The development of the musical comedy as an educational medium in the upper secondary schools

531 58 6MB

English Pages 169

Report DMCA / Copyright

DOWNLOAD FILE

Polecaj historie

The development of the musical comedy as an educational medium in the upper secondary schools

Citation preview

THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE MUSICAL COMEDY AS AN EDUCATIONAL MEDIUM IN THE UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS'

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Music The University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Music

by Hamilton M. Maddaford, Jr. August 1950

UMI Number: EP61878

All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

Dissettaiioft Publishing

UMI EP61878 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code

ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346

/i/iu

'St

aa

n

f

T h is thesis, w r it t e n by ......Hami 11on M M a d d a f o r d ,.Jr........... u n d e r the g u id a n c e o f h . ± a.. F a c u lt y C o m m itte e , a n d a p p r o v e d by a l l its m em bers, has been presented to a n d accepted by the C o u n c il on G ra d u a te S t u d y a n d R e search in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l ­ m e n t o f the re q u ire m e n ts f o r the degree o f

D ate

August.,...19.5. 0.

Faculty Commiftej

TABLE OP CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

PAGE

THE P R O B L E M ..................... The p r o b l e m ..................................

1

Statement of the p r o b l e m ...................

1

Importance of the s t u d y ...................

2

Definitions of terms u s e d ...................

2

...................

2

Musical comedy ..............................

3

Musical play . ...............................

If

Musical r e v u e ..............................

if

Operetta or light opera

II.

1

Organization of the t h e s i s ............... . . .

5

Related studies

7

..............................

Method of p r o c e d u r e .........................

11

EUROPEAN ANCESTORS OP THE MUSICAL COMEDY . . . .

12

G r e e c e ................... ..

.

.............

12

Comedy m e l o d r a m a ............................

llf

Introduction of principal characters . . . .

15

Writers of chorus c o m e d i e s .................

l6

Character comedies .........................

17

R o m e ...........................................

18

The orchestra in Roman c o m e d i e s ...........

19

W r i t e r s ....................................

20

Italy

..................................

21

Secular m u s i c ......... • ..................

21

■ill CHAPTER

PAGE Opera B u f f a ................................

22

Composers of opera buffa ...................

23

Ro c s m i

2i.|„



F r a n c e ........................................ Troubadours and Trouveres

25

.................

V a u d e v i l l e .............................

26

Opera c o m i q u e ..............................

27

Composers of opera c o m i q u e ..............

29

.

G e r m a n y ...................................... Minnesingers and Meistersingers Composers of Singspeils

III.

26

...........

32 32

...................

33

Composers of German Romantic Opera ..........

36

Austrian Valse Opera .......................

37

E n g l a n d ......................................

38

Bards and M i n s t r e l s .......................

36

M a d r i g a l s ..................................

39

Masques

............................

39

Ballad o p e r a ................................

I4.O

B u r l e s q u e s ..................................

i|.l -

Gilbert and S u l l i v a n .......................

i|ij.

. . .

THE AMERICAN MUSICAL C O M E D Y ...................

1|.7

John Phillip S o u s a ...................

lj.8

Reginald De Koven

i|_9

.......................

Victor Herbert ..............................

5l

iv CHAPTER

PAGE Minor c o m p o s e r s ............................

5^j-

Rudolf F r i m l ................................

57

Sigmund R o m b e r g ...................

58

George Gershwin

............................

60

..............................

62

Irving Berlin

IV.

Jerome K e r n ........... '...................

63

Richard R o d g e r s ............................

66

EDUCATIONAL VALUES OP THE MUSICAL COMEDY . . . .

76

Self-expression in the young c h i l d ........ In the a d o l e s c e n t .........................

77

In the a d u l t ................................

78

The musical comedy as a -unifying project . .

80

Variety of vocal training

8l

.................

Pronunciation and enunciation

.............

82

Part s i n g i n g ..................

83

I n t o n a t i o n ..................................

8ij.

Following the conductor

...................

85

M e m o r i z a t i o n ................................

86

Pre-vocation training for instrumentalists .

86

Manuscript reading .........................

88

Correction of p a r t s .......................

88

Training in accompanying

.................

89

.............

90

T r a n s p o s i t i o n ..............................

91

Following the conductor

V CHAPTER

_

PAGE

Theory c l a s s e s ................. ............

91

Appreciation and history classes ............

92

The drama department . . . . . . ...........

93

Physical education department. . . . . . .

95

Art d e p a r t m e n t ..............................

9&

Set d e s i g n ..................................

97

Costume design ..............................

97

Set p a i n t i n g ................................

9$

Advertising posters

.......................

98

Manual arts d e p a r t m e n t .....................

99

Carpentry classes

.....................

99

Electrical s h o p ...........................

100

Radio s h o p ..................................

100

Stage crew

101

.

............................

Business d e p a r t m e n t .......................

102

A c c o u n t s ....................................

103

Tickets

103

. *.................................

P u b l i c i t y .................................. Relation of the production tothe community Public relation value

V.

105

.....................

Stimulating interest in themusic program

10Ip

.

105 106

Audience b u i l d i n g .....................

108

PRODUCTION HINTS ................................

109

L i b r e t t o ....................................

109

Vi CHAPTER

PAGE S o l o s ................... .*.................

110

Chorus parts ................................

Ill

Dancing

..............................

112

Orchestral parts ............................

112

C o s t u m i n g ..................................

113

S c e n e r y ....................................

113

Choosing the p r o d u c t i o n ...................

Ili4.

Training the c h o r u s .......................

117

Assignment of p a r t s .......................

118

Importance of t e m p o .....................

VI.

.

119

E n u n c i a t i o n ................................

120

Intonation and interpretation

.............

120

Early combined r e h e a r s a l s .................

121

Basic stage p o s i t i o n s .....................

121

The musical comedy o r c h e s t r a ...............

122

Rescoring the orchestrations ...............

126

Training the orchestra .....................

127

Use of ampli fication.......................

127

S U M M A R Y ........................................

129

Conclusions .

.........................

Recommendations for further s t u d y ...........

137 139

B I B L I O G R A P H Y ....................................

li)-

APPENDIX A .............................................

li)-7

APPENDIX B .............................................

158

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM During recent years the musical comedy has been gaining greater recognition and respect in musical circles of America. Millions of dollars are spent annually by the public to attend the latest productions and to purchase phonograph recordings of the musical selections.

Current trends in improving both

the musical and dramatic content of these productions warrant an investigation of the educational possibilities inherent in the musical comedy. I.

THE PROBLEM

Statement of the problem.

It was the purpose of this

study (1 ) to trace briefly the historical development of the musical comedy from its European background through its ac­ ceptance as a typically American art form;

(2) to show how

favorable educational outcomes such as promotion of student initiative and leadership, intra-school cooperation, and sound public relations between the school and the community as well as practical musical experience, may stem from musi­ cal comedy productions;

(3 ) to survey available materials

with regards as to their production in high schools, junior colleges and colleges;

(I4.) to point out methods of adapting

professionally conceived productions to amateur or school

2 situations without weakening their structure and (5 ) to provide practical aids to music and drama instructors in solving problems of organization, promotion,»and production. Importance of the study.

Despite the wide public

acceptance of the musical comedy as an entertainment medium, very little, if any, literature is available on its histori­ cal growth and importance.

Isolated reviews by music critics

of current productions may be found in newspapers and peri­ odicals, but no attempt has been made to compile reference materials on the subject.

Busy drama and music teachers have

overlooked the educational possibilities of musical comedies because there has not been any study of this field with re­ gards to school production.

Although the light opera or

operetta has been the subject for several books and theses, no such study has been made in the field of the musical play. Also, the latest research, at this university, into the related field of operetta production was made over ten years ago and since then many new production techniques and materials have been made available for use by amateur groups, thus making a re-evaluation of the subject mandatory. II.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED

Operetta or light opera.

The terms light opera and

operetta are the broad general classifications that have

3 included all types of music-dramas from those approaching grand opera in their musical value to the loosely knit musical revues and extravaganzas.

This tendency to include all types

of productions under one all-inolusivo term has led to much confusion on the part of critics as well as school personnel responsible for choosing materials for public presentation. In this study we shall consider light opera and operetta as synonymous; a musico-dramatic work with (1 ) spoken dialogue; (2 ) an adequate plot with a happy ending;

(3 ) large, rather

difficult numbers for m e n ’s chorus, women’s chorus, and/or mixed chorus;

(I4.) solo numbers of some technical difficulty

that are integral parts of the dramatic plot maintaining the continuity of the story and (5 ) some dance numbers for princi­ pals or small ensembles. Musical comedy.

A musical comedy is a musico-dramatie

work of a gay, light character with the emphasis placed on charm; charming people, charming situations, and charming music.

It is in the spirit of lightness and spontaniety that

lies the chief difference between musical comedy and light opera or operetta.

As to the music, it is of less consequence

than that of operettas, tending towards the creation of a mood rather than dramatic intensity.

Large choral numbers are in

the minority and the individual works abound in duets of a witty character.

Important emphasis is given to dancing, both

for the principal characters and the chorus.

This is a must

in a musical comedy and one of the factors on which hinge the delightful charm of the work.

Chapter III of this thesis

will show how the musical comedy or musical play has greatly changed in the past ten years thus creating a new definition of the form. Musical play.

The term musical play is becoming

synonymous with musical comedy and in many cases replacing it.

The evident reason for composers and librettists choosing

this term rather than that of musical comedy is to emphasize the greater dramatic intensity or value and more sober plot. The word ,?comedy!l has gained a connotation of slapstick or rough and bawdy humor and has fallen into disrepute among theatre-goers.

Thus the use of the name !,musical playH gives

the production an air of greater respectability.

Such fine

productions as the world-renowned ^Oklahoma1* and "South Pacific bear this newly assumed title of musical plays. Musical revue.

A musical revue is nothing more or less

than a glorified variety or vaudeville show.

There is a mere

thread of a plot, if any, used merely as an excuse for intro­ ducing any and all types of talent.

However, the same charac­

ters carry through the entire production thus providing some manner of continuity.

The majority of the musical .numbers are

solos, duets, or at the most small vocal ensembles.

In most

5 musical revues, the large choral numbers of the operetta are absent as are the elaborate dance routines.

Past moving

comic sketches or situations are interspersed among the musi­ cal numbers and little attention is paid to dramatic content or plausability. There are various subdivisions under the term musieal revue.

The intimate revue is of the same general character

except less emphasis is placed on large ensemble numbers and lavish scenery.

An example of this type would be ’’Lend An

Ear” which opened in Hollywood and is now enjoying a success­ ful run on Broadway* Still another popular style of production is the musi­ eal extravaganza.

’’The Wizard of Oz,” based upon a favorite

juvenile stor^f packed the houses around the turn of the century.

