Stephen Sondheim is a well-known musical theatre composer who has been quite successful with his work. This world-renowned composer has had many prosperous musicals such as West Side Story, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods. These are only a few out of over twenty of the other musicals he has written. This man’s music is very different from music written by other composers. This certain kind of music has a unique sound that has clashing notes, yet is sounds satisfying and appeals to large audiences. Sondheim’s music is well-appreciated by many people of all ages. He has won eight Tony’s, more than any other composer. Sondheim sculpted the musicality of musical theatre into what it is today by …show more content…
He did not have any interest in music when he was younger. When he was a boy he had a high IQ, and he was competitive and sarcastic. Being a mathematician was what he wanted to be as he got older. Sondheim started his musical journey at the age of seven with piano lessons; he started to enjoy playing piano and eventually got to be a very musical person. Secrest stated that “All children had similar gifts, he believed, but their interests were not allowed to develop” (20). At ten years old, Sondheim moved to Pennsylvania and became neighbors with the famous musical theatre composer, Oscar Hammerstein II. The families became great friends, and Sondheim became Hammerstein’s personal assistant, enabling him to learn great musical techniques from a professional composer. As a 15-year-old Stephen Sondheim composed his first musical, and he put the show on at his high …show more content…
Gypsy had many runs on Broadway. It was first opened on Broadway on May 21, 1959. Then on March 29, 1973 Gypsy opened in London; it moved from London to Broadway on September 23, 1974. This musical is known for its line, “sing out, Louise”, but it was actually not in the original script. As Dale states, “The musical's most famous line was not in the original script”(Broadwayworld.com). The original cast of Gypsy summoned many people to see this new show. Ethel Merman starred as Rose, and this is the role that she became famous for. Without this admirable musical many actors would not have had their start on broadway, and the inspiring line, “sing out, Louise” would not inspire performers of all
After several years with the "Tennessee Ten", Florence joined a new show called "Dixie to Broadway" in 1924. With her widely recognized theme song, "I'm a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird", the show was a phenomenal success. In June of 1925, Florence received vaudeville's highest honor. She was the star attraction at the Palace Theatre. By heading the bill at the Palace, she became the first black performer to have that honor.
so his love for music started when he was very young. When he was little, his
Nearly a century’s worth of compositions has earned Aaron Copland extensive recognition as the foremost American composer of his time. Ironically, Copland was raised the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and inhabitant of a colorless city environment, yet would become known for producing the music of “rugged-souled Americans” (Mellers 4). Unbounded by historical musical constraints such as those present in the culture of France, where Copland studied for many years, Copland found himself free to explore and experiment in pursuit of a unique, undoubtedly American sound.
Throughout the years, America has pursued the performing arts in a large variety of ways. Theatre plays a dramatic and major role in the arts of our society today, and it takes great effort in all aspects. Musical Theatre, specifically, involves a concentration and strength in dance, acting, and singing. This is the base that Musical Theatre is built upon. For my Senior Project, I helped choreograph multiple scenes in a community musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Choreography is a way of expressing oneself, but it has not always been thought of for that purpose. Agnes de Mille’s expressive talent has drastically affected how people see choreography today. Agnes de Mille’s influence in the world of dance has left a lasting impact in the Performing Arts Department, and her revolutionary works are still known today for their wit, lyricism, emotion, and charm.
The partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein was made possible by Richard Rodgers’ partner, Hart, becoming increasingly difficult to get back to work. Rodgers wished to adapt the play Green Grow the Lilacs into a musical, but Hart wasn’t interested in the show. So, Rodgers took Oscar Hammerstein up on his offer to collaborate on a project. That project turned out to be the successful musical Oklahoma!
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.
Based on a series of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (1987) focuses on fairy tale characters such as Cinderella, Jack and Little Red Riding Hood’s wish of life fulfillment. Numerous fairy tales are intertwined with one new tale in attempt to carry the childhood stories into an adult realm without ridding of their child-based sensibilities. (Knapp, 2009.) Little Red’s song, “I know things now” is performed after she escapes the wolf’s belly. It is a reflection song on what she has learnt from the experience of speaking to strangers. Sondheim cleverly integrates musical devises such as key, modulation, pitch, accompaniment, dynamics, motif and rhythm alongside language and literary devices to contribute to the development and growth of the character and story.
For many years, American musical theatre was defined as being mere entertainment for the people. It ranged from operetta, burlesque, vaudeville, and more. If there is one towering figure in the history of American Musical Theater, that person is Oscar Hammerstein II. He was a lyricist-librettist, as well as a distinguished poet and director. For over forty years, as the theatre’s forms of entertainment shifted, he helped merge everything into the art form known today as the musical. Born twenty-three years after Hammerstein, came Alan Jay Lerner. Idolizing Hammerstein’s work, he would grow to become another distinguished lyricist-librettist in musical theatre history. In this paper, we will look deeper at who these lyricists are and their writing style. Then we will examine one of each of their works and factors that fueled their creation.
Horowitz, Mark Eden. "The Craft Of Making Art: The Creative Processes Of Eight Musical Theatre Songwriters." Studies In Musical Theatre 7.2 (2013): 261-283.Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
For a society that was now being defined by radically changing racial and ethnic diversity, the music that bore the label of “American” by definition required that multiplicity of cultures. Gershwin’s and Copland’s compositions both epitomize this idea because they were so successful in defining and uniting diverse elements of American culture into their arrangements, giving the American music scene a new exclusive tradition of both foreign sounds and exotic rhythms.
The period between 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. 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. But towards the end of it, the plots were sophisticated, serious with singing, dancing as well as dialogue. In this paper, I choose to elaborate more on the musical – Arthur Laurents’s West Side Story. In the first part of this paper, I discuss the plot, songs and other aspects of the musical such as the awards etc. Later on, I explain how this musical revolutionized the theatre and the cultural effects it had on Americans. Finally, I conclude in the end the historical importance of this musical piece.
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein were both writers and producers in the theatre, but, their collaborative venture in the 1940’s introduced a new era of musical theatre. First, they wrote the first musical in which every element: music, lyrics, narrative, and even dance contributed to telling the story, each part blending and woven into the whole. Their new idea was a huge sensation with audiences, and brought with it, new recordings of shows with albums and records to follow and revival productions around the world. The duo changed the fate of musical theatre practically overnight, but, it couldn’t have been done without the projects, big or small, that got them there, their
Since both Prince’s mother and father were in the same jazz band, Prince’s journey to music had begun (Warren,2001). Prince had taught himself how to play the piano, guitar, and drums all by the mere age of only 14.
The musical Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda tells of Alexander Hamilton’s impressive journey from an all but irrelevant street child, to one of the most important men in American politics. It is based off of a true story of growth, heroism, and determination. In writing this musical, Miranda takes a dry, historic story, and turns it into a captivating performance. His project to take the story of Alexander Hamilton and make it relatable to the average American is extraordinarily successful, mostly because the methods by which he does this are unprecedented. His unique methods and practices have resulted in Hamilton being so popular that it was awarded a record breaking sixteen Tony nominations (Paulson). The musical tells how Hamilton doesn’t
Rodgers and Hammerstein have had many popular and relevant Broadway musicals that have been performed on different stages all around the world. Musicals such as Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King