in the Rain; Stormy Weather; Sweeney Todd;"
and "The Wizard of Oz."
Complementing the author's earlier work, "The American Musical
and the Formation of National Identity," this book completes a
two-volume thematic history of the genre, designed for general
audiences and specialists alike.
On the night of Sunday, April 23, 1961 Judy Garland made history.
That's no hyperbole. Surrounded by a throng of ecstatic fans (3,165
to be exact), the legendary performer delivered a concert in
Carnegie Hall the live recording of which became, upon release, an
unlikely pop cultural phenomenon. Judy at Carnegie Hall, the
two-disc set that captured all 25 numbers she performed that night,
went on to spend more than 70 weeks on the Billboard charts, win
four Grammy Awards--including Album of the Year (making it the
first live music album and the first album by a female performer to
win the category)--and become, in the process, the fastest-selling
two-disc set in history. What the recording highlights, and what's
made it an enduring classic in a class of its own, is the palpable
connection between the songstress and her fans. "Indeed," The New
York Times reported in its review of the evening's proceedings,
"what actually was to have been a concert--and was--also turned
into something not too remote from a revival meeting." By looking
at her song choices, her stage banter, the album's cultural impact,
and her place in the gay pantheon, this book argues that Judy's
palpable connection with her fans is precisely what her Capitol
Records' two-disc album captured.
All great auditions require preparation and practice, but what's
the secret to securing a callback? What are the best ways to
prepare for that pivotal moment? And once you're in front of the
casting director, what does it take to make the most out of your
moment in the spotlight? In this second edition of Get the
Callback: The Art of Auditioning for Musical Theatre, Jonathan Flom
provides practical advice on the many facets of preparation,
including selection of songs and monologues to suit your voice and
the audition, organizing and arranging your music, working with the
accompanist, and presenting yourself to the casting team. The book
gives a detailed description of the actual audition performance and
even offers advice on how non-dancers can survive a dance audition.
In addition to extensively revised chapters on the audition process
and how to build a repertoire book, this guide also features
updated chapters on headshots, resumes, and cover letters; voice
training techniques from Matthew Edward; advice from musical
director Joey Chancey; and a foreword by casting director Joy
Dewing. Aimed at professionals as well as young artists, this
second edition of Get the Callback is a must-have for both seasoned
and aspiring musical theatre performers.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints adopted the vocal
and theatrical traditions of American musical theater as important
theological tenets. As Church membership grew, leaders saw how the
genre could help define the faith and wove musical theater into
many aspects of Mormon life. Jake Johnson merges the study of
belonging in America with scholarship on voice and popular music to
explore the surprising yet profound link between two
quintessentially American institutions. Throughout the twentieth
and twenty-first centuries, Mormons gravitated toward musicals as a
common platform for transmitting political and theological ideas.
Johnson sees Mormons using musical theater as a medium for theology
of voice--a religious practice that suggests how vicariously
voicing another person can bring one closer to godliness. This
sounding, Johnson suggests, created new opportunities for living.
Voice and the musical theater tradition provided a site for Mormons
to negotiate their way into middle-class respectability. At the
same time, musical theater became a unique expressive tool of
Mormon culture.
For Broadway audiences of the 1980s, the decade was perhaps most
notable for the so-called "British invasion." While concept
musicals such as Nine and Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park
with George continued to be produced, several London hits came to
New York. In addition to shows like Chess, Me and My Girl, and Les
Miserables, the decade's most successful composer Andrew Lloyd
Webber was also well represented by Cats, The Phantom of the Opera,
Song & Dance, and Starlight Express. There were also many
revivals (such as Show Boat and Gypsy), surprise hits (The Pirates
of Penzance), huge hits (42nd Street), and notorious flops (Into
the Light, Carrie, and Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge). In The
Complete Book of 1980s Broadway Musicals, Dan Dietz examines in
detail every musical that opened on Broadway during the 1980s. In
addition to including every hit and flop that debuted during the
decade, this book highlights revivals and personal-appearance
revues with such performers as Sid Caesar, Barry Manilow, Jackie
Mason, and Shirley MacLaine. Each entry includes the following
information *Opening and closing dates *Plot summaries *Cast
members *Number of performances *Names of all important personnel
including writers, composers, directors, choreographers, producers,
and musical directors *Musical numbers and the names of performers
who introduced the songs *Production data, including information
about tryouts *Source material *Critical commentary *Tony awards
and nominations *Details about London and other foreign productions
Besides separate entries for each production, the book offers
numerous appendixes, including a discography, filmography, and
published scripts, as well as lists of Gilbert and Sullivan
operettas, black-themed shows, and Jewish-themed productions. A
treasure trove of information, The Complete Book of 1980s Broadway
Musicals provides readers with a comprehensive view of each show.