It was later produced as a screen play starring Ray b° \ ^Bolger as the Wizard.) One of the great stage successes of all time was ”Chu Chin Chow” which made its bow in New York in 1917*

These extravaganza1s live up to their name by the use

of many elaborate stage sets, large ensembles of dancers, and lavish costumes. III.

ORGANIZATION OP THE THESIS

Chapter II presents a brief sketch of the historical backgrounds of the musical comedy in Europe.

Its ancestors

are found in the German Singspeil, the Italian Opera Buffa,

the English Beggar1s Opera, and the French Opera Bouffe, Opera Comique, and Vaudeville*

A discussion is made of the

relation between the European light opera or operetta and musical comedy showing the establishing of the two separate lines' of musical endeavor.

Comparison is made of these

forms as to vocal composition, use of dancing, and orchestral accompaniment. Chapter III carries on the growth of the musical comedy as a leading American musical form showing its re­ lation to vaudeville, light opera, and the musical revue. Noted composers of musical comedies together with examples of their works are cited as well as names of famous person­ alities involved in their production.

The current trend

toward Improvement in quality of the musical and dramatic elements and the addition of interpretive dancing is illus­ trated by reference to current productions. Chapter IV concerns itself with the educational aspects involved in producing musical comedies.

It shows how this

type of production can be a unifying project for an entire school, bringing in students and faculty representing not only the drama and music departments, but art, journalism, business, home economics, stage-craft and carpentry classes. It also provides an opportunity for encouraging student initiative in matters of direction, production, and pub­ licity.

Careful analysis is made of the type of training

7 afforded actors, singers, dancers, and orchestral players besides the production staff.

The value of this type of

activity in promoting good public relations between the school and the community is noted together with evidence showing how this project can serve as a stimulus towards student partici­ pation in groups performing more serious works, both musical and dramatic. Chapter V considers the production problems of the musical comedy as they differ from the usual operetta.

An

analysis is made of the differences between musical comedy and light opera in regards to plot, solo numbers, choruses, staging and costuming.

Special attention is given to the

problems of the musical director in training the chorus and the orchestra.

Suggestions for choosing the proper production

are given along with information regarding the use of ampli­ fication equipment in musical comedy production. . IV.

RELATED STUDIES

Very few investigations have been made which apply to the field of operetta or musical comedy production.

There is

a notable lack of current literature regarding new trends in musical productions with the exception of articles in theatri­ cal periodicals and reviews by music and drama critics. Sterling Mackinlay

has made an investigation of the

1 Sterling Mackinlay, Origin and Development of Light Opera, (London: Hutchinson and Company, Ltd., 1927)* 283 pp.

8 origin and development of light opera.

This work deals more

with the opera in showing its growth from the 17th century through its various forms to its division into serious opera and light opera with emphasis on the latter.

Written from

the British viewpoint it neglects to mention enough of the American composers and their works, summing them up in one chapter late in the work.

The contribution of this study is

the origin and historical background of the operetta with insufficient reference to musical comedy. p

A manual by Umfleet^ stresses planning and building of scenery, costuming, lighting, dancing, and make-up but refers little to musical problems.

Included in the appendix

is a classified list of operettas for elementary junior and senior high schools.

The date for this study is 1929 a^d

many improvements in stage techniques have been made during the last 21 years. In 1930> Caton^ compiled the results of his investi­ gations into school operettas emphasizing the choice-of a proper work so that valuable time would not be wasted on inferior musical scores.

He suggested the assignment of

various faculty members to responsible positions in charge 2 Kenneth R. Umfleet, School Operettas and Their Production (Boston: C. C. Birchard and Company, 1929)> 128 pp. 3 Clifford A. Caton, How to Select and Produce Operettas (Los Angeles: Southern California Music Company, 1930), 79 PP*

9 of scenery costuming, publicity, etc., under the supervision of the director, thus dividing the load more equally.

This

is also a production manual dealing with rehearsal techniques. Jones and Wilson^* in 1930 made use of their professional experiences to compile a manual for the operetta director. •Sl

Very useful suggestions as to the methods of professional dramatics applied to amateur situations are contained therein. One of the most complete of the production manuals is that written by Beach. ^

It has been a standard work in

the field from its publication but its fault again is one of the passage of time. Palmer^ has analyzed the values and problems presented in producing operettas with specific reference to the high schools of Southern California.

He presents a summary of

opinions of music supervisors, principals, and superintendents as to the worthiness of this type of activity in the school program.

Among the subjects discussed are the educational

value of operettas, the administration problems of production, the values for the individual student, and comparison of the

Producing

Charles E. H. Jones and Don Wilson, Musico-Dramatic (Chicago: Gamble Hinged Music Company, 1930), lI}-0 pp.

5 Prank A* Beach, Preparation and Presentation of the Operetta (Boston: Oliver Ditson Company, 1930), 20i]_ pp. 6 Donald S. Palmer, ,frThe Place of the Operetta in the High Schools of Southern Calif ornia,,f (unpublished Master Ts thesis, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1933), 121 pp.

10 operetta with other types of musical programs.

It is not the

purpose of this thesis to resurvey the opinions contained in Palmer1s study but it would be interesting and enlightening to see if the passage of 1? years has changed any of the opinions stated. Huntington? compiled another production manual summa­ rizing all the literature in the field up to 1935 with emphasis on its application to high school operettas.

Subjects covered

include choosing of the operetta, organizational plans, training of cast and chorus, costumes and make-up, and scenery and lighting.

This is a valuable work for the school director

provided that some of the techniques are brought up to date. o McKee provided the latest study at this university in 1939*

Besides being the usual collection of hints for di­

rectors, this work deals also briefly with the voice, and a rather large section on stage deportment, gestures, business and balance.

This seems rather strange as the study was

undertaken in the music department and contains material much more suited to the drama department. Among the reasons behind this present study is that in all previous literature, no attempt has been made to 7 A. Paul Huntington, ,fA Survey and Summary of the Litera­ ture on the High School Operetta,” (unpublished Master*s thesis, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1935)> 109 PP* 8 Mary P. McKee, ”0peretta Production in the Secondary School,” (unpublished Master1s thesis, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1939)> 106 pp.

11 differentiate between operetta, light opera and the various forms of musical comedy.

Also little emphasis has been placed

on the musical training of the students involved and over­ emphasis on the technical aspects*

Since the time of the

majority of the aforementioned studies, great strides have been made in creating a new vital American art form in the musical comedy or musical play.

The time has come for a

resurvey of this problem and its impact upon music education. V.

METHOD OP PROCEDURE

Two methods of procedure were employed in assembling data.

First, the personal investigation method, in which

interviews with people active at present or during past years in the field and actual examination of musical scores, dia­ logue materials, etc., were employed.

Also under this heading

would come the actual production of musical comedies in a junior college situation with an analysis of its attendant problems.

Second, the library method, in which all available

source materials were examined, evaluated, and reorganized.

CHAPTER II EUROPEAN ANCESTORS OP THE MUSICAL COMEDY Since musical comedy is a rather recent term in musical terminology, its ancestors must be traced back through the history of light opera and allied forms.

According to Mac-

Kinlay, "Light Opera is a Unity comprising four elements: merriment, poetry, music, and drama."^

These factors are

included in the term Comedy Melodrama which is made up of four Greek words:

Kome, Ode, Melos, and Drama. I.

GREECE

Kome is the word denoting an unwalled village and the Komus is a merry-making or revelry of the villagers accompanied by dancing and music.

It is in these scenes of "Komic" revelry

that we find the union of these four elements that join to make up the earliest beginnings of the separate art form that we call light opera.

This entertainment form must be gay, not

somber and there must not be a tragic ending as in grand opera. Yet there is more than merely unending laughter in light opera for there may be romance, tenderness, and sometimes a little fear of imminent perils.

However behind all these seeming

doubts there is an assurance that all will be well in the end and the spirit of happiness will prevail*

Lastly under the

1 Malcolm Sterling MacKinlay, Origin and Development of Light Opera (London: Hutchinson and Company, 1927), p. 13.

13 heading of Kome comes the necessity of popular appeal for it is in the lives of the Grecian villagers that we find the birth of light opera. The Ode or Aoi de, as it first was named, was a poem or subject of a song.

For with the Greeks, as among the

Chinese, high emotion found expression in poetry and in the recitation of poetry the voice passed from mere syllabic accents to the musical tones and intervals of song.

In the

passage of time the ode or poem grew into a tale or legend. Melos, the third word, was the music to which the song was set, the melody or strain which with the passing of the centuries came to be the singing of many instruments of an orchestra.

Drama, the last element, was the acting, a story

or action represented on the stage.

There is also an impli­

cation that dancing is present in the early Greek form of light opera.

For to the Greeks dancing was more than the

usual definition of the word including uall dramatic movements and gestures made in time to the music.11^

The star in a

musical comedy as he sings his solo moves his hands and feet with the accent of the words and the rhythm of the orchestra governing the.speed and rhythm of his gestures. dances as he sings.

2 Ibid., p. 15.

Thus he

lljComedy melodrama.

The Grecian ". . . Comedy Melodrama r.

is a form of art in which the higher and lower dramatic origins have met.”^

of the beginnings of the lower comedy

element something has already been seen.

There was the rough

and ribald humor of the villagers, with a good deal of horse­ play and laughter.

Besides this there was the singing of

improvised tunes fitted to the swinging, marching rhythm of some well-loved tune.

The high comedy element was of a differ­

ent origin, beginning in the formal processions held in con­ nection with the festivals of Bacchus, the vintage and the harvest.

Members of a chorus disguised themselves as Satyrs

or goats and sang of the triumph of the god Di, or Reason. ’’Led by a flute-player, the procession of Satyrs would sing of events in the life of Dionysus while they danced in solemn circle about the a l t a r . L a t e r

they discarded the goat dress

and raised the artistic level of the music they sang.

As

time passed the tragic drama came into being in connection with these Dionysian festivals and it became customary for a trilogy to be performed on one day.

In order to please the

rougher element of the people, it was decided to give the Komic chorus a position to themselves at the end of the program of tragedies.

’’These comic performers, wearing the quaint old

3 Ibid., p. l6.

k Ibid., p.

17.

15

satyr dress, welcomed the opportunity of displaying their rural buffoonery.

Thenceforth the comic element, as opposed

to the tragic, was able to develop as a separate form of art.’1^ Introduction of principal characters.

It has been

shown that the light opera in embryo was connected closely with the idea of a chorus as opposed to individual actors. Indeed, the first principal actor of the Greek drama was the leader of the chorus.

Either he was given lines or else he

introduced them on his own initiative.

In many eases, he

was the poet-musician-author carrying on a series of questions and answers with the rest of the chorus.

By gradual degrees

principal artists came to be introduced-one by one.

