Nothing really important on Broadway these past 35 years?- Page 2

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 1/22/09 at 11:42pm

I nominate PalJoey to be the new teacher of this class.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 1/22/09 at 11:46pm

Adam Guettel? In a sea of generic, pop-infused, folky "new" composers, Adam Guettel brings in the sound of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim into the millenium. In my opinion, that's pretty important. He may not be quite as skilled as them yet, but he has the potential to be pretty damn successful artistically.

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 1:01am

Guettel isn't "new"

he's up in his late 40's and has been writing music FOREVER .. just finally got a break in the last ten years

[Acaila]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 6:36am

What shows are on the syllabus OP? It would be interesting if you would post up a list of what each class is about :)

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 7:35am

You don't think R&H were writing forever before they hit it big? Sondheim? I think his big break would technically consider him a new voice in the Broadway world. If you're going to discredit "new" talent solely based on the fact that their first Broadway endeavor isn't their first, then nothing new will ever happen. PIAZZA was a brand new musical that was as grand, sweeping, romantic, complex, and sounded every bit as beautiful as the classics with top-notch performers to carry it out.

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 8:40am

umm Phantom of the Opera.. you know its only the longest running musical in Broadway history

[chris d]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 8:51am

"Adam Guettel? In a sea of generic, pop-infused, folky "new" composers, Adam Guettel brings in the sound of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim into the millenium. In my opinion, that's pretty important. He may not be quite as skilled as them yet, but he has the potential to be pretty damn successful artistically. "

but isn't sounding like R&H (&SS) being generic too??

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 9:43am

Touche. You got me there.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 9:48am

You stop whining, PJ!

At least you got to study with Chaucer himself.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 10:02am

I didn't study with Chaucer. I think he had died by then.

But I did study Writing for the Musical Theater with Sondheim, Prince, Comden, Green, Bernstein, and Laurents.

And so did George Wolfe and Winnie Holzman and Louis Rosen and Jeff Lunden and Alex Rybeck and Victoria Clark.

Posted: 1/23/09 at 10:15am

Wow, it sounds like this teacher is making broad statements that force you to challenge his ideas by citing evidence to the contrary. He's managed to make you take to a message board, outraged, to gather discussion points for the next class- forcing you to think about his subject matter intelligently.

For shame. Get this guy out of there.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 12:14pm

Riiiiight. Arthur Laurents was the one who studied with Chaucer.

[madbrian]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 2:21pm

"Arthur Laurents was the one who studied with Chaucer."

Or, vice versa.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 2:24pm

Ha!

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 4:14pm

A minor quibble with whoever said that "Contact" had no book--I think it had a very clear storyline, which to me means that it definitely did have a book.

But on to the bigger questions of this post. I can understand the desire to teach a course on the golden age of Broadway, whatever the teacher thinks that means. But a survey course should teach the whole history, and should only omit pre-history, if necessary.

The last 35 years, since the rise of Sondheim and the Rock Musical in the early 70s, have certainly seen the British megamusical and its American imitators, the trend of staging films (musical and non), the jukebox musical (with and without plot), the rise of the revival, the trend of off-Broadway transfers, the non-profit presence on Broadway, the corporation (e.g. Disney) as producer, the expansion of the "ethnic" musical beyond Jewish to include black, Hispanic and dare I say gay musicals, and at least one and possibly two generations of post-Sondheim composers.

That is certainly enough to talk about for a class session or two, if not for a whole book!

Can I get a holla back! lol

Updated On: 1/23/09 at 04:14 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 4:15pm

I would say Frank Wildhorn having 3 NEW musicals run similtanously is a big feat...especially since he was the first (and the last I believe) in decades when he did it in 1999 (Spring, (April-May), and although briefly: The Scarlet Pimpernel (SP2), The Civil War, and the long-running Jekyll & HYDE).

[Fosse76]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 4:41pm

"To the OP: Spring Awakening didn't make that big of an impact, fact of the matter is 10 years from now not many people will know what it is. Overall, though I disagree with your professor."

