Musical Theatre History

Spring 2016; TR 4:20-5:50

Dr. Marc Napolitano
marc.napolitano@wagner.edu
Office: CACE (Union Building, 3rd Floor), x4080
Course Objectives: This course will trace the history of American musical theatre: from
the early days of vaudeville and revue, toward the advent of fully integrated musical
plays. Our course will highlight key moments in the development of the American
musical. However, it will also address issues of form by examining the narrative
conventions and musical techniques that define the modern, integrated musical. To
facilitate this discussion, we will do a close analysis of four of the most acclaimed and
important musicals of all time: Carousel (1945), My Fair Lady (1956), West Side Story
(1957), and Fiddler on the Roof (1964). Like many musicals, these musicals are
adaptations of preexisting works. By reading the sources of these musicals, and then,
studying the musicals in depth, we will be able to consider how the conventions of
musical theatre work, and how they can reshape the meaning of preexisting stories.
Course Texts:
Historical/Critical Texts
Showtime (St) by Larry Stempel. W. W. Norton & Company (2010).
The American Musical and the Formation of National Identity (TAM) by Raymond Knapp. Princeton (2006).
Literary Texts
Liliom by Ferenc Molnar and Benjamin F. Glazer. Samuel French (2010).
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. Dover Thrift Edition (1994).
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Dover Thrift Edition (2009).
Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories by Sholem Aleichem. Library of Yiddish Classics (1996).
Films/Performance Recordings (on reserve)
Cabaret. 1972. Perf. Liza Minelli, Michael York, Joel Grey. (Film Adaptation)
Carousel. 2013. Perf. Kelli OHara, Nathan Gunn, Jessie Mueller. (Recorded Performance)
Cats. 1998. Perf. John Mills, Elaine Paige, Ken Page. (Recorded Performance)
Chicago. 2002. Perf. Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones, Richard Gere. (Film Adaptation)
Company. 2011. Perf. Neil Patrick Harris, Patti Lupone, Stephen Colbert. (Recorded Performance)
Fiddler on the Roof. 1971. Perf. Topol, Norma Crane, Paul Mann. (Film Adaptation)
HMS Pinafore. 2006. Perf. Anthony Warlow, Colette Mann, Tiffany Speight. (Recorded Performance)
The King and I. 1956. Perf. Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno. (Film Adaptation)
My Fair Lady. 1964. Perf. Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway. (Film Adaptation)
Oklahoma! 1999. Perf. Hugh Jackman, Mauren Lipman, Shuler Hensley. (Recorded Performance)
Porgy and Bess. 2014. Perf. Eric Owens, Laquita Mitchell. (Recorded Performance)
Show Boat. 2014. Perf. Bill Irwin, Patricia Racette. (Recorded Performance)
South Pacific. 2005. Perf. Reba McIntyre, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Alec Baldwin. (In-Concert Performance)
West Side Story. 1961. Perf. Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, George Chakiris. (Film Adaptation)
Several critical texts will be placed on reserve or on the courses Moodle website. Also, you will be required to watch the
films listed above. Due to the fact that this is a large class, you are strongly encouraged to make plans to watch the films
together in groups, this way there is less chance of individual students not being able to access the film upon visiting the
library. It is imperative that you watch the films in a timely manner and that you take notes while watching them. You may
also be required to listen to selections from the cast recordings of several shows.
Attendance and Class Conduct: Students will only be permitted two absences before attendance affects their grade. After
the second unexcused absence, a students grade will drop by a full letter grade. Arriving late more than once will be counted
as an absence. Cellphone use is strictly prohibited during class time. Anyone using a cellphone during class will
automatically fail the course.