The

pattern of today*s stage productions as far as stock charac­ ters is concerned was established far back in these Grecian times.

The star or principal actor played all the important

parts or characters.

A second man was then added and given

certain subordinate or secondary parts and after this came a third actor and he played the least important parts of all, those that in today’s theatre are classed as ”bitu parts. The essential difference lies in the fact that in those early days one man played all the star parts, another all the secondary parts, and another all the small parts.

5 Loc. cit.

16

Writers of chorus comedies.

The two great centers of

Grecian life at this time were Syracuse and Athens.

It was

in these cities that the various comic or country elements associated with village merry-making became welded together into a definite dramatic unity.

,fFrom this early unity sprang

the primitive music-comedy with song, dance, dialogue, and instrumental accompaniment •11^

Among the noted writers of

these Grecian Chorus Comedies were Epicharmus, Cratinus, Eupolis, and the most noted, Aristophanes. the first comic librettist known by name.

Epicharmus was He was most

popular about I4.86 B.C. and combined the talents of comic writing with philosophy.

His Burlesques were akin to the

Satryic dramas of Athens, full of high comedy and rapid dramatic action. librettist.

Cratinus (44® B.C.) was the first important

He engaged in a bitter battle of words with the

great Athenian statesman Pericles and was noted for his acid political satires.

Eupolis, although he, too, was fond of

political satires, devoted most of his energies to the writing of pure comedy.

Undoubtedly the greatest Greek comic

librettist was Aristophanes (450 to 385 B.C.).

In his early

production of ,fThe Knights’* (4^4 B.C.) he introduced the character of Demos, who represented the people.

This was a

characterization much like the British John Bull who appears 6 Ibid.", p. 33-

17 in the political cartoons.

This is an early trace of

political satire on the stage which led eventually to such American satires as George Gershwin* s "Of Thee I Sing” with it ’s character of Wintergreen for President.

. . Perhaps

the best play of all was "The Birds.” It contains more humour, more sustained interest, more lyric beauty, and more exquisite imagination than any of the other works of Aristophanes.”7 Character comedies.

The origin of the stock characters

in musical comedy dates back to the Grecian Comedy of Manners or drama of Comic Situations. The stock characters which the playwrights set upon the stage were the following. There were the two types of aged father, the easy-going, goodnatured parent and the vigorous, quick-tempered one. Similarly there were two types of sons, the solid honest fellow and the light-minded pleasure-seeker. In addition to these there were the swash-buckling soldier, the obliging companion, the artful servant, the dishonest matchmaker, the parasite, the shameless light o ’ love, and so on.” It is interesting to note how closely these stock characters parallel those appearing in the musical comedies and musical revues of today.

At this same time appeared the introduction

of a Prologue and an Epilogue to the Character Comedy which continues to be the practice even today.

In order to cut

financial costs of production the chorus was gradually elimi­ nated from the picture and traveling stock companies of 7 Ibid., p. 37. 8 Ibid., p. 38-

18 players toured the highways and byways of Greece presenting Character Comedies, Comedy on the stage at this time was spoken more rapidly than tragedy, and great attention was paid to pitch, pauses, and proper accentuation of the words.

In those days

power of tone was of greater importance than beauty or quality. It was all right if the man was a poor actor provided his declamation was of the highest quality.

The voice trainer was

present at the performances to indicate the tone for reci­ tation and to beat the time. The chorus numbers of the Greek Music-Comedies were sung either to traditional airs or to tunes which had recently achieved popularity. Specially noteworthy was the *8koliaf or *Drinking Song.1 This had a traditional melody which was much praised, although the name of the composer appears to have been unknown.9 The instruments used for accompanying the singers were the flute and the lyre thus pointing toward the woodwind and string sections of later orchestras. II.

ROME

The Roman Comedy is distinguished and worthy of atten­ tion, but cannot be considered a national art-form. reality should be called Greco-Roman Comedy.

It in

The first comedies

introduced to the Roman people were translations or adaptations

9 Ibid., p. 1^2.

19 of Greek Character Comedies..

These Character Comedies dealt

with types of humanity that could be duplicated in nearly any locality so it was merely a matter of changing Greek names to Roman names and altering the locale of the comedy.

Among the

most important contributions of the Romans' to the history of musical comedy were in the fields of theatre construction and design.

They made many improvements in the theatre, intro­

ducing the first real stage, dressing rooms, everyday furniture used as properties, and many comforts for the important public personages who attended the events. The orchestra in Roman comedies.

An interesting develop­

ment in the place of the orchestra in Roman Comedies is related by MacKinlay. The Roman contribution to the situation was to do away with the old ten-foot high platform above the scene. Instead, they provided, in front of the Scenic* wall, a *podiumf or low staging, as the Chinese had done many centuries before. This meant that any musi­ cal instruments used during a performance would have to be played beneath the stage or behind the wings. As both of these alternatives would have the effect of muffling the sound of an orchestra, the obvious tetaffwork* development consisted in reserving for the use of the musicians a narrow space stretching along im­ mediately in front of the staging . . . When it was decided that the players of flutes, stringed instru­ ments, and the rest should be ranged along a narrow space in front of the stage, the spectators did not wish the innovation to interfere with their view of the performance. Therefore it was decided that the musicians should be seated below the floor-level occupied by the audience. That being so, they found themselves of ne­ cessity occupying the actual level on which the chorus had once danced so gracefully. In this way the flutists,

20 Harpists and other instrumentalists became quite accurately described as Orchestral players.1 They played in all that remained of the original orchestra. **-0 The Romans developed the instrumental side of the drama by adding many new instruments to their orchestras, such as flutes and trumpets,

citherns and lyres, cymbals and shields.

Besides these there were two varieties of drum, one resembling the tambourine, the other the kettledrum.

Lastly there were

the !tscabillafl or special cymbals which were attached to the ankles of the dancers for the purpose of accentuating the rhythm of the music. The Romans paid greater attention to the vocal side of the musical comedies for they felt that for the ”canticafl or lyric part, special vocal training was necessary.

Many

times they would have professional singers backstage to fill in on vocal numbers while the actors mimed the part on stage. Writers.

Two of the Roman authors most noted for their

adaptations of the Greek comedies were Plautus and Terence. To sum up the work of these two Comic Dramatists, Terence dealt with High Comedy, Plautus with Low Comedy. Terence was an Italian Voltaire, Plautus a Roman Rabelais. Terence fought with the sharp rapier thrust of Satire, Plautus with the bludgeon blow of Burlesque. However, as the years rolled by the comic theatres became almost empty despite the free admissions offered. 10 Ibid., p. I4.7 . 11 Ibid., p. 53-

The

excitement now was at the circus and the arena with chariot races, gladiatorial contests and games providing the thrillseeking multitudes with entertainment and an opportunity to wager upon the outcome.

This turn away from the theatre

caused a rapid decline in the moral tone of the productions and frankly sensuous displays catering to the most depraved tastes replaced the witty comedies of Plautus and Terence. III.

ITALY

The darkness of the middle ages descended upon the western world after the collapse of the Roman Empire and its shameless mimes.

During the following centuries drama and

music were kept alive in the religious houses of Italy and when the Renaissance came there flowed two streams of en­ deavor in the field of Light Opera, the sacred and the profane. Secular music.

The sacred side was associated with

the development of religious music, together with the per­ formance of mysteries and miracle plays.

However, the plots

were either Biblical or allegorical and thus did not enter into the field of musical comedies.

The profane side was

associated with the village revels which had lived through the dark ages.

In discussing the existence of secular music

in the early Renaissance and the disapproving attitude of the Church, Lang quotes from St. Basil*s Hexaemeron (IV, I)

22 as follows: There are towns where one can enjoy all sorts of histrionic spectacles from morning to night. And we must admit, the more people hear lascivious and pernicious songs, which raise in their souls impure and voluptuous desires, the more they want to hear.-1'*' The revival of the village revels led to the introduction of dramatic episodes accompanied by singing, however, now the singing was in parts reflecting the influence that religious music had on vocal performance in musical comedies. Towards the close of the sixteenth century a reaction set in against the complex polyphonic music of the church as repre­ sented by Palestrina.

The new movement favored the cultivation

of solo singing in preference to complicated vocal ensembles,‘ the primary aim being the closer union of music and poetry. The over-elaborate c'ountrapuntal style was abandoned in favor of expressive declamation of a solo voice, accompanied by a lute or set of viols.

This was termed recitative.

This led

to the forming of the operatic style based upon old Greek forms under the guidance of such men as Peri and Caccini. Musicologists generally agree that here is the birth of opera. Opera Buffa.

As to light opera, the Italian Renaissance

brought forth the Opera Buffa which may be defined as

. .a

light and playful form of Italian opera, in which arias, duets, l^paul Henry Lang, Music in Western Civilization, (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 19^4-1) ^ P* 53-

23 and choruses are connected by means of dialogue, recitativosecco.,f^

Definite mention of a music-comedy being produced

in Florence in 1639 is found under the title of "Chi sofre spari" composed by Mazzocchi and Marazzoli.

The center of

this comic style opera moved from Florence to Venice where theatre managers found that the public demanded humor in their operas no matter how serious the story might be.

In order to

prevent the comic characters from interrupting the opera proper, short comic sketches were given at the end of each act or between the scenes.

Thus developed the intermezzo.

These

intermezzi gained immediate success and became so popular that local composers would write intermezzi to be added if t h e ’ opera had none. Composers of opera buffa.

During the seventeenth

century it had been the practice of local dramatists to write comedies of everyday life in the Neopolitan dialect.

In due

course various composers experimented with setting these dialect comedies to music and producing them with amateur talent.

These little Dialect Opera Buffas gained quite a

successful place in the musical scene.

One of the most noted

composers in this style was Scarlatti who introduced the quarreling duet into the comic opera.

His musical innovations

are illustrated by the following passage from MacKinlay: 13 MacKinlay, o£. cit., p.

63.

2k Scarlatti introduced several new musical effects. He would often arrange to have vocal recitatives accompanied by an entire orchestra, in place of the more usual method, a continuous bass with the harmony completed by a harpsichord. Further, his solos were often definite arias, while he made a practice of adopting the ipa Capo* style, which involved threo movements, the first and last corresponding, while the middle section provided a musical contrast.^4Logro.scino (1700) further developed Scarlatti's final duet between two comic characters by writing long finales in which a number of characters joined in the singing one after another, until the curtain came down on a scene of general confusion.

It was thus that the concerted finale was first

introduced to the public. Another influential personage in this field was Pergolesi (1710) whose intermezzo ,!La Serva Padronna11 had a powerful effect upon the French field of musical comedies as we will cite further on.

Other composers of musical

comedies in this time were Paisiello,

(1711-J-), who first set

to music the comedy of the 11Barber of Seville,11 Puccini, (1728), Cherubini, Rossini.

