Musical Theatre I

Chicago 

1975

john kander 

fred ebb

bob fosse 

Broadway 

about criminals and their crimes. satire on corruption in the criminal justice system. 

flapper girl, jazzy, fun

jazzy, upbeat, top hat 

Roxie Hart- An aspiring vaudevillian who kills her lover after a fight and is sent to jail.

Velma Kelly- killed her sister after she caught her and her husband having an affair.

Amos Hart- Roxies devoted husband 

Billy Flynn- lawyer 

I think it's very edgy and provocative. 

I think so if you can play a killer 

Company

1970

Stephen Sondheim 

Stephen Sondheim

George Furth

Broadway

Robert is a single man living in NYC and all of his friends are married. It is his birthday and all of his friends are there. The musical follows the back stories of relationships through the lens of Robert and how most of the relationships are built on secrets. Robert is non-commital but through out the musical he finds that we want to be in a relationship. Deals with dating, marriage, and divorce. 

modern-musical theatre/traditional musical theatre

Robert: Baritone

Sarah: Alto

Harry: Baritone

Susan: Mezzo

Peter: Baritone

Jenny: Soprano

David: Tenor

Amy: Alto

Paul: Tenor

Joanne: Alto

Larry: Tenor

Marta: Mezzo

Kathy: Mezzo

April: Mezzo

Very fun to listen to

The females in the show range from the age of 21-65. So, yes there is a possibility of playing a role now or in 20-ish years. 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

1949

Jule Styne

Leo Robin

Joseph Fields, Anita Loos

Opened Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre

Full orchestra music, up tempo, could do the Charleston to. 

- Lorelei

- Dorothy

-Gus

-Sir Francis

-Henry

-Lady Beekman

-Two detectives (Robert and Louie)

All of the roles require a lot of high intensity dancing. And require being very flirtatious on stage. A lot of raunchy humor. 

It seems like it would be a very fun show to be in. It is very high in glitz and glamour. The costumes are very extravagant with a lot of Lorelei's dresses being covered in diamonds. 

Possibly if you are not afraid of being flirtatious on stage. 

Guys and Dolls 

1950

Frank Loesser

Frank Loesser

Abe Burrows, Joe Swerling

Broadway 

old fashioned, very new york, romantic 

ballads, good dance number music, classic Broadway. 

miss Adelaide - female lead - alto

Sarah Brown - female lead - soprano

Sky Masterson - male lead - Baritone 

Nathan Detroit - Male lead - Baritone  

It was very comical and had cool dancing 

I think that you could play Adelaide if you do better in a lower range and Sarah Brown if you do better in a higher range. 

Gypsy 

1959

Jule Styne

Stephen Sondheim

Arthur Laurents 

Its about a striptease artist, Gypsy Rose Lee, and her mother Rose. The story follows Rose and her dreams whilst raising two daughters to perform on stage and the hardships of showbiz.

light, flamboyant, fun, cool

big, triumphant, bold, upbeat, silly, jumpy

Louise: female lead, mezzo soprano, late teen/young adult, dancer, high note: D#5 low note: C#4, belting

Rose: female lead, mezzo soprano, adult, mover, high note: C5 low note: F3, belting

June: female supporting, mezzo soprano, early teen/late teen, dancer, high note: D5 low note: G#3, legit 

Herbie: male supporting, baritone, adult/mature adult, mover, high note: B3 low note: G#2, legit 

I think it is a very entertaining and exciting show with great performances and great music.

Louise would be appropriate for folks in this class because it's within the age range.

Hair

1967

Galt Macdermot

Gerome Ragni

James Rado

Gerome Ragni

James Rado

Off Broadway

Hair follows a group of young countercultural hippies who are opposing the Vietnam War and the values of their conservative parents. Claude has to decide whether he should resist the draft as his friends have done, or betray his values and heed its call.