Course Schedule
Date
Lesson
19-Jan T Course Introduction
Ballad Opera, Comic Opera,
21-Jan R
Gilbert and Sullivan

Read TAM pp. 34-46; St pp. 97-128; Watch

H.M.S. Pinafore
Read St pp. 55-93; TAM pp. 47-66; Watch
Ethnic Notions
Read St pp. 171-201; Watch Show Boat
Read St pp. 369-397; TAM pp. 181-204;
Listen to selections from Porgy and Bess

28-Jan

R Minstrelsy

2-Feb

4-Feb

R Porgy and Bess

9-Feb

11-Feb

R Rodgers and Hammerstein

16-Feb

18-Feb

R Class Drop for Conferences

Schedule a conference with Dr. Napolitano

23-Feb

25-Feb

R Carousel ctd.

1-Mar

3-Mar

R My Fair Lady ctd.

15-Mar

17-Mar

R Fiddler on the Roof ctd.

22-Mar

Romeo and Juliet/West Side

Story

29-Mar

West Side Story ctd.

Read Liliom; Watch Carousel

Read Block (digital): Carousel: The
Invasion of the Integrated Musical
Read Pygmalion; Watch My Fair Lady
Read Block (digital): My Fair Lady: From
Pygmalion to Cinderella
Read Aleichems short stories; Watch
Fiddler on the Roof
Read TAM pp. 215-227; Swain (digital):
The Ethnic Musical
Read Romeo and Juliet; Watch West Side
Story
Read TAM pp. 204-214; ST 397-407; Block
(digital): West Side Story: The Very Model
of a Major Musical
Read St pp. 329-365; 409-455; Listen to
selections from Guys and Dolls, The Music
Man, and Gypsy
Watch The King and I and/or South Pacific;
Read TAM pp. 249-268
Read Bertolt Brecht essays (digital); Watch
Company
Read St pp. 531-555; TAM pp. 162-177;
Read and listen to Assassins
Plan on seeing the 04/14 performance of A
Chorus Line in Main Hall (8pm Curtain)
Read St pp. 517-530; TAM pp. 239-248;
Watch Chicago and/or Cabaret

5-Apr

Show Boat

Early Broadway and the

American Songbook

Rodgers and Hammerstein

Liliom/Carousel

Pygmalion/My Fair Lady

Aleichem/Fiddler on the Roof

The Golden Age 1:

R Gangsters, Conmen, and
Strippers
The Golden Age 2:
T
Postcolonialism/Orientalism

7-Apr

R Sondheim, Concept Musicals

12-Apr

14-Apr

R Class Drop for A Chorus Line

19-Apr
21-Apr

Sondheim, Concept Musicals

ctd.

Kander and Ebb, Concept

Musicals
From Concept Musical toward
R
Megamusical
T

26-Apr

28-Apr

R Presentations

2-May

Webber and the Megamusical

Assignment

Read TAM pp. 19-34; St pp. 19-51

26-Jan

31-Mar

Gilbert and Sullivan ctd.

Reading/Viewing/Listening
Read Syllabus; Read TAM pp. 3-18

Read St pp. 241-288; TAM pp. 67-109

Read St pp. 289-327; selections from The
Musical as Drama (digital)
Read TAM pp. 119-134; Watch Oklahoma!

Feeder 1 Due
Interpretive
Essay 1
Paper
Proposal

Feeder 2 Due

Interpretive
Essay 2
Feeder 3 Due

Annotated
Bib

Read St pp. 601-629; Watch Cats

Read Sternfeld (digital) selections from The
Megamusical; Watch Phantom of the Opera
Musical
Project
Term Paper

Assignments
Interpretive Essay (IE1)
Interpretive Essay (IE2)
Musical Project (MP)
Term Paper (TP)
Term End Exam (TEE)
Reading Quizzes (RQs)

