South Pacific South Pacific is a 1949 Broadway musical that opened on April 7th, written by Richard Rodgers and composed by Oscar Hammerstein. The musical came from the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel, written in 1947, Tales of the South Pacific, by James A. Michener. The musical became a hit almost instantly and ran fro about 1,9457 performances. Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted to write a musical that would send a strong progressive message son the topic of racism. South Pacific takes place on a South Pacific Island during World War II, where it then goes on to show the lives of U.S. military men, nurses, and residents of the Polynesian island. The South Pacific musical had a great impact on the issue of racial prejudice. South Pacific was had over 3 revivals, one of them being in 2008 by Bartlet Sher. Sher’s Broadway revival was very similar to the original that was done by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Sher, Rodgers, and Hammerstein all had the same intention when they brought the South Pacific to life, they wanted to make sure it made a clear point of the racial issues, whether they brought up the issue right after World War II or during every day life, they wanted to showed their audience what was truly happening. …show more content…
Emile: She’s dead, Nellie. Nellie: She’s—(the truth dawns on her,) Emile, they are yours! Emile: Yes, Nellie. I am their father. Nellie: And—their mother...she was a... was a... Emile: Polynesian. (Nellie is stunned. She turns away, trying to collect herself). With the new addition of the word ‘colored’, the same scene is sends out the same message with a completely different intensity in the 2008 revival: Emile: Yes, Nellie. I am their father. Nellie: And—their mother...she was a...was a... Emile:
The 1900’s were a time for great transformations and growth within the theatrical community. Of all types of theater that were developed during that period, musical theater matured into a more respected and widely desired form of entertainment. Musical theater transformed from blackface minstrel shows with gag productions into pieces of reputable theater. One of the most influential productions in making that turn into sophistication is Showboat. Based on the novel by Edna Ferber Showboat was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II (Smith 627). Showboat was premiered in the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 27, 1927 (Smith 627). The 1926 novel chronicled the lives of a musical and racially integrated cast upon the Cotton Blossom. The production of Showboat marked the rebirth of musical theater because it set the standards for any American Musical by shattering theatrical traditions. For the first time Showboat would introduce a well written production with incorporated and advanced music and lyrics that furthered the plot. The caricature style of gaudy actions and unrealistic productions were gone. For the first time the plot was just as important as the music. The new format of an elevated production along with the controversial topics of the time shook the customs of musical theater. Showboat is often considered one of the most influential American productions because it made a timeless statement about the Civil War era culture of the American south and established a new genre of theater.
People have dreams of what they want to do or accomplish in life, but usually musical theatre is just pushed into the non-realistic void. It isn’t a dream for me. In the past four years, musical theatre has been clarified as my reality. Musical theatre has been the only thing I have seen myself wanting to do. My first love was The Phantom of the Opera, seeing how I watched it almost every day and it was one of the first shows I saw. Of course, I started doing all of those cute shows in middle school and making a huge deal about it to my family and friends, but I have never felt so passionate about something. The minute I get up on that stage I throw away Riley for two and a half hours and it’s the most amazing feeling! Being able to tell a story
Before the musical team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, it was rare for a black entertainer to gain acceptance along the “Great White Way,” also known as Broadway. The duo obtained unparalleled success, and reopened the door for black performers on the Broadway stage during the early 1920s. At the end of World War I, African American culture was prospering in Harlem, and the country was tentatively sampling the black rhythms of jazz. However, Sissle and Blake’s 1921 production Shuffle Along became the first black production on Broadway since 1910. The collaborators presented a succession of songs, dances, and sketches that were attuned to the new musical sounds of the day, which broke through the color bar on Broadway. Shuffle Along inspired
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. Written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and characters of the musical. Furthermore, it will discuss how Bernstein and Sondheim relate characters’ diverse ethnicities to particular musical ideas and motifs.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
The musicals that were produced around that time period were meant to be strictly for entertainment, for the most part. It was a very brave move for the creative team of this musical to tackle themes like racism, violence, and death. The risk definitely paid off, because even today West Side Story still remains a very popular musical. The main message that this show is trying to convey to the audience is that it shouldn’t take a horrible tragedy to finally unite people. Just because someone may not look the same way you do, or act the same way, or share your same belief system, that doesn’t mean you have to be fearful of them. Instead we should try our hardest to embrace the fact that this world would be a very boring place without a little diversity, and it’s ok to celebrate the things that make us
The period between the early 1940s to mid-1960s or so, alternatively, the period between when the musical Oklahoma! (1943) was produced till the time when Hair (1968) was produced, is usually referred to as the Golden Age of the American musical (Kantor, 2010). It is during this period, that most of the noted titles such as “Carousel”, “South Pacific” etc. were produced by the. The 1940s and early 1950s were dominated thoroughly by MGM musicals, while the late 1950s and 1960s belonged to Broadway. Initially, the musicals of this era had simple plots, unchallenging themes, with romantic or comedic characters and lots of singing and dancing.