Rebellious, political, celebratory, irreverent

It's all very reminiscent of the 1960s rock and roll movement, but more reflective and poetic than a Jimi Hendrix solo. At times the lyrics resemble a chant or a prayer more than what we usually consider a musical number. (For example, there are two songs which consist of chanting the names of drugs and sexual acts, respectively.)

The show is very ensemble driven, there are only a few characters who are named and focused on. Nobody in the show seems to have very difficult vocal parts, the main demand placed on the performers is a consistent enthusiasm and energy directed toward what this "tribe" believes in.

I can appreciate what it did in its time to challenge conservative norms surrounding race, sex, and lifestyle. However, the emphasis on message over plot moves it outside of my usual taste in entertainment, not to mention that in my life these same issues have taken on much subtler character. All that being said, this is clearly a progressive and important piece of work.

We'd all be perfectly at home in this cast, it is meant for young people with diverse identities.

High Society

1956

 Cole Porter, Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin, Conrad Salinger

Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra 

John Patrick (?)

?

This show is a musical remake of The Philidelphia Story (1940). It tells the story of a man trying to win back the love of his ex-wife who is set to marry another man. 

sensual 

It is very orchestral 

C. K. Dexter, Tracey Lord, Macaulay Connor, George Kittredge, Se Stesso, etc

I probably would not watch it but it seems like a good play. It reminds me of the movies I watched in my Art Cinema class my senior year of high school 

no

High Society

1956

 Cole Porter, Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin, Conrad Salinger

Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra 

John Patrick (?)

?

This show is a musical remake of The Philidelphia Story (1940). It tells the story of a man trying to win back the love of his ex-wife who is set to marry another man. 

sensual 

It is very orchestral 

C. K. Dexter, Tracey Lord, Macaulay Connor, George Kittredge, Se Stesso, etc

I probably would not watch it but it seems like a good play. It reminds me of the movies I watched in my Art Cinema class my senior year of high school 

no

In the Heights

2021

Lin-Manuel Miranda 

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Quira Alegria Hudes

n/a

The lives of the Latinx residents in Washington Heights, New York. 

dancey, catchy, pop, 

Usnavi de la Vega, Nina Rosario, Vanessa, Benny, Daniela, Cuca, Abuela Claudia, Graffiti Pete, Kevin Rosario, Gapo, etc

I thought it was a fun upbeat musical

no

Jagged Little Pill

2018

Alanis Morissette, Tom Kitt, Glen Ballard

Alanis Morissette

Diablo Cody

American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, Massachusetts 

The musical starts off with Mary Jane Healy, the mother, writing her Christmas cards and lying about how well she and her family is doing. In reality, her family is falling apart but she tries to keep up appearances to the public. No one knows that she is addicted to pain pills after a car accident and she and her husband are fighting. She has trouble understanding her daughter, Frankie, and her son, Nick, is slowly breaking under all of the academic pressure that he is under. Everyone has been keeping a secret life apart from their family. Jo, who is Frankie's partner, is struggling with their gender identity and how their mother is treating them. A girl, bella, comes forward about her sexual assault. Nick goes to his mom to tell her that he saw it happen. She tells him to keep it to himself because it could ruin his good-boy reputation. Frankie is caught cheating on Jo and she then runs off to New York. MJ has unresolved trauma from when she was sexually assaulted in high school and overdoses on pain killers. The play ends with a year being passed and MJ is writing her Christmas cards again and telling the audience how far her and her family have come. 

Very much teenage 2000's angst. 

It is inspired by the music of Alanis Morissette. It is a mashup of all of her songs. 

MJ, Steve, Frankie, Nick, Bella, Jo, and Phoenix. All of the characters have to deal with a lot of trauma. Having to live through experiences like this and then having to then portray those emotions on stage takes a huge emotional toll on a person. It would be tough performing this show multiple times a week. 

For me, it has a similar vibe to Spring Awakening. Teens that are struggling with how they express themselves. I would really like to see this show performed. 

The show deals with a lot of deep subject matter. If someone is willing to perform a song from this show, I am sure it would be really good but it would be really difficult.