Music Theatre History (253-0-20)

Instructors

David Paul Chavannes

Meeting Info

RCMA 1-160: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

In this survey course, emerging theatre practitioners investigate continuities and changes in the conventions of musical theatre in the United States from the 1850s to present day. Through frequent, hands-on analysis of primary and secondary sources, students will apply the skills of sourcing, corroboration, contextualization, and music analysis to formulate evidence-based arguments about:
(1) The forms of musical entertainment that people in the US encountered between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries.
(2) The artistic and economic conventions of the book musical as it evolved between the 1920s and 1960s.
(3) The conditions that fostered the emergence of concept and rock musicals in the 1960s and 1970s.
(4) The ways that contemporary composers, lyricists, and librettists have both incorporated and overturned the inherited conventions of the art form since the 1980s.

Registration Requirements

Pre-reg: MT Cert students only
Registration: Theatre maj/min

Class Materials (Required)

To fully participate in this course, students will need:
(1) A computing device to access course materials on Canvas and video record assignments on Panopto
(2) A pair of headphones or earbuds for discreet in-class listening $26-50