Shows every educated person NEEDS to know

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:46pm

I teach a History of Musical Theatre class to 27 7th and 8th graders every Friday. I am touching on shows by the decade beginning with 1900 and on.

The shows in my curriculum thus far are:

1900: George Washington, Jr.
1910: Watch Your Step
1920: Show Boat
1930: Porgy and Bess
1940: Oklahoma
1950: West Side Story
1960: Fiddler on the Roof
1970: A Chorus Line
1980: Cats
1990: The Lion King
2000s: TBD

What shows would you add or substitute to this list?

Keep in mind, these are students aged 12-14, most of whom have zero exposure to musical theatre (and those who have seen a musical saw something like "High School Musical" at a local dinner theatre).

I only have 18 class periods to devote to this (the other 4 days a week we spend on traditional history of western music) so I am trying to pick the best representative musicals.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:50pm

and Sondheim is getting his own day...?

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:51pm

1980's should not be Cats, I would replace it with Les Miserables.

1990's: Dude...RAGTIME

As for the 2000's (don't eat me), I'm going to have to say Wicked... or maybe the producers

[fetzles1490]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:51pm

I would substitute Rent for The Lion King, and the 80's are hard too... That was a pretty epic decade. Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis...

[jake6970]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:54pm

If you're going by most popular musicals, then I would say that Wicked would have to be the show for the 2000's. But really, I know these kids are young, but Rent defined the 1990's more than anything.

[jake6970]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:54pm

Hairspray would also be a good choice for this decade.

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:54pm

I think I would replace Cats with Phantom of the Opera. It certainly has had much more success. It is a book musical. It also, as did Cats, provides an example of the british transfer which was the theme of the 80s.

I would also go with "The Wizard of Oz" for 1900s book and lyrics written by Baum himself. It toured from 1902-1911 with several stops on broadway. There is a composite 2 CD of individual songs released in various forms over the years. Updated On: 2/13/09 at 03:54 PM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:55pm

I'm going to suggest switching to "Rent" as well. I'm not a huge fan but I recognize it's importance in how musical theatre has changed over the years. 50 years from now I'm going to guess that historians will put "Rent" over the "TLK" in having a great effect on Broadway as a whole.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:57pm

Some decades are getting more than one day. Ragtime WILL be in the curriculum, simply because it is MY personal favorite show.

Rent I am waffling on. I was 13 when Rent opened, and it was a huge deal to me, but due to subject matter I am hesitant to teach the show in school. This is a very conservative area and I think a lot of the parents would go ape****.

I want to do a Sondheim day, but I'm a little perplexed on how to make Sondheim accessible to them. As young teens with no music background, Sondheim is probably going to be beyond them. The only show I could imagine teaching would be "Into the Woods" because I worry a lot of his shows would be a bit over their heads content wise (how many 7th graders really relate to Company or Sunday?)

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:03pm

So, I don't know George Washington, Jr. or Show Boat.


Now I'm uneducated?

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:04pm

Colleen_lee

These tweens (believe it or not), are in love with Sweeney. You can add that to your Sondheim day. Maybe instead of doing Cats, Les Miz, or Phantom for the 80's, have a day to talk about the british invasion of broadway in the 80's

Updated On: 7/29/09 at 04:04 PM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:05pm

Well, why don't you alert the parents beforehand that you're going to be discussing "Rent" and it's importance to musical theatre? Most people will react more positively if you let them know before something takes place rather than them finding out from the kids afterward.

And if you get a lot of negative response then you'll pull it. But I think you ought to, at least, try to include it.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:06pm

Beauty and The Beast affected Broadway much more than The Lion King. If it wasn't for Beauty and The Beast, The Lion King wouldn't even be on Broadway, probably.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:22pm

Wishingonlywounds-
You SHOULD know Show Boat...it's the reason Musical Theatre exists as it does now.

coleen_lee:
I'll go with the suggestion of "Wizard of Oz" the story (as it were) will be more familiar, and you can juxtapose it against the more modern-musical versions, like the 1939 movie and The Wiz.

Into the Woods or Sweeney would probably be the easiest Sondheim's to teach. Follies, Company, Night Music and Sunday would probably go over the vast majority of their heads.

I'm also going to echo whomever said that you should send a note home about Rent...or really any of the shows that might have something objectional (ACL does discuss homosexualty, and drops the 'f' bomb.)

