The production of a musical in High School is obviously supported by the students that will act, sing and dance but also build the set, help with the light and the sound, help the actors rehearse… 

For example in the Frederick High School 2019 production, Starmites, there was a lot of different crews. Some students were building the set, some were painting it, some were in charge of the sound, some of the light, some people were in the art crew, the makeup crew or the costumes crew.. There is also a stage manager.

But a musical wouldn’t happen in a High school without the teachers. There are usually up to 5 roles that teachers might have to fill up in a High School musical production.

First, there is the producer that oversee everything that is happening in the show. He needs to see the big picture and make sure that show running smoothly.

The music director makes sure that the singers are prepared. He connects the music with the acting.

The director is in charge of staging and preparing the actors. He takes care of the acting technique.

The tech director is in charge of sound, lights and sets.

The orchestra director, if there is an orchestra in the show, needs to prepare the orchestra and connect with the singers.

When the musical department of a high school has to choose a new production, they have to look at several factors.

Who will we need : They have to figure out if they have the actors that could fill up the roles in the show.

What’s the vision : How do they want the show to look ? Are they inspired by it and what idea of the show do they already have ?

Royalties : Who owns the rights and how much does the show cost. Can they afford it ?

What’s the music : Is it something that the students can perform ?

Performers feasibility : Is it something that they can get done in the amount of time that they get to prepare the show ?

Tech feasibility : Is it something that the tech department can pull of (videos, Fx..) ?

Challenge :Is it something that is going to challenge the department enough ? Is it different from what they have done before ?

Audience : Is the audience going to like it ? Would they be interested and watch the show? Is it appropriate and does it suit the community ? Is there a high school edition of this musical ?

Urgency : Is there a need to tell the story the musical tells ?

Here are some examples of musical often produced in high school or that FHS has already done,

The Beauty and the Beast :

Into the woods :

This musical tells the story of a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. But the Baker and his wife were cursed thus they try to find a way to break it. Everyone’s wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later with disastrous results.

This show is often produced in High School because it has a lot of opportfornthe performers and everyone knows the characters in the story. It is a good family-friendly musical.

High School Musical :

Everybody knows those Disney Channel movies. Well they is an on-stage version that High School often choose to perform. It is always very fun for the students and there also is a large-sized cast to fill up. Everyone knows the music and can have fun watching Troy Bolton, the star athlete at a small-town high school, falling for nerdy beauty Gabriella Montez at a holiday karaoke part as they audition for the upcoming school musical although they are both far from this world at first.

Seussical :

Seussical is a musical mixing several of the Dr Seuss’ stories together. The Cat in a Hat, Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, the Grinch.. Once again, everyone knows Dr Seuss. That makes that musical really fun to watch in family and to produce as a High School.

Introduction :

How can literature serve as a vehicle for social change ? Musical theatre and drama as forms of literature did started or enhanced social change by changing codes or going out of the usual paths. It also has been used to depict important historical events or turning point.

Hamilton :

Hamilton is a musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow he created the music and the lyrics.

Officially titled Hamilton: An American Musical it tells the story of forgotten and yesterday one of the most influential American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and his ascent out of poverty and to power against the backdrop of the American War of Independence.

He was born in the British West Indies, became an orphan, made his reputation during the Revolutionary War, became George Washington right hand man and played a key role in defending and ratifying the U.S. Constitution.

While Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson might not have been in actual rap battles, they did compete against each other as Miranda portrays it in the show. The love triangle between Hamilton and two of the Schuyler sisters is also purely dramatic invention as Angelica Schuyler was already married when she met Hamilton. But suddenly the audience feels emotionally invested in this 18th-century life story and falls in love with history and with the legacy of America’s founding.

The musical has been described as “America then, as told by America now. As the narrative of one man’s story becomes the collective narrative of a nation, a nation built by immigrants who occasionally need to be reminded where they came from.”

Hair :

Hair : The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical written by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot. 

It deals with subject such as the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the late 1960s, and several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement.

Hair tells the story of a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the “Age of Aquarius” living in New York City and fighting against the Vietnam War.

Hair explores many of the themes of the hippie movement of the 1960s : race and the tribe, nudity, sexual freedom, drug use, pacifism and environmentalism, religion and astrology.

