Bell Work

Take out a sheet of paperWrite down these 5 terms, make sure to leave

space in between each term: Opera Operetta Vaudeville Musical Comedy Musical Theatre

My suggestion, make a table.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 5 MAJOR TYPES OF MUSICALS

Types of Musicals

Objectives

Define the 5 Major typed of American Musicals

List several characteristics for eachStudent will understand the progression from

one genre to the other.

5 Types of Musicals

Presently we have 5 Major types of Musicals that all are still performed.

Some are more popular than others, but each genre is responsible for creating the next.

Each has responded to the society it wished to entertain

Opera

Opera was the first genre of Musical to arrive in America. It arrived in the US as early as the 1700’s.

Opera was popular from the early 1700’s to the early 1800’s.

It literally arrived in the US, because Opera was very popular in Europe. Since most of the early settlers were European, they brought the style with them.

Some More Characteristics of Opera

Opera is mainly performed in 2 foreign languages: Italian German

English was added to opera in the 1800’sOpera is all sungThis means there is no talking and little to no danceOpera’s will normally end tragically, meaning your main

characters will usually die.We have also gotten a phrase from opera that we still use

today…..”It isn’t over until the fat lady sings.”Because people did not have TV or radio, operas were usually

3-5 hours longOpera’s began being written just for royalty, but eventually it

became a common man’s entertainment too.

Operetta

Because opera was so long and at times depressing, composers began to write a lighter story, and called it operetta.

Operetta literally means “Light Opera”

How is Operetta Different then Opera

Operetta is slightly shorter than opera, time wise.

Operetta’s were mostly performed in EnglishSome of the major differences are:

Operetta usually ended happily Operetta was mostly sung Operetta had little talking Operetta would have little dance in it as well Operetta was introduced in the US between the 1800’s

and 1900’s.Operetta was still a European form of theater

that the American’s adopted.

Vaudeville

Is the first American genre of theater we see invented in this country.

Vaudeville came around during the early 1900’s and was very popular during the Great Depression

Vaudeville’s main focus was on comedy and making people laugh.

Vaudeville shows were considered to be variety shows, where you would have several different performers who would do their special talent for a certain amount of time

Gimmicks

A Gimmick is a special talent that separates one act from another.

Some gimmicks that would be included in a Vaudeville show would be: Acrobats Illustrated songs Jugglers Athletes Lectures from Celebrities Dancers Comedy Teams Trained Animal Acts Magicians

Other Forms of Vaudeville

Vaudeville later created different forms of entertainment such as: Burlesque Shows Extravaganza Circuses (like Barnum and Bailey’s Circus that is still

around today) Dime Museums Freak Shows Minstrel Shows

Vaudeville was the first time we saw performers having to be triple threats and multi-talented.

Musical Comedy

Musical Comedy had a very short lived popularity in this country from the years 1900-1943.

Musical Comedies were stories that included all three components of a musical, acting, singing, and dancing.

This meant that performers had to be Triple ThreatsThese types of stories were lighter in plot, but rarely

had anything to do with comedy.The main difference between this genre and the others

is that the Songs and Dances did not tie into the plot.A composing team that specifically wrote musical

comedies are Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

Musical Theatre

Musical Theatre is the most popular of these genres

Musical Theatre was invented by the composing team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

The very first musical was titles “Oklahoma!”Again, all these stories incorporated all 3

components of a musical, acting, singing, and dancing and the performers had to be able to do all 3

The Biggest difference between Music Theatre and all the other genres is that THE SONGS AND DANCES TIE INTO THE PLOT!!!!

Questions

I know this is a lot information to absorb, but you will need to know at least 5 characteristics from each genre.

Please if there are any questions about these genres, please ask them now!

Dismissal

Have a great day and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Assignment

We will view 2 musicals. Your job will be to: Identify the songs Decide how the songs and dances fit into the story Decide if those songs and dances showcase the Actors

Talents or the Character’s story By the end of the musical, you will need to decide if

the musical is a Musical Comedy, or a piece of Musical Theatre