This significant resource will be of use to scholars, historians,
and casual fans of one of the greatest decades in musical theatre
history.
Since the turn of the millennium, films such as Chicago (2002) and
Phantom of the Opera (2004) have reinvigorated the popularity of
the screen musical. This edited collection, bringing together a
number of international scholars, looks closely at the range and
scope of contemporary film musicals, from stage adaptations like
Mamma Mia! (2008) and Les Miserables (2012), to less conventional
works that elide the genre, like Team America: World Police (2004)
and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill (2003/04). Looking at the varying
aesthetic function of soundtrack and lyric in films like Disney's
wildly popular Frozen (2013) and the Fast and the Furious
franchise, or the self-reflexive commentary of the 'post-millennial
rock musical', this wide-ranging collection breaks new ground in
its study of this multifaceted genre.
Dramaturgy is at the heart of any musical theatre score, proving
that song and music combined can collectively act as drama. The
Musical Theatre Composer as Dramatist: A Handbook for Collaboration
offers techniques for approaching a musical with the drama at the
centre of the music. Written by a working composer of British
musical theatre, this original and highly practical book is
intended for composers, students of musical theatre and performing
arts and their collaborators. Through detailed case studies,
conceptual frameworks and frank analysis, this book encourages the
collaboration between the languages of music and drama. It offers a
shared language for talking about music in the creation of musical
theatre, as well as practical exercises for both composers and
their collaborators and ways of analysing existing musical theatre
scores for those who are versed in musical terminology, and those
who are not. Speaking directly to the contemporary artist, working
examples are drawn from a wide range of musicals throughout Part
One, before a full case study analysis of Matilda the Musical
brings all the ideas together in Part Two. Part Three offers a
range of practical exercises for anyone creating new musicals,
particularly composers and their collaborators.
Theatre as Human Action: An Introduction to Theatre Arts, Third
Edition is designed for the college student who may be unacquainted
with many plays and has seen a limited number of theatre
productions. Focusing primarily on four plays, this textbook aims
to inform the student about theatre arts, stimulate interest in the
art form, lead to critical thinking about theatre, and prepare the
student to be a more informed and critical theatregoer. The four
plays central to this book are the tragedy Macbeth, the landmark
African American drama A Raisin in the Sun, the American comedy
classic You Can't Take It with You, and-new to this edition-the
contemporary hip-hop musical Hamilton. At the beginning of the
text, each play is described with plot synopses (and suggested
video versions), and then these four representative works are
referred to throughout the book. In addition to looking at both the
theoretical and practical aspects of theatre arts-from the nature
of theatre and drama to how it reflects society-the author also
explains the processes that playwrights, actors, designers,
directors, producers, and critics go through. In addition to
Hamilton, this edition includes full color images throughout, as
well as revised chapters and expanded and updated material on the
technical aspects of theatre, coverage of children's theatre and
British theatre, the role of drama as therapy, and the importance
of diversity in theatre today. Structured into ten chapters, each
looking at a major area or artist-and concluding with the audience
and critics-the unique approach of Theatre as Human Action
thoroughly addresses all of the major topics to be found in an
introduction to theatre text.
In 1970, renowned writer-composer-lyricist Leslie Bricusse adapted
the classic Charles Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol, into the hit
screen musical "Scrooge!". Now available as a charming stage
musical, Scrooge! has enjoyed a hugely successful tour of England
and a season at London's Dominion Theatre starring the late Anthony
Newly. Included are six new songs not performed in the film. Now
this sure-fire audience pleaser is available in two versions: as a
full-length musical and in a 55-minute adaptation that is ideal for
small theatre groups and schools, where it can be performed as a
short play or as part of a seasonal concert.Large flexible cast
Musical theatre is often perceived as either a Broadway based art
form, or as having separate histories in London and New York.
Musical Theatre Histories: Expanding the Narrative, however,
depicts the musical as neither American nor British, but both and
more, having grown out of frequent and substantial interactions
between both centres (and beyond). Through multiple thematic
'histories', Millie Taylor and Adam Rush take readers on a series
of journeys that include the art form's European and American
origins, African American influences, negotiations arounddiversity,
national identity, and the globalisation of the form, as well as
revival culture, censorship and the place of social media in the
21st century. Each chapter includes case studies and key concept
boxes to identify, explain and contextualise important discussions,
offering an accessible study of a dynamic and ever evolving medium.
Written and developed for undergraduate students, this introductory
textbook provides a newly focused and alternative way of
understanding musical theatre history.
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