The touring company of Hair met with resistance throughout the United States. In South Bend, Indiana, the Morris Civic Auditorium refused booking, and in Evansville, Indiana, the production was picketed by several church groups.

The legal challenges against the Boston production were appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The musical was said to have “marked the end of stage censorship in the United Kingdom” since the nude scene has almost been censured in London. This same nudity scene also had a little controversy in for the Parisian representation.

In Bergen, Norway, local citizens formed a human barricade to try to prevent the performance.

This musical effectively brought social change in theatre by focusing on historical and cultural subjects and taking controversial decisions.

West Side Story:

West Side Story is a musical written by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.

The story is set in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid 1950s, an ethnic, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical shows the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The members of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are provoked by the Jets, a white gang.The main mal character, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang’s leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks.

Conceived in the 1950’s, West Side Story has a serious message that pleads for racial tolerance while both the Americans and Puerto Rican’s protagonists show great stereotypical thinking. 

“West Side Story ” addresses the problems of gangs, violence, bullying, prejudice, and hate. Through the eyes of the Caucasian Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks we see two ethnic groups who argue and fight over their right to live with dignity and respect. And as the original play Romeo and Juliet we hope that the strong though forbidden love and romance between the two opposite protagonists will crush the tribal barriers and rivalries caused by fear and racial intolerance.

Rent:

Rent is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jonathan Larson,loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in Lower Manhattan’s East Village in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. On Broadway, Rent won several awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical. Rent won 4 musicals. Rent affected so many people. Rent is about 7 people living in New York during the late 1980s. These people barely afford rent. The Synopsis is “In this musical, set at the dawn of the 1990s, a group of New Yorkers struggle with their careers, love lives and the effects of the AIDS epidemic on their community. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, and Roger, an HIV-positive musician, scramble for money to pay rent to their landlord and former roommate, Benny. Meanwhile, their friend Tom, an unemployed professor, has fallen for Angel, a drag queen who is slowly dying of AIDS. While Maureen Mark’s ex girlfriend wants to make a difference in this world and force change. Joanne is Maureen’s girlfriend. They both struggle in their relationship, because Maureen has a wild personality while Joanne is more reserved.” Rent helped people be sympathetic to aid victims. It showed what it was like to live in New York at the time. 

In The Heights:

Lin-Manuel Miranda has changed Broadway forever. He loved Broadway and theatre ever since he was a kid, but as he got older he noticed that broadway shows were mostly white actors. He saw very little shows that represented his people. So he was the first to change that. Instead of sitting idly by waiting for a show where he felt represented he decided to write his own script. In 2009 he released In The Heights. A musical about the barrio of Washington Heights. Throughout the musical, they talk about poverty, sickness, money, and how they are neglected by their own government. 

The synopsis for In The Heights is “The story explores three days in the characters’ lives in the New York City Latino neighbourhood of Washington Heights. The score features hip-hop, salsa, merengue and soul music. In the hispanic community of Manhattan’s Washington Heights, bodega owner Usnavi is dating Vanessa, who works in a beauty salon. He dreams of opening a bar in his home country, the Dominican Republic. Nina loves Benny, a shy young man who has worked for Nina’s parents for years, but her father opposes their union because he wants Nina to finish her education at Stanford University. She doesn’t want her father to bankrupt himself paying for the expensive school, but her father is prepared to sell his car-service business. “Abuela” Claudia, who raised Usnavi after the death of his parents, wins $96,000 in a numbers game.” 

The Heights really helped other people who didn’t grow up in the barrio a better understanding of what everyday life was like. The musical broke the stigma that people who grew up in the barrio aren’t bad people. They aren’t in gangs and they just want to survive their own crazy, stress-induced life. In The Heights also gave more opportunities for Latino people for more roles on Broadway. There are very few chances for a Latino to be a star in a Broadway production. Lin-Manel Miranda changed that. In The Heights also changed the game because it was the first well-known rap musical to take the stage. Lin wanted to think differently and create a production that no one has ever done before, and that’s exactly what he did. He created a modern musical that would inspire teenagers and young adults just like it inspired him. He even puts in a part of “America” from the musical West Side Story in his song called “In The Heights.” It’s a very nice tribute to the first musical to represent the Latino community. In The Heights was nominated for 15 Tony awards. It won five awards including Best Musical.  The musical really represents how the barrio is like and should open everyone’s eyes to see the changes we need to make so our world can be a better place.      

Hello, my name is Clémence Lepine, but everyone calls me Clem. I am a foreign exchange student from France and I discovered musical theatre here at Frederick High School from my friends who are involved in school theatre. I’d obviously heard of it before and watched some movies but I had never participated before this year. I really enjoyed my time performing and I am very excited to learn more about the history and highlights of the craft through this blog and I hope you are, too.

I’m Kendall Lecumberry. I was born and raised in Colorado. I discovered theatre in Middle School and have loved it ever since.  I’ve always loved music so when I heard about musicals I was hooked. I learned to love theatre the more I understood it. That’s what I hope to do for other people. I want to help them understand theatre so maybe they can learn to love it or so they can understand why other people love it so much. Reading this blog will inform you of the different eras of musical theatre. We will explain well known musicals and why they are famous. We will tell you some important types of musicals and some important terms anyone who is interested in musical theatre should know. This blog you will learn about The Golden Age which was the first era of musical theatre, Silver Age, The British Invasion, and finally Modern which is all the new musicals you hear today. We will explain what a Tony award is and the real definition of Broadway. We hope you learn something as you read this blog. Hopefully we inspire you to give theatre a try and listen to some of the musicals we talk about. I hope you learn to love theatre as much as Clem and Kendall do.  

Opera :

One of the first forms of dramatic musical work were operas. Opera comes from the Latin word opera, meaning ‘a work’. Although it had complex sets and costumes, it is still considered a branch of music and not theater. It was born in Italy in the 17th century, during the late Renaissance and is still active. The genre spread out in all of Europe and beyond with great playwright from Italy such as Giuseppe Verdi (La Traviata-1853) or Giacomo Puccini (La Bohème-1895, Madama Butterfly-1904), from Germany such as Richard Wagner (Götterdämmerung-1848), from France with Georges Bizet (Carmen-1875), from Austria with Mozart (Don Giovanni-1787, The Marriage of Figaro-1786) or even America in the last century with Philip Glass.

As mentioned, opera isn’t a dramatic genre. It is entirely music and singing. It is composed of three different part. 

The first one is the chorus. The chorus is a group of singers with more than one person singing each part, like a choir. The choruses in opera usually represent groups such as soldiers, priests, peasants, nymphs of the woods and so on – whatever is required by the story.

The second one is the aria. It is song for one voice which allows a character to express their innermost thoughts and feelings – like a soliloquy in a play.

Arias don’t drive the action forward; they are moments of reflection. One of the most famous examples is ‘Nessun Dorma’ from Puccini’s Turandot.

And the third one, recitative, is a type of ‘melodic speech’ that allows the singer to explain the plot between the arias, duets and choruses. It is very lightly accompanied by the orchestra.

Golden Age: 

The Golden Age of musical theatre started in 1927 with the first modern musical, Show Boat, although the first musical of all time is often considered to be The Black Crook. The Black Crook was originally a play but it inserted singing and dancing between the scenes. However, the songs were wholly unrelated to the plot. Show Boat, written by Jerome Kern in 1927, was the first musical to use songs and dancing to support and further the plot. Many musicals followed Show Boat and they were called book musicals. Many relied heavily on dance elements, such as West Side Story, Oklahoma, Anything Goes and My Fair Lady.

The Golden Age lasted approximately four decades and mainly produced musicals in the United States. One of the greatest musical theatre writers of this era is Rodgers and Hammerstein, a duo of composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein. Their musicals Oklahoma in 1943, The King and I in 1951 and The Sound of Music in 1959 were incredible successes. They won thirty-four Tony Awards, fifteen Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, and two Grammy Awards. This duo popularized the modern musical with their cohesive plot, songs that furthered the action of the story, and featured dream ballets and other dances that advanced story and developed the characters.

Apart from Rodgers and Hammerstein, other influential and popular shows from this era include Cole Porter (Kiss me, Kate – 1948, Anything Goes! 1934), George and Ira Gershwin (An American in Paris – 1951), Irving Berlin (Annie Get Your Gun – 1946) and Frederick Loewe (My Fair Lady – 1956).