Points
150
150
225
225
150
100
1000

Interpretive Essays (02/11, 03/29) (3-4 pgs.; 150 points each) Each student will write two interpretive, thesis-driven
essays in response to prompts provided by the instructor; students will be graded on the substance, organization, style,
and correctness of their essays. Students are expected to produce insightful, analytical arguments and to support their
interpretations with textual evidence.
Musical Project (04/28) (225 points) Each student will prepare a creative project made up of several feeder
assignments, and culminating in the production and submission of a creative/interpretive work to be evaluated by the
instructor. If you select a musical produced after 1965 for the Musical Project, you must study a musical produced
before 1965 for the Term Paper (and vice versa).
Term Paper (05/02) (10-12 pgs.; 225 points) Each student will design and produce a comprehensive research paper
based on his or her reading/analysis of a musical NOT studied in this course. After selecting a play, students will
determine a critical/analytical approach to the project and begin conducting research to support their analysis of the
text. Small feeder assignments will include a formal paper proposal and an annotated bibliography. If you select a
musical produced after 1965 for the Term Paper, you must study a musical produced before 1965 for the Musical
Project (and vice versa).
Term End Exam (TBA) (150 points) The Term End Exam will involve short answer questions.
Reading Quizzes (100 points) You will sporadically be quizzed on the course readings and media materials. It is
essential that you keep up with the readings and make time to view the films.
Formatting Your Papers:
Margins: One-inch on the top, bottom, and sides of each page.
Page Numbering: Use your word processor to create a header that includes your last name and the page number
in the upper right hand corner of the page, one half inch from the top of the page. Every page has this header.
Spacing: Double-space every line (including long quotes and the citations on the Works Cited page).
Indenting: Indent the first line of every paragraph five spaces or one tab. Indent long quotations ten spaces or two
tabs.
Font and Typeface: Use a 12-point font in Times New Roman
Citing: Cite quotations parenthetically according to MLA standards; format your Works Cited list according to
these standards.

Below is a list of musicals that you can study for either the Musical Project or the Term Paper. If you select a musical
produced after 1965 for the Musical Project, you must study a musical produced before 1965 for the Term Paper (and
vice versa). More than one student may study the same musical for the Term Paper, but not for the Musical
Project. If you would like to study a musical not listed below, please speak with Dr. Napolitano.
1776
42nd Street
A Chorus Line
A Funny Thing Happened
A Little Night Music
Allegro
Annie
Annie Get Your Gun
Anything Goes
Assassins
Babes in Arms
Barnum
Beauty and the Beast
Bells are Ringing
Big River
Billy Elliott
Brigadoon
Bye Bye Birdie
Cabaret
Camelot
Can-Can
Candide
Carmen Jones
Carnival!
Cats
Chicago
City of Angels
Cocoanuts
Company
Damn Yankees
Do Re Mi
Dreamgirls
Evita
Falsettos
Fanny
The Fantasticks
Finnian's Rainbow
Fiorello!
Flower Drum Song
Follies
Funny Face
Funny Girl

Grand Hotel
Grease
Guys and Dolls
Gypsy
Hair
Hairspray
Hello, Dolly!
How to Succeed in Business
In the Heights
Into the Woods
Jane Eyre
Joseph and the Amazing
Kinky Boots
Kismet
Kiss Me Kate
Kiss of the Spider Woman
La Cage aux Folles
Les Miserables
Little Me
Mame
Man of La Mancha
Matilda
Me and My Girl
Memphis
Miss Saigon
Newsies
Nine
No, No, Nanette
Of Thee I Sing
Oh, What a Lovely War!
Oliver!
On the Town
Once Upon a Mattress
Once on This Island
Pacific Overtures
Paint Your Wagon
Pal Joey
Parade
Passion
Peter Pan
Phantom of the Opera

Pippin
Plain and Fancy
Rags
Ragtime
Raisin
Rent
She Loves Me
Shenandoah
Side Show
Silk Stockings
South Pacific
Spring Awakening
Starlight Express
Stop the World -- I Want to Get Off
Sunday in the Park with George
Sunset Boulevard
Sweeney Todd
Sweet Charity
24th Annual Putnam County
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The Cradle Will Rock
The King and I
The Lion King
Merrily We Roll Along
The Most Happy Fella
The Music Man
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Pajama Game
The Producers
The Roar of the Greasepaint
The Secret Garden
The Threepenny Opera
The Wiz
Thoroughly Modern Millie
Titanic
Tommy
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Urinetown
Where's Charley?
Wicked
Wonderful Town
Youre a Good Man, Charlie Brown