(1760), and Cimarosa,

(17^4-9) -

The time had arrived for a change from the

Neopolitan style of musical comedies and this change was provided by Rossini, (1792-1868)*

From the musical point of

view Rossini provided the stimulant needed after a long period of Neopolitan Opera Buffa and Intermezzo.

14 Ibid., p. 6 5 .

His works

abound in clever effects of orchestration, brief melodic patterns instead of long drawn-out passages, a general avoidance of the conventional and the famous !,Rossinian crescendo11 in which he took a simple figure, started it softly, and then repeated it again and again with constantly increasing power, and ever greater number of instruments, until he ended it on heights of emotional exhilaration.

His

place in the history of musical comedies is well attested by Lang: Indeed, with his inexhaustible melodic gifts, his masterly characterizations, his uncanny knowledge of the stage, Rossini stands close to Mozart . . . No one could withstand the charms of this music, sparkling with spirit and caprice, overflowing with merriment, melodies, and a firework of rhythm . . . When Rossini visited Vienna in 1822, Beethoven was outshone, Mozart forgotten, and Schubert ignored. It is by no means an exaggeration to claim that with the Barber the history of comic opera, or rather that of opera buffa, came to an end. It was the last brick in the edifice built by Pergolesi, Mozart, Cimarosa, and Paisiello.-*-5 IV.

PRANCE

The origin of light opera in Prance must be sought in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

The mystery and morality

plays of these times were the forerunners of the ,fJeuxff or Merry Plays.

Adam de la Halle was among the earliest known

authors of these ,fJeux,! in the thirteenth century, and deserves the title of the Father of French Operetta. 15 Lang, o£. cit., p* 835-

His most famous

comic opus was tfLe Jeu de Robin et Marion,'1 a collection of pastoral songs with instrumental accompaniment. Troubadours and Trouveres.

The Troubadours and Trouveres

arose during the eleventh century and played an important part in the development of the popular taste for poetry and balladsinging.

These poet-artists not only composed their own

verses but sang them as well.

The Jongleurs were not only

singers but performers on the harp, flute, and viol.

These

traveling musicians and poets gathered together at the old French fairs and gave performances of light comic-dramatic works.

These entertainments continued to develop steadily,

and began to approach the form of Opera-Cornique. Vaudeville.

By 1713 there came into existence the

phrase "Opera Comique."

In its earliest days this term in­

cluded two types of entertainment, Vaudeville and OperaComique.

The original meaning of Vaudeville was confined to

satirical songs of political nature which originated in the "Vaux de Vire" or "Valleys of Vire," a province of Normandy. With the passing of time these ditties developed into a combination of a satirical song delivered with the zest of a drinking song.

In the eighteenth century these Vaudeville

songs began to be introduced into the dramatic presentations at the French fairs.

Finally vaudeville came to be applied

to a "species of light comedy of which dextrous intrigue and

27 a certain ribald humor were the special features."-^

Groves

states that these Vaudevilles included such styles as comedies of intrigue,

scenes of domestic life, village pieces, tableaus

of passing events, and parodies on grand operas. in the old sense now . . . (exists)

...

"Vaudeville

in the cafe concerts

where the music is . . . indifferent and the words poor if not objectionable.

Occasionally a vaudeville, small and witty,

can be heard in one of the little theatres."^7 Opera comique.

The earliest appearance of the title

"Opera Comique" was in 1715>> at a Theatre of the Pairs.

The

characteristic of this work was that it had to be performed by a poet-musician, thus showing its descendency from the Troubadours and Trouveres of the medieval times.

These Opera

Comiques became so popular that they provided serious compe­ tition for the Grand Opera houses so the theatre managers issued an order for their cessation and suppression without much success.

Later they revived these plays to provide

competition for the travelling Italian companies which were gaining great success with performances of Intermezzi and Opera Buffa. In 1752 there took place an event of great importance to the development of light opera.

Paris witnessed for the

first time a performance in Italian of Pergolesifs Pastoral 16 MacKinlay, o£. cit., p. 95* 17 George Groves, Dictionary of Music and Musicians, (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), Vol. V, p . 55&•

28 Intermezzo, La Serva Padronna. In Paris, the rift between the two genres and the factions that backed them when the unprecedented success of Pergolesi*s Serva Padrona in 1752 incited the hot headed Guerre des Bouffons, or War of the Comedians, between the adherents of the traditional serious opera around the kind and the enthusiasts of the comic opera around the queen--a battle fought with passionate gens and clever intrigues at court and elsewhere*I® As a result a new form of Opera-Comique was established, consisting not only of parodies of Grand Opera, but of lighter operas, containing dialogue and varying degrees of comedy. Les Trocqueurs (by Antoine Dauvergne) . . . pro­ duced on July 30 9 1753 w as the first Opera-Comique in the generally accepted modern sense of the term. It was the first time that a French poet and composer had produced a work with dialogue, of which the lyrics were set to entirely new music. This was the new form of Opera-Comique, comprising the union of three sepa­ rate ideas, poetry, dialogue, and music, each es­ pecially written for the occasion.19 The story is primitive but the music is full of wit, movement, and, almost for the first time, real charac­ terisation . . . There is a short, suite-like overture and several concerted numbers, primitive but effective. The work ends with a ballet of excellent dance music, consisting of a Marche Gaye, Tambourin, Menuet and Contradanse . . . The work had a deserved success and the discovery that it was written by two Frenchmen was a blow to the Italian party, though it would be foolish to overlook the strong Italian influence in the versi­ fication and still more in the music. ^ 18 Curt Sachs, Our Musical Heritage, Hall, Inc., 1914.8 ), p. 2BS,

(New York: Prentice-

19 MacKinlay, o£. cit., p. 100. 20 Martin Cooper, Opera Comique (New York: Chanticleer Press, 19i4.9), p. 28 f.

Hard on the heels of the success of ”La Serva Padronna” came ”Le Devin du Village” written in 1752 by Jean Jacques Rousseau as an example of a Frenchman writing in the then popular Italian style in order bo prove its superiority.

This work

was greeted also with wild enthusiasm and was played every­ where . Composers of opera comique.

Pierre Alexandre Monsigny

wrote successfully throughout the 1760*s with ” . . . lyrical and dramatic power.; . . . (his songs)

considerable

. . . not only

caught the taste of the day but achieved a genuine beauty and pathos superior to the changes of fashion.

In ”Le Deserteur”

he chose the final chorus theme as the main theme of the overture, thus giving greater organic unity to the work and foreshadowing similar developments in nineteenth century opera. Ernest Modeste Gretry was a scientific, theoretical type of musician with a passion for system and order.

He had

the complete system for writing Opera Comique with the major and minor keys labeled as to character,

types of stage charac­

ters and the method for establishing them (2/lp or 6/8 for the peasants, ip/i^ for the nobility), and the orchestral instru­ ments also pigeon-holed as to tone quality and use. In fact, Gretry was both inferior and superior to his theories. Inferior in that, on paper, he echoed Gluck and often anticipated Wagner, whereas his own music has none of the grandeur and pathos at which he 21 Ibid., p. 32.

was apparently aiming, Superior, in that he was possessed of a real sense of the theatre and of a genuine, if limited lyrical and dramatic gift which found its expression in works in which it is possi­ ble to forget the elaborate theories of the composer in the grace and charm of the m u s i c . ^ The name of Francois Adrien Boieldieu (1775-1834) heralds a new era of Opera Comique, an era of ehange due in a great measure to the influence of Rossini.

He was judged

to be the greatest master of his day in the French school of Opera Comique and gained his greatest success with ”La Dame Blanche” in 1825.

Groves describes the acceptance of this

opera as: . . • unprecedented. Boieldieu modestly ascribes part of this success to the national reaction against the Rossini-worship of the preceding years. It kept its place in the repertory for many years and ranks high in the French school of comic opera. Peculiar to Boieldieu is a certain homely sweetness of melody, which proves its kinship to that source of all truly national music, the popular song.^3 The last great representative of Opera Comique was Daniel Auber (1782-1871) who: . . . in such works as fLe Macon1 or TLes Daimants de la Couronne» has rendered the chivalrous grace, the verve, and amorous sweetness of French feeling *in a manner both charming and essentially national . . . Auber shares the charm of melody founded on the simple .grace of the popular chanson, the piquancy of rhythm and the care bestowed upon the distinct enunciation of the words characteristic of the French school. 4 22 Ibid., p. 42* 23 Groves, 0£. cit., Vol. I, p. 1+0J . 2l+. Ibid., p. 137.

31 At this point in the history of French light opera the road divides with one path leading to Opera Bouffe and Offenbach and the other to Romantic Light Opera and Messager. Since this work concerns itself with musical comedy we shall follow the development of the Opera Bouffe rather than the Romantic Light Opera due to its lighter character.

The Opera

Comique had been a revolt against the unreal tragedy and artificiality of the Grand Opera beginning with the Burlesques on serious opera written by the French humorists.

When Grand

Opera ceased to be so pompous, the writers of Opera Comique turned away from the lampooning Burlesques to a lighter type of opera than the full five-act variety.

These Opera Comiques

were not necessarily humorous, indeed, they might be romantic and even tragic, as long as they contained some element of comedy.

However, gradually the Opera Comique became overly-

sentimental and what comedy that was introduced was of a very high satirical type rather than the rough gay lower type.

It

is at this place in the situation that Offenbach comes to the rescue with Opera Bouffe. The aims of Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) were (1) to revive the light and graceful type of early Opera Comique, (2 ) to establish models of brevity and wit,

(3 ) to dispose of

all heavy historical and tragic elements in the libretti, (I4.) to adhere closely to the goals of socio-political criti­ cism and great parody and (5 ) above all to compose beautiful

32 melodies.

His world success began with the operettas ”Orphee

aux Enfers (1858) and f!La Belle Helene” (l86!j-) both of which are parodies of classical antiguity.

He was no moralist and

his victims of satire were the obvious subjects--idiotic monarchs, military usurpers, and mercenary priests.

In

reality, Offenbach was uncovering the complete corruption of the Second Empire of Napoleon III and his works are full of contemporary allusions, not only in the characters, jokes and puns, but also in the music.

situations,

This was true and timely

comedy pointing the way toward the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. He would write musical parodies of Meyerbeer!s grand operas, of the semi-serious Italian operas of the period after Rossini, and even of Richard Wagner.

In all his works, despite all

these parodies and exaggerations, he remains a dramatist and a melodist of the first rank, for his music is always clean and simple with genuine melodies full of freshness and verve. His devotion to rhythm is evident in the countless ballets from his works, many of which have become standard orchestral selections today.^5 V.

GERMANY

Minnesingers and Meistersingers.

The earliest traces

of musical comedy in Germany are found in their counterparts 25 Alfred Einstein, Music in the Romantic Era (New York: W.. W. Norton and Company, 19^7)> P P • 286-291.