And the "80's as a British Invasion" is also a good idea.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:25pm

"I'm also going to echo whomever said that you should send a note home about Rent...or really any of the shows that might have something objectional (ACL does discuss homosexualty, and drops the 'f' bomb.)"

And WSS has gang violence and suggested sex. I don't know if I'd discuss each show individually in the note but rather say "Some shows have adult themes".

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:26pm

1980s Into the Woods
It's not the most profound piece of that decade, but it's entertaining for that age group, and has a moral to it. Plus it's Sondheim.

You should maybe think about doing a class dedicated to shows that have been revived multiple times, and why their popularity stands its ground. How do producers and directors keep it fresh each time.

1940s On the Town, Annie Get Your Gun, South Pacific
Actually, SP would be good because of the whole WW2 thing. Historically it's way more educational and entertaining than Oklahoma

Updated On: 2/13/09 at 04:26 PM

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:30pm

And WSS has gang violence and suggested sex. I don't know if I'd discuss each show individually in the note but rather say "Some shows have adult themes".

That would work depending on the location. In Texas, you'd have to list every show with adult themes, especially for the middle school set. We weren't allowed to watch "Dead Poet's Society" without a permission slip because of the one scene. Yu might also include "A specific breakdown is available for those interested."

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:31pm

We're not watching each show (we just don't have time)but just scratching the surface of each. They're getting a synopsis, getting the important "details" (who, what, where, when), and we're watching some clips and listening to a few songs but in a 45 minute class period I don't have time to get too deep. ACL and WSS don't concern me too greatly because there is enough non-adult material in them for me to teach, but it's difficult to even give a synopsis of Rent without getting into objectionable material.

ETA: That someone who spends their time hanging around a place like BWW doesn't know Show Boat bewilders me.

Updated On: 2/13/09 at 04:31 PM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:35pm

I'd still try the letter.

7th Graders today know a lot more than 7th graders 10-20 years ago. I wouldn't be shocked if they already knew a lot about what goes in in Rent.

Like I said...I'm not a Rent fan but I do think you should teach it.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:36pm

7th graders today do half of the stuff, if not all of the stuff that is in RENT.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 4:39pm

This isn't about the 7th graders, I'm not concerned about THEM. I know they can handle it. It's the right-wing parents that can't handle it.

[jspaeth87]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 5:07pm

Another show that's very important to influencing musical theatre is hair...although another risque show....but i think there's enough to talk about the anti-war sentiments of the show that you don't have to talk about the sex and drugs

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 5:12pm

With one more year left until 2010 (I can't believe I just wrote, time flies) I think it's fair to put WICKED for 2000s.

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 5:38pm

I remember back when I was in 8th grade we did Into the Woods as our musical and really enjoyed putting it on. It would certainly be a great introduction to Sondheim. And I'm sure some of the students will have been allowed to see the Sweeney movie as well.

As for the Rent debate, I first discovered the show back in middle school, but my parents were less than thrilled, so I agree with the letter home about potentially risque topics being discussed. However, if you don't want to go too in depth on Rent, it certainly deserves a mention for changing the landscape of Broadway in the 90s. Or, perhaps even simply taking a class to discuss how "revolutionary" theatre often pushes the social boundaries of the time (Rent, Hair, etc.)

[jewelchk]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 6:37pm

Just want to echo the Into the Woods thing-- we did it when I was in middle school, and everyone was really into it. I loved it, and I hadn't heard of Sondheim before that. You may also want to touch on Gypsy (not a favorite of mine, but pretty important), even though Sondheim did the lyrics and not the score.

For the contemporary stuff, glad you have Ragtime in there. I'm not the biggest Rent fan but am in agreement with all the other stuff already said in this thread about having it in there... but the Disneyfication of theater is important too. Maybe it would be an interesting juxtaposition to kind of do the 90s as Rent versus Disney?

Also... I don't know if you're just doing theater/music appreciation or if you're making any commentary on how the popularity of shows can represent both what's going on in the world and what's going on in business. If you are touching on any of that, you may want to talk about the recent influx of the jukebox (Jersey Boys, etc) and movie musical (The Producers, etc) or that some of the long running shows (Cats, Phantom, Lion King, Mama Mia, etc) in part have a huge tourist appeal because they are more universal and not as reliant on people having a fluent understanding of English.