Shows every educated person NEEDS to know — Page 2

Rather than solely focusing on Oklahoma, which was integral in the evolution of the integrated musical play and the evolution of dance for dramatic purpose, why not devote a whole day to Rodgers and Hammerstein? Carousel should definitely be included in that lesson.

As far as the modern age, why not focus on Off-Broadway's artistic impact on a Broadway scene that is littered with film to stage regurgitations? Avenue Q, Rent, Caroline Or Change, Grey Gardens, Spring Awakening, Urinetown, etc?

You need to add:
-Gypsy
-Carousel
-Guys and Dolls
-Cabaret
-My Fair Lady
-The Music Man
-The King and I
-Hair

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Colleen - I do an entire UNIT on Into the Woods in my 7/8 grade English class. The kids LOVE it. It's very easily accessible to them.

The kids also love Sweeney, and as long as you don't play anything with a curse in it, you can get away with it.

I would also think Forum could be interesting to kids that age. Company, Night Music, Follies, Assassins, Sunday, Passion -- all way over the heads of any but the most die-hard theater kids.

I agree the KIDS could handle Rent, but as a rule of thumb, if the parents are going to get pissed, I would avoid it.

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Just throw on that 6 part PBS Broadway documentary and take a killer vacation for a couple days. That thing pretty much covers all the shows and people that have made any kind of impact in American theater.

Hey that's actually a prety good list--picking popular shows that were also important and showed something about how musicals changed and progressed (or regressed). I'm down with all your choices even Cats for that reason--but I definetly..:

"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?)"

I did. to both. But I was a bit of a weird kid and loner back then and had already read Tolstoy (god I sound like I musta been a pretentious child lol) and was into ballet. And played violin. Still--even by the time of junior high my friends became curious about Sondheim cuz of me and for many who would find the idea of Oklahoma BORING, the ideas and edgy themes of Sondheim seemed very intriguing. Sunday would probably enthrall some students that age but many would be bored--but I think Sweeney or Into the Woods would be beyond obvious picks (Sweeney might upset your parents though by that age most kids have seen worse)--if you're doing a serious musical theatre course you simply have to include some. I'd actually suggest Passion for the 90s but that may be too much--I am admitteldya huge Passion supporter

"Just throw on that 6 part PBS Broadway documentary and take a killer vacation for a couple days. That thing pretty much covers all the shows and people that have made any kind of impact in American theater."

That's a good idea. That's what we did in middle school. We'd watch, the teacher would pause and chat. Watch, pause, chat. I thought it was interesting, but then again, I'm probably the only one from that class on BroadwayWorld...

Please, don't do Cats! I like it now, but I first saw it when I was about their age, and I HATED it! And anyway, Les Mis was much more influential.

And I would also suggest Rent. It was really influential, and wasn't based off of a Disney film.

Also, I believe that these kids should be exposed to more Sondheim. But if the school is as conservative as you say, I wouldn't suggest Sweeney Todd. I'm a couple years older than them, and I love Sunday. Maybe do that?

Now, color me biased, but I think it's only right to enlighten with a little something called - THE BEGGAR'S OPERA. Reppin' my Brecht-Weill lovin'! THREPENNY's left a mark all the same, if I may be so bold.

Honestly....this depends on what the purpose of the class is. I've taken MT history Classes and some of them emphasized the development of the musicals through history, while others focused more on the productions themselves. So...is it about the structure of the musical and it's growth through the years or is it just a quick IBDB of shows that you(or this board) just happen to think are important.

Also...is your emphasis on Broadway or actually Musical Theatre? If so, then there's really nothing that special about Cats in terms of Musical Theatre. There had been musical interpretations of poetry before, large scale fully sung shows, and really cheesy costumes. But...Cats made a HUGE impact on Broadway in terms of marketing, branding, etc. Does that make sense? It was the first of a stream of megamusicals on Broadway that still has it's last survivor(Phantom) running today.

Have you written your syllabus yet? I think the answer to your question lies in that. What are you trying to teach and why is it important for the kids to know this?

Hair is actually what paved the way for RENT and Spring Awakening to happen decades later. I listened to the OBC in Junior High School. Although the subject matter does revolve around sex and drugs the overall message of idealistic youth, freedom, and being anti war yet still patriotic seems to transcend that.

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A few suggestions….

1900: George Washington, Jr.
As far as I know there is no recording. Several people have suggested WIZARD OF OZ, a very good choice except its score was a mish-mash by a variety of composers tailored to the talents in each production. BABES IN TOYLAND has a full score by Victor Herbert and can introduce the early operettas by him as well (RED MILL, NAUGHTY MARIETTA) as prime examples of the genre.


1910: Watch Your Step
-Same problem with no recordings. Try IRENE (the decade's biggest hit)

1920: Show Boat
-No question. But if you want an example of the 20’s musical comedy either NO NO NANETTE or GOOD NEWS would work

1930: Porgy and Bess
-Again, no question unless this is considered an opera. For 30’s musical comedy, ANYTHING GOES is probably the decades top choice. OF THEE I SING

1940: Oklahoma
-Excellent! The biggest hit of the decade.

1950: West Side Story
-Not the decade’s biggest hit (MY FAIR LADY was) but probably in terms of what followed the most important show.

1960: Fiddler on the Roof
-While it was the decade’s biggest hot, CABARET probably had more impact

-1970: A Chorus Line
-Again it was the decade’s biggest hit but COMPANY and SWEENEY TODD are probably the most important works


1980: Cats
-No. It’s a good example of spinning candyfloss but a very poor example of theatre writing. For an example of a British megamusical I’d opt for LES MISERABLES. SUNDY IN THE PARK was the Pulitzer prize winner, though as you mentioned INTO THE WOODS is more accessible.

1990: The Lion King
- I would not choose this as the decade’s best or even most representational show. RAENT (another PP winner) or RAGTIME would be more appropriate.

2000s:
-The decade has not been strong nut THE PRODUCERS is probably the last word in traditional musical comedy. WICKED is the decade’s biggest hit, and LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA the chamber opera.

A good guide would probably be the PBS 6-hour history of Broadway musicals. It doesn't cover the early operettas but covers just about everything else.

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