33 of the French Troubadours and Trouveres, the Minnesingers and Meistersingers.

The Minnesingers were poet-musicians of

high birth who wrote songs based on romantic idealism.

Their

principal theme was love and the glorification of woman through deeds of gallantry.

No only did they compose and sing their

own songs but also accompanied themselves on the lute or viol in the manner of the Trouveres.

Two of the best known Minne­

singers were Walter von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach.

In the early thirteenth century the romantic

idealism began to fade and the lyrics degenerated from senti­ ment to sentimentality as the Minnesingers became associated almost entirely with the burgher class.

These middle class

singers formed themselves into the Guilds of Meistersingers or Mastersingers and did valuable work in cultivating the national taste for music and preparing the way for the coming of the Singspeil or Song-Play which was the cornerstone of German light opera. Composers of Singspeils.

Johann Adam Hiller (1728)

was the creator of the Singspeil in Germany.

He lived and

composed in the time parallel to that of Monsigny, the founder of French Opera Comique, which indicates that both in France and Germany the virtual creator of a new art-form was carrying on active work in the establishment of that form.

The early

Singspeil of Hiller was a kind of vaudeville, consisting of

3k spoken dialogue interspersed with songs, many of which were in the style of the German Lied,

These works contained con­

siderable humor but rather crude ensembles and exceedingly simple staging. Karl Dittersdorf (1739-1799) was a thoroughly popular composer who possessed a real vein of comedy, verve and in­ vention,

His bright and spontaneous melodies and original

instrumentation were evident in such works as "Doctor und Apothekar"

(1786) and a comedy opera composed on the subject

of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" with an Italian libretto, Johann Heichardt (1752) introduced an interesting innovation into the form of the Singspeil.

He carried out

the entire action by means of the dialogue, and relegated the music to a secondary position, by which it became merely incidental.

However, the Singspeil still succeeded in holding

on to the affection of the people during these years despite the feeling that something new was in the offing, a new growth in the field of comedy. The new genius was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1758-1791) who introduced the Classical Singspeil.

In the seventeen

sixties the Singspeil1s of Hiller reached Vienna and there gained their greatest popularity and also underwent modifi­ cation due to the close contact with the Italian Opera Buffa. There were Austrian composers who wrote Italian operas in the buffa style with great felicity but in spite of this strong

35 Italian influence the predominant element in the Viennese Singspeil was the improvised comedy of the Viennese popular stage.

The central figure of this comedy was the mythical

figure of ’’Hanswurst,” the jester, who was a composite creature, servant, messenger, spy, sorcerer, always ready for mischief and although a coward, always boasting of his' courage.

This comic figure appeared under various aliases

but still dominated the Viennese theatre.

In 177$> the

national Singspeil theatre was opened in Vienna and it was here in 1782 that Mozart’s ”Entfuhrung’1 was produced.

’’With

this work the Singspeil really became German comic opera, light, sunny, pleasing, with wondrous music.”^6

sentimental, fantastic, and filled Mozart restored the balance between

music and dialogue by developing a new art form using all the new resources of his day, the elaboration of the orches­ tration, and the dramatic effect.

The establishment of the

national Singspeil theatre came too late to succeed but under this popular guise and without aristocratic patronage it enjoyed a tremendous vogue in Vienna.

These eighteenth century

Singspeils gradually turned more to the serious bona-fide opera as evidenced by ’’Die Zauberflote” which shows the combination of the farce with the fairy tale thus producing the ’’Zauberoper” or fairy opera.

^

With the composition of his final Singspeil

Lang, op. cit., p. 6 6 7 *

36 "Pie Zauberflote," Mozart carried the Viennese lyric theatre to its final development* Composers of German Romantic Opera.

After the period

of Mozart and the Singspeil, there rose the new G-erman school of Romantic Opera headed by Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826). Since the predominating style of this art form was more akin to grand opera than to musical comedy, a brief review of noted composers and their contributions to light opera during this era will suffice.

As mentioned above Weber is credited with

being the founder of German Romantic Opera but he also wrote a one-act Comic Opera entitled "Abu Hassan” which was per­ formed in Munich in 1811.

Franz Schubert (1797~l828) wrote

several works in the lighter vein including "Des Teufels Lustschloss (The Pevilfs Castle of Desire) in l8llj., a musical farce termed "Die Zwillingsbruder" (The Twin Brother) and several other Singspeils.

Albert Lortzing (1801-1851) was

the leading light opera composer of the time, an upright citizen, honest artist, good family man, the embodiment of the petty German bourgeois of the times. But while Lortzing . . . welcomed art into (his) life, (he) did not experience it particularly pro­ foundly. Great, strong, and passionate tones are not to be found in his operas, yet they are valuable both for the absence of these tones and for the welcome contrast they afford to the more pretentious works • . . From a purely artistic point of view it would be ridiculous to compare "Zar und Zimmerman" (1837) i "Hans Sachs" (l8k0) . . "Wildschutz" (l8i|_2) and "Waffenschmied" (l82j.o) . . with the great Wagnerian

37 music dramas, but the great vogue of these delightful comic operas in the face of the Wagnerian triumphs testify to the healthy taste of the public . . . Besides possessing remarkable musical gifts, Lortzing knew every secret of the theatre and arranged his witty libretti himself. This modest G-erman composer was a master . * . who enriched the Singspeil with elements taken from G-erman Romantic Opera and French opera comique. 27 Otto Nicolai (l8lO-l81|-9) also followed along with Lortzing and produced a combination of the Singspeil and the Italian opera buffa in his HMerry Wives of Windsor11 (l8l8 ).

Friedrich

von Flotow (1812-1883) composed two very popular works, MAlessandro Stradella” (l81jlf) and nMartha” (l8lj-7) which con­ tain delightful melodies but often tend to oversentimentality. Austrian Valse Opera.

No picture of German light opera

and musical comedy would be complete without mentioning the Austrian Valse Opera and the Strauss family.

The tremendous

popularity of the Viennese waltz, as produced by the two members of the Strauss family was united with the French opera bouffe into what was known as the Austrian Valse-Qpera.

The

scene of this birth of this new form was Vienna and it was in this city that such popular operettas as ,fDie Fledermausrf a n d ’!Der Zigeunerbaron” captured the fancy of the musical pub­ lic. Lehar.

Another noteworthy name in this field is that of Franz Pointing toward today*s musical comedies was the

practice instituted by Lehar of introducing special dancing Ibid., pp. 8i|_l f.

38 parts for the principals after their songs and duets.

His

later tendency was towards reducing the dialogue and lengthening the music which contained an abundance of melody and rich, colorful orchestration. ’’The Merry Widow.”

His best-known work is

Oscar.Strauss (1870) wrote French

styled Burlesques, Austrian Valse-Operas, and Dance Comedies* His most popular works are ’’The Waltz Dream’1 and ’’The Chocolate Soldier.”

In his later works can be found the

influences of modern twentieth century dance rhythms, and jazz.

The climax of the Valse-Opera is reached in ”Der

Rosenkavalier” by Richard Strauss in which the composer takes a popular form and elevates it to a position in the field of grand opera. VI. Bards and Minstrels.

ENGLAND As France had her Troubadours and

Trouveres, as Germany had her Minnesingers and Meistersingers, so England1s musical comedy dates back to her Bards and Minstrels.

The Minstrels arose about the same time and in the

same manner as the Troubadours and Minnesingers with the most famous being Blondel de Nesles (c.1150-1200).

The Bards were

the ballad-singers of the times who celebrated in song the deeds of gods and heroes on religious occasions and at the festivities of the princes and nobles.

As did their European

counterparts, the Bards accompanied themselves on the harp or

39 crwth as they acted as the heralds of the princes.

In England,

Ireland, and Scotland the Bards were a hereditary order some­ what resembling the Meistersinger guild of Germany and exerted considerable national influence as the mouthpieces of the people and the transmitters of historical tradition.

The

Ballads that they sang were storys of some length, told in verse, with the music comprised of a melody and an accompani­ ment. Madrigals.

The madrigal was quite different from the

ballad for in place of a single tune with accompaniment,

the

harmonization was provided by the intertwining of from three to eight independent melodic lines in a secular polyphonic song.

During the Elizabethan period, the madrigal reached

its peak with compositions in no less than eight parts with each part independent of the remainders, and all the vocal lines possessing equal melodic charm.

Among the more noted

madrigalists of the time were John Dowland (15>62-l626), Thomas Morley (I557~l603)> John Willbye (157JJ--I6 3 8 ), an(^ Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625). Masques.

The Masque transferred the dramatic episodes

from the series of carriage episodes performed by different casts to the same series of episodes performed in one place with the same cast.

Thus the Masque could be performed as

many times as needed until all the spectators had been

lj-0 accomodated.

These Masques were presentations of allegorical

ideas upon a stage by means of descriptive music, both vocal and instrumental, dialogue, and a good deal of dancing.

They

were staged in a very lavish manner with elaborate costumes and scenery.

Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare were among

those who wrote in this form. Ballad opera.

England opposed the success that Handel

gained through the production of his operas in the Italian style and felt that there was a need for a truly British national opera to supplant the invasion of the Italian style. The answer to this problem was to be found in the Ballad Opera which had a number of simple songs in the lighter vein with no attempt at recitative, the dialogue being all spoken. This domestic, catchy, popular style of musical comedy was started by Allan Ramsay with his pastoral comedy ’’The Gentle Shepherd1’ produced in 1725.

Not more than three years later,

John Gay came out with his ’’Beggar’s Opera” with melodies arranged by John Christopher Pepusch in the manner of social and political satirical songs.

The melodies themselves were

chosen from the vast store of English, Scottish, and Irish melodies already in existence which undoubtedly contributed greatly to the popularity of this type of production.

Gay is

’’Beggar’s Opera” had an unprecedented success and established a record for continuous performances and subsequent revivals that stood for many years.

Ip. Stimulated by the success of G a y ’s work, other com­ posers turned to the Ballad Opera and gradually introduced into them various songs which had little connection with the plot. However, they served their purpose of reviving an interest in folk song and remained popular for a considerable time.

In

the works of Charles Dibdin (17^5) is noticed a tendency to write original songs rather than adapting old melodies to new words.

William Shield (17^8) was among those who carried on

the Ballad Opera tradition by composing various operas, musi­ cal farces, and pantomimes.

Sir Henry Bishop (1786) raised

the standard of Ballad Opera considerably for his concerted pieces.contained a true musical interest and his addition of a chorus to the principal singing characters was an innovation at the time. Burlesques.

