Question

subject-spirituals rock n roll music class

Discuss social commentary in American musical theater and give at least three examples of musicals that tackled socially sensitive issues.

Answer 1

The history of the American musical theatre can be differentiated into a few distinctive eras:

1. Pre-Oklahoma!
2. The Golden Age
3. modern theatre

In Pre-Oklahoma Broadway shows served a different purpose. The music and libretto were not intertwined - songs could be plucked from one part of a show and moved to another part, or eliminated. These kinds of music premiered at the St. James Theatre in 1943, with music by Richard Rodgers and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein. Oklahoma! music changed many aspects of American musical theatre. It was the first show to integrate song, character, plot, and dance into a seamless work, and it became the model for many other successful shows. “The impact of Oklahoma! had on the American musical theatre that cannot be overestimated. As the Golden Age of Broadway picked up speed, shows as Guys and Dolls, West Side Story and The Sound of Music came into the scene. Guys and Dolls was the biggest collection of smaller stories tied together into the one. Guys and Dolls do not have any serious commentary on social issues but are a reflection of the American mindset of the time. It makes light of a different kind of social norm relationship.

The 1970s seem to mark the end of the Broadway Golden Age. Jack Viertel marks the opening night of A Chorus Line in 1975 as the true end. This so-called modern age began with a departure from the structural model set up.

Musical theater is one of the few storytelling methods that combine more than one art form. There are the acting and the singing of course, but there is also dancing, set design, playwriting, costume design and more. There is nothing so immersive as sitting in a theater and experiencing a story played out by real people. This, I believe, is what makes theater so powerful, and why its an invaluable tool for this country’s self-examination.

Examples of musicals that tackled socially sensitive issues are:

1. Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin premiered in 1935. That has a tragic love story with an all-black cas.
2. Showboat: by a Jerome kern is introduced in 1927 that on a drama about biracial marriage and tragic romance.
3. OKLAHOMA! music by Richard Rodgers in 1943. that on marks the beginning of the Golden Age on Broadway.