Especially since Spring Awakening is the musicalized version of a 118 year-old play.

"I would say Frank Wildhorn having 3 NEW musicals run similtanously is a big feat...especially since he was the first (and the last I believe) in decades when he did it in 1999 (Spring, (April-May), and although briefly: The Scarlet Pimpernel (SP2), The Civil War, and the long-running Jekyll & HYDE)."

Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Sunset Boulevard were all running at the same time in 1994.

[MadPhan]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 7:19pm

PalJoey; Oh, believe me; I know how lucky I am to be in this class! It is already my favorite. I didn't mean to give the impression that I didn't like the class or the professor. I just thought the comment was interesting and wanted to see what other Broadway fans thought.
JoeKv99; I understand what your saying, but I don't think that is the case. This wasn't in a discussion or anything like that, just going over what the schedule is.
As for my schedule...
Day 1; Overview of course
Day 2; Opera
Day 3; The Black Crook, Minstrel Shows
Day 4; Vaudeville, Burlesque
Day 5; George M. Cohan, Revues
Day 6; Gilbert and Sullivan, Operetta
Day 7; Irving Berlin
Day 8; Jerome Kern, The Princess Theater Shows
Day 9; Show Boat
Day 10; Quiz, George and Ira Gershwin
Day 11; Porgy and Bess
Day 12; Cole Porter
Day 13; Rodgers and Hart
Day 14; Rodgers and Hammerstein
Day 15; Oklaholma!
Day 16; Midterm exam
Day 17; Directors/Coreographers
Day 18; Gypsy
Day 19; Sondheim
Day 20; Sweeney Todd
Day 21; Hair, Falsettos
Day 22; Quiz, Kurt Weill
Days 23-25; Group presentations on a Golden Age musical
Day 26; The Last 35 Years; Trends and Developments
Day 27; The Musical Theater in 2009
then one day for review for finals.

[lull89]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 8:30pm

How long are your class periods? Covering all of the last 35 years in 2 hours is very different from covering it in 1 hour.

[MadPhan]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 9:21pm

Good point. The classes are and hour and 15 minutes each.

[philly03]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 1:10am

"Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Sunset Boulevard were all running at the same time in 1994. "

Yes, Lloyd Webber/British musicals which debuted in London. I'd assume from the question that it was more of AMERICAN Theatre (not that these shows shouldn't count)...so I took Frank Wildhorn as the American Composer who did it.

And Lloyd Webber holds the record doing that five times!:
1982: Cats, Joseph... & EVITA
1988: Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express
1990: Aspects, Cats & Phantom
1994: Cats, Phantom, Sunset
2000: Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Phantom

I certainly think both of htose composers have a feat worth noting!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 6:33pm

IMPORTANT? NONE? Are you KIDDING me? (And please note that just because I list them doesn't mean I like them - but they're certainly important to theater history).

Sunday in the Park With George
Sweeney Todd
A Chorus Line
Cats
Phantom of the Opera
The Light in the Piazza
Caroline, or Change
RENT

Get the drift?

[bwaybabe2]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 8:58pm

MadPhan, I agree with you. Your teacher apparently is not giving importance to the way musicals have actually evolved and transformed the current stage in the last, heck, 20 years!
Too much actually has been going on to ignore it this way.
I also think, even though some disagree, that Andrew Lloyd Webber has been instrumental in bringing audiences back to Broadway and theater, in general. Let's face it, most people, whether theatre fans or not, have been exposed to Phantom, Cats, and JCS, or at least know something about these productions. That, in itself, is an accomplishment.

[laura is broadway]

Posted: 1/25/09 at 4:14pm

If you don't feel comfortable posting this, I understand, but where are you taking this class? I'm currently in the college search process, and I would love to take a class of this sort!

[MadPhan]

Posted: 1/26/09 at 7:45pm

Oh, I don't mind at all! I am actually very proud of where I go to school! I go to Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI.