Contemporary Music - Broadway Musicals

Broadway Musicals

Musical theatre has been a staple in American culture since the beginning of the twentieth century. In the early 1900’s, Broadway shows consisted of 10-15 vaudeville acts and large choruses of singers and dancers. One of the most popular Broadway shows during this time was the Ziegfeld Follies, starring popular performers such as Fanny Brice. The most popular songs during this time period were Broadway show tunes. Composers such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and George Gershwin dominated “Tin Pan Alley,” a term used to describe the music industry in New York City in the early 1900’s.

 

In 1943, the forward thinking creative duo Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II completely changed the format of musical theatre to what we understand as a musical today. Oklahoma was the first musical to have one plot throughout the entire show. Based off of Lynn Riggs’s play Green Grow the Lilacs, Oklahoma had many hit songs, such as the title song, “Oh What a Beautiful Morning,” “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” and “People Will Say We’re in Love.” The Broadway cast album sold very well and the show ran for an impressive 2,248 performances, which was unheard of at the time. Here is a performance of “Oh What a Beautiful Morning,” featuring Hugh Jackman.

 

Nowadays, Broadway musicals are not as popular as they were in the 1900’s. In the 21st century, there is a dedicated niche audience that avidly consumes and participates in musical theatre. The contents that make a Broadway musical popular are forever changing. For example, composer Robert Lopez has written many controversial comedic Broadway musicals. In 2003, Lopez wrote Avenue Q with Jeff Marx. This musical is a parody of the children’s show, Sesame Street.  The musical has adult puppets as the characters, with some real humans added in too.  When the musical first opened, nearly half of the audience left before it ended because they felt the show was too inappropriate. Here is the opening song to Avenue Q, “It Sucks to be Me.”

A similar musical is The Book of Mormon, written by Robert Lopez, Trey Parker, and Matt Stone. Stone and Parker are known for creating South Park, a comedic television show. This musical is satirical of the Mormon religion. While it won many Tony Awards, a high honor for Broadway musicals, it also offends many people. Here is a number from the show called, “I Believe.”

 

  

While Broadway shows can sometimes ostracize social groups, Broadway can also be a safe haven for subcultures. For example, the musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert focuses on the journey of two drag queens and a transgender woman as they take a road trip across Australia. Along the road, they encounter bigotry and hatred, but gain a better sense of who they are as individuals and make strong friendships. Here is a sample of the casts’ performance at the Tony Awards.

Another musical that focuses on individuality is Billy Elliot. Billy Elliot is a 11 year old British boy who learns that he has a talent for ballet dancing. Unfortunately, his father and many of those around him do not approve of his new talent. Billy faces discrimination for doing what he loves, to dance. Ultimately, he overcomes the diversity he faces and begins to study what his passion truly is.

Broadway shows allow audiences to be transported to different worlds. They contain themes that many audiences can connect with, such as diversity and individuality. They can also provide comedic escapism entertainment. Musical theatre is a genre that has existed for over a century, and will continue to thrive in the future because of its flexibility and ability to appeal to audiences.

Works Cited

 

"Avenue Q.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.

"Billy Elliot the Musical.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.

 

"The Book of Mormon (musical)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.

 

Broadway: The American Musical. Dir. Michael Kantor. PBS, 2012. DVD.

 

"Fanny Brice." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.

"Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (musical)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.

 

"Richard Rodgers." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.

"Tin Pan Alley.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.

 

"Vaudeville." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.