Beginning in I83I & form of musical comedy

appeared upon the English musical scene bearing the title of Burlesque. Burlesque comes from the Italian 11bur la,11 signifying a jest. It is a joke or banter, a ludicrous repre­ sentation, or contrast* That is to say, it is a compo­ sition in which the contrast between the subject and the manner of considering it renders it ludicrous, as when trifling matters are treated seriously, and serious matters (or rather mock-serious) with levity . . . Comedy brings together contrasts with a final aim of harmo­ nizing and reconciling them. Burlesque distorts and caricatures, and its final aim is to bring incongruities into stronger relief. Farce may be described as the burlesque of Comedy since it turns to ridicule the conventional situations and methods of comedy . . . It aims at turning to ridicule the false greatness, the

hiZ

sham nobility, the pretended goodness . . . Satire wounds follies with the rapier thrust of the intellect, while Burlesque belabours follies with the balloon of buffoonery* Satire uses the vinegar of biting sareasm, Burlesque dips the offender in a pond of laughter.28 Dramatic Burlesque in England may point to William Shakespeare as its founder in f,Pyramus and Thisbe," the satirical play within a play.

This is a rather contemptuous comment of the

professional actor upon the harmless amateur efforts of the villagers.

Musical Burlesque begins with the "Knight of the

Burning Pestle" written in l6ll by Beaumont and Fletcher as a satirical travesty of the tales of chivalry.

There were

snatches of song throughout the work and indications of a dance here and there.

Half a century later Henry Fielding

wrote a three-act Burlesque entitled "The Tragedy of Tragedies" or "The Life and Death of Tom Thumb the Great" which was transformed, in 1733 9 into a pseudo-Italian opera by Thomas Arne (1710-1788).

This was a pointed stab at the Italian

operatic style and did much to bring about a change in the style of English operatic composers. The earliest Burlesques were performed at the close of another' dramatic work, usually a tragedy, to close the evening on a humorous note.

Classical Burlesques ridiculed

the days of ancient Greece and the noted characters of Grecian life and drama. 28 MacKinlay,

ojd.

MacKinlay cites examples of dialogue cit. ,

p.

202.

k-3 from the various types of Burlesques to illustrate the fact that puns can combine with wit at the same time: In . . . Reece's 1Prometheus or the Man on the Rock1 . . lWhat! don’t you think me handsome? 1 ’No, not very. Y o u !ve got red hair. 1 ’Well, that's hair-*red»itary. 1 . . . Planchefs ’Sleeping Beauty, 1 produced in 181^0, contains a character entitled ’The Baron Factotum,* ’Great-Grand-Lord-Everything,’ who is Lord High Chamber­ lin, Lord High Steward, Lord High Constable, Lord High Treasurer, Great-Grand Cupbearer, Great-Grand. Carver, and so on,29 This quotation points towards the satirical characters that are to be found in the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan and their ridiculing of the political characters of the time. History, Italian opera, fiction, and above all Shakespearean drama were travestied much to the delight of the theatre­ goers . About 1885 a new era of Burlesque began with the ex­ panding of the works to provide an entire evening’s enter­ tainment instead of merely comic relief at the close of a serious dramatic work.

Money was spent lavishly on scenery,

properties, and costumes.

Dancing of real grace and design

now became an integral part of the production and the music was written especially for the artists rather than merely collected from various sources.

Thus it can be said that the

Hew Burlesque pointed the way to today’s Musical Comedy.

^9 ibid,, p. 2 0 8 .

1*4 Gilbert and Sullivan.

The highest point of the

English dramatic and musical stage came with the works of W. S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan, the masters of an inimitable British comedy operetta.

The triumvirato of

Gilbert, Sullivan and Richard D*Oyly Carte, the astute theatrical manager and impressario, revolutionized the stage of their time and provided future generations with operettas of literary and musical worth unchallanged by the years. After early successes with such operettas as "Trial by Jury” the three men formed the "Comedy Opera Company” in 1876 and set about to produce ,fThe Sorcerer.” . Gilbert be­ lieved that true comedy was not to be gained by wearing absurd costumes while doing absurd things but by saying and doing absurd things while dressed and made up in a serious manner.

This is evident in such characters as a Prime Minister

who in addition to his regular duties holds the position of A Lord High Everything Else.

Such characterizations required

the developing of a new school of actors and Gilbert and Sullivan not only wrote their operettas but in addition trained the actors in the ways of their new comedy.

Among other inno­

vations introduced at the famous Savoy Theatre was the intro­ duction of electric lights which revolutionized the art of stage design, costuming, and make-up. In analyzing the lasting qualities of Gilbert*s libretti, Darlington has pointed out that:

ks In general, it may be said that there are only two qualities which enable a dramatic author’s work to remain before the public after his immediate vogue is over— universality and stageworthiness . . . (As for being universal) his detachment, his common sense, and his comic genius enabled him to create characters which . - . were superbly recognizable travesties of life. And because they are still recognizable . . . a generation for whom much of Gilbert’s writing has become meaningless can nevertheless -enjoy *The Mikado’ and ’Patience.’30 Later he sums up the essential quality of the Gilbert libretto by saying: It is in his ability to invent a comic situation that he stands alone . . . The Gilbertian situation-an absurd state of affairs arrived at by logical argument— was something quite new when its author invented it, and has defied successful imitation since.31 The musical characteristics of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas are (1 ) melodic solo songs approaching the difficulty of operatic arias,

(2 ) patter songs with polysyllabic texts

and tricky rhythmic patterns requiring extreme skill in ren­ dition,

(3 ) large choral numbers, both for mixed chorus and/or

m e n ’s and women’s choruses of strong harmonic content and rhythmic drive, and (5 ) orchestral accompaniments of varied instrumentation. With the comic operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan the path of musical comedy from its earliest beginnings in the 30 W. A. Darlington, The World of Gilbert and Sullivan, (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1950) / P* 1&9« 31 Ibid#, p. 194--

W>

G-recian Comedies through its development in Italy, G-ermany, and England leads now to a consideration of the growth of the American musical comedy as a dominant art form.

CHAPTER III THE AMERICAN MUSICAL COMEDY The outstanding success of the light operas of G-iXbert and Sullivan throughout the world cast a large shadow upon the musical-dramatic scene.

So great was the impact and in­

fluence of these two men especially in their native England that very little was done in the way of real progress in light opera and musical comedy, most composers contenting themselves with basking in the reflected glory of the two masters by writing poor imitations of their style or merely withdrawing from the music-dramatic field and devoting them­ selves to other forms of composition.

While the spreading

tide of Gilbert and Sullivan engulfed America to some extent it was not as overwhelming as in the British Isles, and so it is to the New World, to America, to the United States that we must turn to follow the tradition of musical comedies. The growth of the musical comedy as an American art form is the result of the fusion of many different streams of dramatic and musical endeavor.

Among these are (1) the

European light opera tradition as illustrated by such com­ posers of the nineteenth century as Oscar Strauss, Franz Lehar, et. al.;

(2) the stream of lighter works from the English

Burlesques, the French Opera Bouffe and Vaudeville;

(3) the

new independent forms of musical comedy as practiced by

Gilbert and Sullivan;

(1|_) the music of the American Negro

as evidenced in the Minstrel Shows as well as jazz; rushing torrent of American Vaudeville;

(5) the

(6 ) the rise of Tin

Pan Alley and the prominence of the popular song;

(7 ) the

influence of motion pictures, radio, and television; and (8 ) the new rising interest in our heritage of folk music and legend. John Phillip Sousa.

In the tradition of the European

light operas and musical comedies we find that the noted "March King," John Phillip Sousa (1854-1932) wrote in addition to his immortal marches, ten comic operas.

Although he was

born in Washington, D. C., and educated in the United States, he was trained in the tradition of Offenbach and Sullivan. Evidence for this assumption is brought to bear by Grove-*- who states: Prom 1872 he led the orchestra at the Theatre Comique and played violin at Ford’s Opera House. From l87l|on he was leader or player in the Milton-Noble Comedy Company . . . In 1870 he was under Offenbach in Phila­ delphia, writing for him the ’International Congress’ fantasy. During all this playing and conducting experience, Sousa gained an intimate practical knowledge of the field of light musical comedy which led him to attempt his first comic opera, "The Smugglers," written while he was conductor of the Church Choir Company and followed soon by "Our Flirtations," written 1 George Groves, Dictionary of Music and Musicians (New York: The Macmillan Company, Inc.7 1 9 ^ 8 ) > American Supple­ ment, p. 366.

49 for the Mackey Comedy Company.^

To the average American,

John Fhillip Sousa is noted as a bandmaster and composer of many fine marches.

He provided for America a substitute

for or counterpart of the European Vienneso Waltz, so popular in the late ninettenth century.

For what the Strauss waltz

is to Europe, the Sousa quick-step is to America, and despite many changes in the popular music of the times, the Sousa march has remained a constant in our literature.

The relation

of these marches to comic operas is pointed out by Goldberg in the following passage: Later generations are wont to forget, if they ever knew, that many of the glorious Sousa marches come from comic operas to which the composer often wrote his own words. Nor, from the evidence at hand, were they inferior to what passes muster today. But then, Sousa is also a novelist, and wields words almost as easily as he wields the baton.3 An example of one of these marches is f,El Capitan” which was taken from the comic opera of the same name written in 1896. Reginald De Koven.

A second of three important names

connected with the transfer of European light opera to this country is that of Reginald De Koven,

(l859~1920).

Born in

Connecticut, he studied in England, Germany, Italy, and France with such noted composers as Delibes.

In 1890 he returned

to the United States to take up the occupation of music critic ^ Loc. cit. 3 Isaac Goldberg, Tin Pan Alley (New York: John Day Company, 1930), p. 179*

50 for leading newspapers and magazines.

In addition to con­

ducting the philharmonic Orchestra of Washington, D. C., he became noted for his light opera rfRobin Hoodfl based on the old English tale.

When one examines the music of De Koven

it becomes evident that in his early opera f,Robin Hoodrr he achieved his greatest success and,contrary to the accepted manner, his later works did not receive the public acclaim and acceptance as did the earlier composition.^-

He was

never a truly popular composer in the sense that Sousa or Victor Herbert were popular because he never captured the imagination of the people.

Yet he was aware of the possi­

bilities of such new innovations as ragtime, even though he could not utilize them with deftness and assurance due to his early training.

His attitude toward the founding of a

truly national American music are expressed in the following quote reprinted in Goldberg1s rtTin Pan Alley.11 We cannot . . . look to. the educated, highly-trained and able musicians who are turning out worthy and authentic work in America as the founders of such a national school. They are too wedded to formalism, too anxious to reproduce correctly the forms that they have been taught to admire, to be readily sus­ ceptible to purely national influences, did any such exist. No--rather must we, I think, turn to those comparatively less learned, and therefore, perhaps, more natural composers who are now producing the popu­ lar songs heard in every music hall, on every street corner, from ambulant pianos and itinerant organs, which are sold by the hundreds of thousands of copies

For complete listing of operettas, see Appendix A.

51 among the masses of the people, as the early pro­ genitors of the future American music.5 Victor Herbert.

The man who was to make the deepest

impression on the American stage in the infant days of musical comedy was Victor Herbert ( 1 8 5 9 - 1 9 ) .

Born in

Dublin, Ireland, he was raised by his mother and grandfather after his father died when Victor was only three years old* He was educated in Germany and was encouraged in his musical career by Professor Cossman of the Hoch Conservatory at Frankfort.

In addition to his studies in theory and compo­

sition he became first ’cellist in the Court Orchestra at Stuttgart and toured all the musical centers of Europe thus gaining for himself a solid grounding in the standard or­ chestral repertoire.

Traveling to America with his new

bride, he was engaged by Walter Damrosch as first .’cellist for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and immediately was successful as an instrumentalist.

During his career he

conducted the famous Gilmore’s Band (l89lf) and was engaged by Andrew Carnegie to conduct the Pittsburgh Symphony Or­ chestra in 1898.

It was during these busy years as a

symphony conductor that he wrote ’’The Fortune Teller” in addition to much of his symphonic music,

such as the ’’Suite

Romantique,” the tone poem ’’Hero and Leander,” and the suites, ’’Woodland Fancies” and ’’Columbus.” 5 Goldberg, o£. cit*, 180 ff.

£2 Herbert (in this period) . . . ran true to form; it was the story of Sullivan all over again, with one eye on the concert hall and the other in the pit of the Savoy; it pointed to the story of Gershwin today, with one foot on the stage of musical comedy and thg other planted on the platform of the symphony hall.® One of the characteristics that have made Herbert1s music live so long is his expert use of the orchestra both in purely instrumental selections and as a background for dramatic action and song.

He was a master in the matter of

orchestration, unlike so many of our modern composers, and was a painstaking and thorough arranger.

This was natural

for him due to the fact that he had played in the best orches­ tras of the day; he knew the band as a player and as a con­ ductor, and his wife sang in the grand operas while he was playing in the pit.

He played the piano poorly and said often

that he conceived his melodies with all the resources of the orchestra and voices that were given to him.^ The chronology of Victor Herbertfs operettas does not seem as important as the collections of melodies that came from them.

8

The qualities of his melodies are such that, an

excellent operetta could be put together from his works much in the same manner as the way ,fBlossom Time11 is an anthology of Schubert melodies.

It seems that upon examining his

b Ibid., p. 1 88 . 7 Ibid., p. 189 ff. 8 For complete listing of operettas,

see Appendix A.

53 scores one finds little of our contemporary sophistication. His melodies are forthright and full of beauty of line, due in a great part to his Irish ancestry.

The choruses offer

no great problems of range or tessitura and show his firm grounding in the operettas of his European predecessors.

As

mentioned above, his orchestrations or arrangements were responsible in a great measure for the lasting qualities of his works for they showed much more care and concern over instrumental backgrounds than did the works of other con­ temporary operatic composers.

Above all, Herbert was a

conscientious craftsman, a tidy worker, and a thorough composer. Some idea of the place Victor Herbert held in comparison to Gilbert and Sullivan may be gathered from this passage from Purdy*s enjoyable biography: A contemporary of the English light opera team of Gilbert and Sullivan, Herbert has often been likened to Sullivan, the musical partner. In his ability to create light, tuneful music for the operetta stage, Herbert did partake of the genius of his fellow-Irishmen. There, however, similarity ceases; for little of the Sullivan satire is to be found in Herbert*s work. In his playful moods, Herbert wrote in warm chuckling vein. Whereas Sullivan wrote wittily, Herbert wrote humorously. And when Herbert left off laughing in his music, he breathed nostalgic longing arid delicate romance into his songs and ballads, asserting and reasserting his faith in love and sentiment through the more than forty productions•for which he composed bewitching music.9 Writing in the New York World of June 1, 192lj., upon the death of Victor Herbert, Deems Taylor said: 9 Claire Lee Purdy, Victor Herbert (New York: Julian Messner, Inc., 19lfi|-) > p. 1^3^

They compare him with Sullivan, but I think he was a far more gifted man than Sullivan. Do not for­ get that Sullivan had Gilbert. Herbert never had a librettist who was completely worthy of him . . . His tunes were" neither glorified rhythmic patterns nor harmonic paraphrases. They were pure song, capable of boing 3ung without accompaniment if need be, as pure in outline as the melodies of Schubert or Mozart . . . There is more harmonic complication in a score like 1Algeria1 or !Mlle. Modiste* than there is in the e] 1 .t of Donizetti, Rossini, and Offenbach Victor Herbert is the nearest prototype,

in America,

to Sullivan, Offenbach, and Von Suppe, in their respective lands.

Amateur companies still turn to his works for inspi­

ration and material.

The radio continually retails his

melodies and now the motion picture empire has rediscovered him.

Strangely enough, however, England has remained rather

indifferent to his works as has the rest of the continent. He is a typically American product. Minor composers.

Other light opera and musical comedy

composers whose works were composed before the turn of the century are Kerker, Luders, Wathall, and Hoschna.

Gustave

Kerker was of German extraction and came to America while a boy of ten.

He was musical director of the New York Casino

during its heyday in the *80fe.

A dozen or more operettas and

comedies are to his credit,*^ among them ’’Castles in the Air,

10 Goldberg, 0£. cit., p. 19^-* 11 For complete listing of operettas, see Appendix A.

55 ’’The Telephone Girl,” ’’Kismet,” and the one upon which his chief fame rests, ’’The Belle of New York.”

This was a musi­

cal comedy in two acts which had a phenomenal run of 697 performances in London and was very successful on tho road both here and abroad.

It was revived as late as 19^4-5* at

the Open Air Theatre, St* Louis. Although born in Germany Gustav Luders came to America as a young man and his career has become identified with this country.

In 1889 he went to Chicago where he collaborated

with Prank Pixley in writing musical comedies.^3

Among their

joint works are ’’The Prince of Pilsen,” ’’The Burgomaster,” ’’The Grand Mogul,” and ’’The Gypsy. ”^4Alfred G. Wathall is an English composer, whose work belongs to America.

He appeared here in his early youth as

a concert violinist and, after studying in Europe, returned to Chicago where he was a member of the faculty of Northwestern University.

His most notable success was ’’The Sultan of Sulu, ”

a musical satire in two acts with book by George Ade, produced at Wallackfs Theatre, New York, February, 1903* by the Castle Square Opera Company. ^ 12 Joseph Walker McSpadden, Light Opera and Musical Comedy (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1935T7~P*"~531 ff • 13 For complete listing of operettas, see Appendix A. lij- McSpadden, ©£. cit*, p. 553* 15 Ibid., p. 557

$6 Karl Hoschna comes of Bohemian stock and both he and his grandfather were musicians in that country.

He came to

America in 1896 and for two years played in the Victor Herbert orchestra.

He wrote nearly a score of operettas and musical

plays, among them, ”The Girl of My Dreams,” MJumping Jupiter,11 ”The Belle of the West,” and his most successful work, ”Madame Sherry,” a musical comedy in three acts based on a French Vaudeville by Hugo Felix.

Hoschna retained some of

the original French music in his score when the work played in New York at the famous New Amsterdam Theatre in 1910.*^^ One of the leading popular music figures of the early twentieth century was George M. Oohan (l878-19l|-2) •

He had a

remarkable career in the theatre as song-and-dance man, actor, producer,

director, playwright, and composer of songs which

had a ragtime flavor.

After making a name

a member of the Four Cohans, George turned

in vaudeville as to writing musical

plays, the most popular of which was ”Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway.” His earliest songs are as good as his latest--indeed, better. For all the newness of his productions, his own words and music tended to become older in style as he himself grew older . . . H e could not write a good melodic line. He was full of rememberances of good tunes past . . . Yet, by the magnetism of his person­ ality, . . . he created an era in popular music . . • (and) remained almost untouched by the incursion of 16 For complete listing of operettas, 17 McSpadden, o p . cit., p. 556 ft.

see Appendix A.

57 the Viennese school of operetta, content with his rough-and-ready Americanism. Prom ragtime to riches. Rudolf Friml.

.1®

Two men follow in direct descent from

Victor Herbert and Reginald Do Koven and 3tom from the Viennese tradition of Pranz Lehar and Oskar Strauss. Rudolf Priml and Sigmund Romberg. Bohemia, December 7> l88l.

These men are

Priml was born in Prague,

He was a pupil of the noted com­

poser Dvorak, and in 1901 came to America as accompanist for the violinist Jan Kubelik.

He composed many piano teaching

pieces with great success, but found his most profitable field in the operetta stage, and subsequently in the motion picture adaptations that have since been made from the works produced originally in the theatre.^-9 "The Firefly," a comic opera in three acts, has been repeatedly revived by both professional and amateur companies in addition to the successful screen version.

This work has

won wide acclaim by reason of its wealth of engaging music among which are such songs as "Love is Like a Firefly," "Giannina mia," "In Sapphire Seas," "Sympathy," and "When a Maid Comes Knocking at Your Heart." "Katinka," a musical comedy in three acts, is one of the most successful of the earlier works of this composer and is still recalled for its gaiety, charm, and abundance of Goldberg, 0£. cit., p. 238. 19 For complete listing of operettas, see Appendix A.

58 bright music, some of it of the haunting quality for which Priml is famed.

Two notable numbers from the score are

"Allah's Holiday," and "Rackety Coo." "Rose Marie," a musical play in two acts, won favor by reason of its contrasts between the simplicity of the wilds and the sophistication of society.

Millions became

acquainted with it through the screen version starring Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

A few of its remembered

melodies are "Rose Marie, I Love You," "Indian Love Call," the rousing "Song of the Mounties," and the comedy song "Why Shouldn11 W e ." "The Vagabond King," a musical play in two acts, is based on McCarthy's "If I Were King" and contains a wealth of spirited music such as "Song of the Vagabonds," "Hugeette Waltz," the love song "Only a Rose," and the duet "Love Me Tonight. Sigmund Romberg.

Sigmund Romberg was also born in

Europe in I887 and was educated at Bucharest University as an engineer.

Coming to this country in 1909? k® turned to

music as a means of livelihood, playing the piano in small orchestras and writing incidental music to revues.

Naturally,

at first, his works were in the style of revues, but beginning in 1919 k® wrote operettas.

21

20 McSpadden, o p . cit., p. 558* 21 For complete listing of operettas, see Appendix A*

59 ’’Maytime,” a play with music, in four acts, is a nostalgic piece whose plot, of a love frustrated, has uni­ versal appeal and contains some of Romberg’s best early music*

The song ?lWill You Remember11 is deathless, ’’Blossom Time,” a musical play in three acts, is based

upon airs by Franz Schubert and presents a somewhat garbled version of both the life and music of the famous composer. In the climactic scene the character of Franz Schubert plays the theme melody based upon his ’’Unfinished Symphony11 ’’This is My Song of Love.” ’’The Student Prince,” an operetta in four acts, based on Mansfield’s play ’’Old Heidelberg” contains perhaps the strongest music of all 'the Romberg operettas approaching at times the field of grand opera.

