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Musical Theater: An Appreciation
Alyson McLamore, California Polytechnic State University

ISBN-10: 0130485837
ISBN-13: 9780130485830

Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2005
Format: Paper; 336 pp
Published: 11/02/2004

Suggested retail price: $65.80
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This unique historical survey illustrates the interaction of multiple artistic and dramatic considerations with an overview of the development of numerous popular musical theater genres. This introduction provides more than a history of musical theater, it studies the music within the shows to provide an understanding of the contributions of musical theater composers as clearly as the artistry of musical theater lyricists and librettists. The familiarity of the musical helps students understand how music functions in a song and a show, while giving them the vocabulary to discuss their perceptions.

  • Introductory concepts of music in an historical context—Provides students with the vocabulary of musical terminology that they can apply to all music.

    • Enables students to understand how musical elements are employed differently from piece to piece and show to show.

  • Repertory and history of theatrical music illustrate musical perceptions.

    • Draws students into discussions of what they hear in musical structures and helps them understand how the more accessible Broadway shows share features in common with Opera.

  • Specific musical excerpts function on several levels—Illustrate musical elements, reflect individual artistry, demonstrate changes in style and techniques from one era to the next.

    • Helps students understand the interaction of multiple artistic and dramatic considerations so that they can appreciate and value not only musicals, but music as a whole.

  • Multi-faceted music/drama partnerships.

    • Shows students music's role in illuminating the song text, highlights music's ability to enhance characterization and dramatic situations in the course of the show, and provides historical impact of choosing certain styles.

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  • An iMix of the majority of the pieces covered  in the text can be found online at      http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=282376133

I. THE ANTECEDENTS TO THE GENRE OF “MUSICAL THEATER.”

 

 1. The Birth of “Staged” Music.

 2. Developing Genres in the Eighteenth Century: Ballad Opera and Singspiel.

 3. Developing Genres in the Eighteenth Century: Opera Buffa and Dramma Giocoso.

 4. The Musical Stage in the American Colonies.

II. THE MUSICAL STAGE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

 

 5. France and Spain in the Nineteenth Century.

 6. The Serious and Not-So-Serious: Italy, Germany, and Austria in the Nineteenth Century.

 7. England in the Nineteenth Century:  Gilbert and Sullivan

 8. The United States in the Early Nineteenth Century.

 9. New American Genres of the Later Nineteenth Century.

10. Operetta in America, 1880-1903.

III. DIVERGENT PATHS IN THE 20th CENTURY.

 

11. The Continuing Dominance of Operetta.

12. Challenges to Operetta.

13. The Princess Shows.

14. Increasing Drama on the Stage.

15. Musical Theater of the Lighter Kind.

IV. BEGINNINGS OF A GOLDEN AGE:  SYNTHESIS OF STYLE AND SUBSTANCE.

 

16. Great Partnerships of the Early Book Musical: Kern and Hammerstein.

17. Great Partnerships of the Early Book Musical: Rodgers and Hart.

18. Great Partnerships of the Early Book Musical: The Gershwins (1).

19. Great Partnerships of the Early Book Musical: The Gershwins (2).

20. Great Solo Acts:  Irving Berlin.

21. Great Solo Acts:  Cole Porter and Other Efforts in the 1930s.

V. A GREATER MATURITY.

 

22. New Achievements from Familiar Names: Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin.

23. A Cole Porter Renaissance and the Rise of Recognition.

24. Politics and Social Commentary.

VI. NEW PARTNERSHIPS.

 

25. Rodgers and Hammerstein: Oklahoma!

26. Rodgers and Hammerstein: Carousel and South Pacific.

27. Rodgers and Hammerstein: The King and I and The Sound of Music.

28. Lerner and Loewe.

VII. NEW FACES OF THE 1940s and 1950s.

 

29. Leonard Bernstein.

30. Jule Styne and Frank Loesser.

31. Meredith Willson and Other Faces of the 1950s.

VIII. NEW FACES OF THE 1960s and 1970s.

 

32. New Names in Lights in the 1960s.

33. Sondheim in the 1960s: Flash in the Pan?

34. New Partnerships: Bock and Harnick.

35. New Partnerships: Kander and Ebb.

36. New Partnerships:  Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

37. Wunderkinder of the 1970s.

38. Sondheim in the 1970s:  The Endless Experiments.

IX. CHANGES OF APPROACH IN THE 1980s AND 1990s.

 

39. Andrew Lloyd Webber without Tim Rice:  Cats and Starlight Express.

40. The Luxuriant Lloyd Webber.

41. The New Team in Town: Schönberg and Boublil.

42. Somewhat in the Shadows.

43. Stephen Sondheim: Never a Formula.

44. New Names of the 1990s and Beyond.

45. Whither Musical Theater?

Glossary.

Index.

Here it is at last: a history of musical theater from its early origins to the Broadway shows of today, combined with an in-depth study of the musical styles that parallel the changes taking place on stage. Musical Theater: An Appreciation teaches the reader how to listen to both the words and the music of the stage musical, understanding how all the components of a show combine to create a unique experience for audiences. Good musical theater moves us—to laughter, to tears, to anger, to pride—and this text helps to demystify many of the subtle tools used to elicit these emotions.

Musical Theater: An Appreciation looks at the contributions of many great American writers: George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Kander and Ebb, Bock and Harnick, Steven Sondheim—as well as the crossfertilizations with European theater, both past and present day. Each chapter enriches the reader's journey with items such as Sidebars that explore issues in greater depth, Behind-theScenes anecdotes relating various (mis-) adventures of creative artists, Plot Summaries, and focused examinations of a wide range of theater songs. Musical and theatrical vocabulary terms are introduced throughout the text, allowing readers to speak knowledgeably about both the visual and aural aspects of the stage experience. Armed with these perceptions, readers will be posed for greater enjoyment of musical theater's rich legacy, from Don Giovanni to Rent, as well as for increased appreciation of drama and music as independent yet complementary arts.

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