As for actors and actresses, Ethel Merman was the most prolific performer of her time, being featured in many leading roles. The Irving Berlin song “There’s No Business Like Show Business” written for the musical Annie Get Your Gun became Merman’s signature song. She has also been called “the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage”.

West Side Story, written in 1957 by Arthur Laurents and based on the play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, is perhaps the most popular musical of the Golden Era. It is a modern version of the 16th century play set in an ethnic blue-collar neighborhood of New York City in the mid 1950’s. In 1961, it was adapted into a movie, like many other Broadway musical. The musical was nominated for six Tony awards and the movie won Best Picture.

-> What is a Tony award?

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award got their start in 1947 when the Wing established an awards program to celebrate excellence in the theatre.

Named after Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, producer, and the dynamic wartime leader of the American Theatre Wing, it recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Midtown Manhattan. The 2019 ceremony marks the 73rd. The most Tony nominations ever received by a single production was the musical Hamilton in 2016 with 16 nominations in 13 categories.

The Golden Age of musical theatre ended in 1964 with the musical Fiddler on the Roof written by Joseph Stein.

Silver Age:

The Silver Age of musical theatre started in 1967 when the release of Hair signaled a new era of musicals. Hair, by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, was about a politically active group of long-haired hippies living in New York City and fighting against the Vietnam war. This was the first concept musical, a musical focused on a concept more than a story.

One popular concept musical playwright was Stephen Sondheim, who had already gained popularity with West Side Story. He continued to create popular musicals such as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) and Sweeney Todd (1979), a story of a barber that murders his clientele to give their bodies to his partner in crime (and friend or lover) for her to use the cadavre to cook meat pies.

During the Silver Age, musical theatre also signaled an evolution in dancing and body expression when choreographers started directing. One of them was Gower Champion. Having made 7 musical movies with his partner and wife Marge Champion, he was the obvious choice to direct several large musicals such as Bye, Bye Birdie and Hello, Dolly! (1963). Choreographers also put emphasis on isolated movements and facial expression. Bob Fosse, who won a Tony award, Oscar, and an Emmy in the same year, was another prominent choreographer with his popular dances included in Sweet Charity (1966), Pippin (1972) and Chicago (1975). Another new approach was Michael Bennett’s in Chorus Line when he decided to individualize the members of the chorus. 

Additional shows from the Silver Era of musical theater include Cabaret (1966), Godspell (1971), Annie (1977), Grease (1971) and Sunday in the Park with George (1984) by James Lapine, which was inspired by the French pointillist Georges Seurat’s painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”.

Soon enough, the Silver Era came to a close. The following era moved away from Broadway into London’s West End with featured European lyricists, directors, and performers as the center of musical theater.

->What is Broadway ?

As its name would suggest, Broadway is a wide street in New York City that runs the full length of Manhattan, from its southern tip at Bowling Green to its northern tip at Inwood and even continuing into the Bronx. It is referred to as “The Great White Way” because Broadway was one of the first streets in the United States to be lit with electric lights. Broadway theatre refers to the theatrical performances presented in the 41 professional theatres, each with 500 or more seats. Broadway and London’s West End are two very famous places for theatre and the productions on Broadway are often considered to be the best in the world.

The British Invasion: 

The British Invasion era of musical theatre started in 1981 and ended in 1996. One of the main playwrights of this era is Andrew Lloyd Webber. He was the one who started this era. Webber took Broadway by storm with his rock operas. Which uses little to no dialogue and contemporary music styles. In 1981 he started the British Invasion with his Tony-winning musical Cats started on London’s West End (which is Broadway in London, England) instead of Broadway. Webber’s musicals dominated the British Invasion with his musicals, Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, and Sunset Boulevard.  

Although Webber was a very popular playwright he wasn’t the only one who had a big influence on the British Invasion. French playwright Claude Micheal Schoenberg and Alain Boubil wrote Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, big productions that are still running on tour. Other hit musicals are Little Shop of Horrors, Chess, Aida, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, La Cage Aux Folles, Big River, and Tommy. 

Some important types of musicals during this era are an Album musical and Rock opera. An Album musical is a musical released as an album before being staged. Some examples of an Album musical during the British Invasion are,  Cats which is still the longest running musical to be on broadway. It ran for 18 years and 7,485 performances. It closed on Sept. 10, 2000. Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Dreamgirls which premiered on Broadway on December 20, 1981, and closed on August 11, 1985, after 1,521 performances. Produced by David Foster. Another example is Blood Brothers. Blood Brothers played on London’s West End and didn’t go on Broadway until after the British Invasion. Written by Willy Russell. A Rock Opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been adapted as rock musicals. Some examples of a Rock Opera is Tommy. Written by The Who’s. 

Some musicals that have won a Tony award are, 1981: 42nd Street, 1982: Nine, 1983: Cats, 1984: La Cage aux Follas, 1985: Big River, 1986: The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 1987: Les Misérable, 1988: The Phantom of the Opera , 1989: Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, 1990: City of Angels, 1991: the Will Rogers Follies, 1992: Crazy For You, 1993: Kiss of the Spider Woman, 1994: Passion, and 1995: Sunset Boulevard. All of these musicals won Best Musicals at the Tony Awards. 

Modern: 

During the British Invasion, Broadway was playing British musicals or Golden Age revivals. Most new musicals premiered off-Broadway and closed after a few weeks (even Steven Sondheim’s Assassins only lasted 73 performances). Broadway began to see its lowest turnout since the Great Depression. Ultimately, three men saved Broadway: Rudolph Giuliani, Michael Eisner, and Jonathan Larson. Rudolph Giuliani, mayor of New York City, became troubled by Broadway’s struggles, and dedicated thousands of dollars to promoting Broadway musicals and American composers. In 1994, Michael Eisner, president of the Disney Corporation, founded Disney Theatrical, which brought popular films to the stage. After the successes of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, the film musical became a new Broadway movement, with the musicals Hairspray, Spamalot, and The Producers coming to the stage. The era of the British Invasion ended in 1996 when Jonathan Larson’s RENT won both the Tony for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize. RENT, a rock opera adaptation of La Boheme, brought Broadway its most popular year in a decade, and once again, Broadway became the center of musical theater. New neo-book musicals like Avenue Q, Wicked, The Last Five Years, In the Heights, and Next to Normal became hits, and several have been turned into films. In addition to the film musical, the jukebox musical became successful. Jukebox musicals take the music of a popular musician or group and build a script around the songs. Mamma Mia!, Moving Out, Jersey Boys, and American Idiot are all recently successful jukebox musicals.

There are a lot of musicals that have won a Tony during the modern age. Such as, 1996 Rent, 1997 Titanic, 1998 Lion King, 1999 Fosse, 2000 Contact, 2001 The Producers, 2002 Thoroughly Modern Millie, 2003 Hairspray, 2004 Avenue Q, 2005 Spamalot, 2006 Jersey Boys, 2007 Spring Awakening, 2008 In the Heights, 2009 Billy Elliot, 2010 Memphis, 2011 Book of Mormon, 2012 Once, 2013 Kinky Boots, 2014 A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, 2015 Fun Home, 2016 Hamilton, 2017 Dear Even Hansen, 2018 The Band’s Visit, 2019 Hades Town. All of these musicals won the Tony award Best Musical. So out of all the musicals performed that year those musicals won. Best Musical is only one category a musical could win at the Tony’s.

 They are three sections, Performance Categories, Show and Technical Categories, and Special Awards. Under Performance Categories the awards are, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Under Show and Technical Categories,

Best Musical, Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Orchestrations, Best Choreography, Best Scenic Design in a Musical, Best Costume Design in a Musical, Best Lighting Design in a Musical, Best Sound Design of a Musical

Best Play, Best Revival of a Play, Best Direction of a Play, Best Scenic Design in a Play, Best Costume Design in a Play, Best Lighting Design in a Play, and

Best Sound Design of a Play. Under Special Awards, Regional Theatre Tony Award, Special Tony Award (includes Lifetime Achievement Award), Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and Isabelle Stevenson Award. The Musical that won the most Tony Awards is 2001’s The Producers, which won 12 Tony Awards. 

Important sources 

• Beginning Stage Tech : musical theatre – chapter 11 – B. Coon
• Wikipedia 
• Tony award website – https://www.tonyawards.com/history/our-history/
• Scottish opera – https://www.scottishopera.org.uk/discover-opera/a-to-z-of-opera/
• Tony Award Winners for Best Musical http://www.playbill.com/article/do-you-know-all-of-the-tony-winning-best-musicals
• Types of Tony Awards           https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Award