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. West Side Story is a classic American musical based on the classic story "Romeo and Juliet". The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. However, we should inspect how the musical film through its music, its dances, its romantic melodrama, and its exoticism of cultural differences distracts from the racism in it. How does it attract, interpellate, and position ideologically the perceiving spectator — whose social construction of reality and racial differences belong to the U.S.A. — by spatially dividing
Stein’s story of “Melanctha” in Three Lives has been well-known for its ability to challenge conservative realism. In regards to her depiction of black characters like Melanctha, Rose Johnson, and James Herbert, Barbara Will says, “In writing ‘Melanctha’, Stein found herself in a complex web of racial contradictions. She was very much drawn to African-American popular musical culture at the turn of the century,
thesis of how the musical brought our inner child out to realize our true struggles in life.
“A mother. A daughter. Three possible dads. And a trip down the aisle you’ll never forget!” MAMMA MIA! The Musical performed on Tuesday March 18, 2014 at the Hanover Theater by Work Light Productions written by the British playwright Catherine Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. A musical based on the 1970’s Swedish pop band ABBA top charter album ABBA GOLD: THE GREATEST HITS set on a Greek island vacation getaway unfolding the bride-to-be’s, Sophie, search for her self whom believes can find her answer by discovering the true identity of her father. Sophie encounters with her mother’s diary from the year she was conceived and learns the names of three possible fathers: Harry Bright, Bill Austin, and Sam Carmichael. Sophie sends all three an invitation to her wedding in hopes to uncover the identity of her absent father to join her in the walk down the aisle to give her away to her fiancé Sky. Sophie’s mother, Donna, a strong fierce independent mother whom vows she can get on with life without the use of a man beside her is in complete devastation to discover the arrival of her ex-lovers the day before Sophie’s wedding. Especially the man she cared about the most, Sam, whom she never wanted to see again for leaving her to be married off to another woman. A secret she hid all these years from everyone including her two best friends, Tanya and Rosie, whom together use to be known as the girl group Donna and the Dynamos. Except Donna herself doesn't even know which of the three is Sophie’s father because she slept with all of them in a very short amount of time one after the other. Sophie believed she would know which one of the three men was her father with just one look but is now even more confused then she was before feeling ...
Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the most popular plays in American history. The play contains this theme of Old South versus New South where old southern ideals and way of life clash against newly formed ideals of the late 19th and early 20th century. The distinctions between the Old South’s emphasis on tradition, social class, and segregation versus the New South’s emphasis on hard work can be seen throughout the play.
.... Sharing a stage or music with another race was considered wrong. However, despite segregation James A. Bland was one of the first African American composers who wrote song compositions for minstrel shows. The African Americans faced a lot of prejudice however it did not stop them from creating entertainment and from building separate theaters. Some of his popular songs he had composed from this time period that can be found in the genre of minstrel shows are “Carry Me Back to Old Virginia”, “In the Evening of the Moonlight” and another classic musical piece “Be Golden Wedding.” Historically he was one of the first African American song composers that came from United States. Back then, this highly respected composer worked as a page for the U.S. House of Representatives Also from his many musical talents, on his down time he sang along to his own songs with a
The 2000s/ 2010s brought in a wave of movie musicals- adapted from the stage shows. These brought new audiences into the theatre world, and for the first time in 20 years, brought a love to some of the timeless musicals. With slightly altered songs to appeal to a newer audience, these films brought in much needed money into the industry, with films including: Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Fame- and many more. Together with this, musicals began to push the concept of the songs in them, with a wave of new styles being written. Rap musicals such as ‘Hamilton’ and ‘In The Heights’, Pop musicals including ‘Waitress’ and ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and Rock musicals of ‘American Idiot’ and ‘Spring Awakening’. Together they pushed boundaries of a ‘traditional’ musical theatre sound, and brought in something never before seen. Due to the influence of ‘Rent’, controversial issues and themes began to be explored more, such as Teen suicide, Murder, Ethnic barriers and everything else, which brought with them, a world of opportunities. It was clear that musical theatre was once again showing for a promising
The Lion King musical is a well-known musical that has taken the stages of Broadway, West End and the rest of the world by storm (The Lion King, 1997). Regarding the process of the musical, Artistic Director Julie Taymor’s first thoughts for choosing the Lion King as the next big thing on stage, was classed as ‘impossible’ due to the film’s lack of theatrical material (The Lion King, 1997). Therefore, staging this particular work contained a great deal of uncertainty and the need for taking huge risks. Taymor (1997) suggests how ‘the Lion King was the worst idea possible to create a stage show.’ It has become evident that a number of significant barriers had to be overcome to secure the practicality of the production. In view of this controversy, this dissertation will critically analyse the success of the Lion King by exploring two significant aspects that have helped to make the musical a success. Firstly, the essential components that make up this theatrical production will be explored and secondly, the roles of each producer within the Lion King and their combined and individual influences they have had from the production will be evaluated. By analysing these two central themes, this paper will show how and why this musical has developed and achieved its phenomenal success.