Popular Musical Theater and Opera from the Age of

Andrew Jackson to the Present

Musical Theatre vs. Opera

Venues Opera uses music continuously Singing styles Opera is considered “elite & sophisticated” Musical theater is thought of as “popular

& lowbrow” Both use singing, dancing, acting, & a stage to

tell the story

A Desire for Entertainment 1820-1840 saw westward expansion and

political populism Admission of new states: Missouri,

Arkansas, & Michigan Erie Canal opened The railroad

Illustrated printed sheet music was made available to more of population

Cities grow, and so does the entertainment industry Olio (predated Vaudeville) Circus (comic song & dance)

Minstrelsy

Blackface as impersonation

2 main stage types by 1830 Gumbo Chaff or Jim Crow

Zip Coon or Dandy Jim

Popularity lost after the

Civil War

All black minstrel companies provided employment

America Hits the Stage

Broadway First hit, The Black Crook (1866)

at Niblo’s Garden

Vaudeville Stemmed from minstrel

theater, English music halls, beer halls, & saloons

Father of Vaudeville, Antonio “Tony” Pastor

Comic Opera and American Musicals

H.M.S Pinafore & The Pirates of Penzance

The Harrington & Hart comedies

Black Musicals helped usher in Harlem Rennaisance

30 Years of Musical Growth• Show Boat (1927)

• West Side Story (1957)

New shows produced 29 out of 30 years

• Jerome Kern (1885-1945)

• Irving Berlin (1888-1989)

• George Gershwin (1898-1937)

• Richard Rodgers (1902-1979)

• Cole Porter (1891-1964)

Musical Theater since West Side Story

A Chorus Line (1975) Sweeney Todd (1979) Cats (1981) Sunday in the Park with George (1984) Grand Hotel (1989) Sunset Boulevard (1993) Rent (1996) The Producers (2001)

American Opera

Productions took off between 1910-1935

Porgy & Bess, by George Gershwin

Diverse themes taken from sources like novels and political events