The setting of this work is

youthful and vivacious, and the music is in keeping.

From

the student’s song, ’’Old Heidelberg,” the lively ’’Drinking Song,” and ballad,

’’Deep in My Heart,” to the end, the melo­

dies have the charm and appeal that is the gift of Romberg. Undoubtedly one of the most often performed operettas is ’’The Desert Song,” a musical play in two acts.

This work

has much more actual story, atmosphere, and local color than the average operetta.

The music is interwoven so as to become

an integral part of the dramatic action, and such songs as the ’’Desert Song,” ’’The Riff Song,” ”My Desert is waiting, Deat, ” ’’Blue Heaven and You and I,” and ’’One Alone” permeate

60

the s h o w , ^ George Gershwin.

The blending of the streams of Tin

Pan Alley and the operetta tradition occur in the works of George Gershwin. man of music,

Much has been written about this phenomenal

this man who has become the symbol of the

merging of popular music and the music of the concert hall and opera houses.

Some say that he was most significant as

a composer of gay tunes for musical comedies, and that his symphonic compositions were merely extensions of something that was better adapted to the dance hall or the operetta stage; while others have held that he is truly the most im­ portant of any American composer that has yet lived, regard­ less of the origin of his inspiration.^ Gershwin did more than any composer up to his time to establish the pattern of the typical American musical comedy.' Ewen points to this pattern in the following passage: . . . A Gershwin musical comedy, like all Broadway musical comedies, followed a stereotyped pattern. In­ variably the book was no more than a feeble excuse to exploit set numbers, ensemble numbers, dance routines, and vaudeville skits. Neither integration nor credi­ bility was considered essential. The audience was to be captivated by pleasant music, brilliant costumes, 22 McSpadden, ££.

cit., pp. 5^7“*574*

23 John Tasker Howard, Our American Music, (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, I9I4.6 )> P • k k & ~ 2*1- For complete listing of operettas,

see Appendix A.

6l entertaining dances, and broad humor. A G-ershwin musical comedy was exceptional only in that Gershwin music was usually exceptional; but even here all the stage-routine formulas were religiously followed. Then, in 1931* & new facet of American theatre was i





brought to view with M0f Thee I Sing,’1 which won the Pulitzer Prize that year and became the first musical comedy to capture that coveted honor. theatrical career.

This was the crowning of Gershwin1s George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind pro­

vided a new type of musical-comedy book which, though it featured the usual numbers and routines, aimed at presenting a bitingly satirical picture of the American political scene and its backgrounds.

This libretto was particularly success­

ful for it gave the American public an opportunity to laugh at the nation's capital and the politicians .who inhabited it during a time of deep nation-wide depression.

It was a fresh

and novel show, a sharp departure from anything ever before attempted in an American niusical comedy.

The music that

Gershwin wrote to this story was as pointed in its humor as the text of the play itself.

All the features of his musical

style, the subtle use of rhythm, the light type of melody, the original harmonies, lent themselves to this witty type of comedy.

This libretto contains much material like a Gilbert

libretto, and the music that Gershwin wrote for it has the flavor of Sullivan.

This is readily illustrated by the

David Ewen, The Story of George Gershwin (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 19^3)» P * lipl f f .

62

opening march, rlWintergreen for President.11 Following this line of successful musical comedies, Gershwin turned to a more serious field in the production of "Porgy and Boss11 in 1935*

This work provoked much discussion

and a passage from John Tasker H o w a r d ^ Our American Music sums up the situation quite well: . . . There was much discussion as to whether "Porgy and Bess” was a high-class musical comedy, or a lowclass grand opera. As a matter of fact, it was neither. It was nearest, perhaps, to a folk opera, but however classified, it is, up to date, the most individual American Opera that has been successfully produced, and it may very well be a pioneer in establishing a native school of American o p e r a . 26 This statement of prophecy has been born out by such musical productions as ''Oklahoma” which will be discussed later in this chapter. Irving Berlin.

Although not classed as a writer of

opera, Irving Berlin's work in the fields of the musical revue, and lately in musical plays,

should be mentioned. ^

His

fame, in the early years, rested upon his ability to write popular songs that would catch and hold the fancy of the American public and, although he .‘has remained one of the top composers in this field, his excursions into the field of the musical theatre have not been rewarded with such acclaim.

26 Howard, o£. cit., p. l|-5l. 27 For complete listing of operettas,

see Appendix A*

t!Annie Get Your Gun,,f a musical play in three acts produced in 19^6 * illustrates a new trend in musical comedies of turning to historical characters of fact and fiction for subject matter.

The ”Annie” in this case is the famous Annie

Oakley and the story revolves around Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

The music was written with Ethel Merman in mind for

the leading character and is a lilting and effective score containing ballads, rhythm songs and, comedy numbers.

The

inclusion of an elaborately costumed Indian ceremonial dance is worthy of mention as illustration of the ever growing place oQ of interpretive dancing in the musical theatre. ° ,fMiss Liberty,11 Berlin’s latest musical comedy is supposed to have been inspired by the effect that the Statue of Liberty had on outbound American soldiers during the last war.

In reality it.is a tale of a circulation war between

two rival New York newspapers and not as inspiring as the title would suggest.

The critics feel that it is just another

musical comedy and that Irving Berlin’s melodies, while sprightly and tuneful, will not make musical h i s t o r y . ^9 Jerome K ern.

11. . . second only to Irving Berlin'as

the oldest and most successful functioning composer of popular ^ New~York Theatre Critic1s Reviews (New York: Critic’ Theatre Reviews, , Vol. VII, -pp. 382-385. 29 New York Theatre Critic’s Reviews (New York: Critic* Theatre Reviews, 19^-9)> Vol. X, pp. 279-2&2.

6i|. music of the past half-century."30

This statement is about

Jerome Kern, composer of over a hundred musical comedies and a dozen Hollywood films, all producing a rich crop of songs of incomparable charm and melody.31 "Sally1*and "Sunny11 are two typical singing and dancing musicals which require the principals to be good dancers in addition to actors and singers.

They were written for Marilyn

Miller, who was one of the brightest lights on the American stage in the twenties, and are light and gay with the emphasis placed upon charm, charming people,

charming situations, and

charming melodies. Ewen sums up K e r n ’s formula for success by saying: He has extraordinary talent, of course; a vein of melody, tender and seductive, together with an ability to provide these melodies with harmonic settings of great variety and enchantment . . . (He possesses) a sound instinct, a tireless industry, good sense, quiet self-assurance, and a remarkable capacity to size up a situation and take advantage of it.32 Jerome K e r n ’s "Showboat" was first produced in 1928, and it remains, a legend in the American theatre.

It was re­

vived a few years after its original run, then was made into a movie, and today its songs--"Why Do I Love You," "Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man of Mine," and "Old Man River1*— are part 30 David Ewen, Men of Popular Music (New York: ZiffDavis Publishing Company, 19W ) > P • 150. 31 For complete listing of operettas, 32 Ewen, loc. cit.

see Appendix A.

65 of the standard repertoire of American ballads.

Like

Gershwin* s ’’Porgy and Bess’* (composed later, however) ’’Show­ boat” was almost a folk opera, with folk music of Kern’s composing. Seldom has any subject been treated with better taste, musical and dramatic, than in this unpretentious classic. Some have gone so far as to say that if there is ever to be an American school of opera, this is the model upon which it must be b a s e d . 33 In the 1920’s, Vincent Youmans was one of the brightest lights in the musical comedy field.

Born in New York City,

he served as an entertainer during the first World War and later obtained valuable experience in stage work as an assis­ tant to Victor Herbert.

His best known comedies are ”No,

No, Nanette,” and ’’Hit the D e c k . ”31}Harry Tierney is best known for his greatly successful song ’’Sweet Little Alice Blue Gown, ” and has also written music for several hit shows, including the ’’Ziegfeld Pollies,” ’’Irene,” and ”Rio Rita” which has been enjoying a revival of late in Los Angeles. Cole Porter (1892- ) is an example of a man who was educated at the Harvard School of Music and the Schola Cantorum in Paris and has made his name as a writer of popular songs and musical

c o m e dies.35

33 Howard, 0£. cit., p. 666. 3^ For complete listing of operettas, see Appendix A. 35 For complete listing of operettas,

see Appendix A.

66 . . . (He) represents the height of sophistication in song writing. The author of both words and music of his songs, he deals with the primal instincts of love in typically twentieth-century fashion; never hesitating to use many-syllabled words, even though he is actually writing for the masses . . . In this practice he has created a fashion, and has many imi­ tators .36 Of particular interest is PorterTs latest production, ”Kiss Me, Kate” which opened in New York on December 30* 19^-8* Based on William Shakespeare*s "Taming of the Shrew,” it is of the play-within-a-play form showing the behind-the-scenes lives of a harried Shakespearean troupe.

This is an imaginative

burlesque that is literate without being vulgar.

The setting

has given Cole Porter an opportunity to leave Tin Pan Alley for a more romantic locale about the Mediterranean and satirize the works of Puccini.

Again, as in all contemporary musical

comedies, the choreography plays a large part in the production. The consensus of opinion among the critics is that it is a "musical comedy that has everything. ”37 Richard Rodgers.

The top name in musical comedy circles

today as far as popularity is that of Richard Rodgers who has lately stepped into a place alongside of Jerome Kern as a com­ poser of operetta-type musical comedies which are truly works 36 John Tasker Howard, Our Contemporary Composers (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 19^3 ) 9 P • 302. 37 New York -Theatre CriticTs Reviews (New York: Critic*s Theatre Reviews, 19l}-6), Vol. IX, pp. 91-9^4-•

67 of art.

He has collaborated with two different librettists,

Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II, in producing musical plays of ever-increasing musical and dramatic

v a l u e . 38

Born

in New York City, he began writing show music while at Columbia University and left there to invade Broadway.

Rodgers and Hart

were considered the ’’Gilbert and Sullivan of America” until the partnership was broken by Hart*s death in 19^-«

Among

the most successful of their musical comedies were ”A Connecti­ cut Yankee,” ’’The Garrick Gaieties,” and ’’The Boys From Syracuse.”

’’The Rodgers and Hart touch seemed golden because

they were consistently good theater, consistently fresh and new, consistently generous with

s u r p r i s e . ”39

Ewen has summa­

rized the qualities of their music in saying: There is in a Rodgers and Hart song such give-andtake between lyric and melody--the one echoing the subtlest suggestions of the other— that a comparison with Gilbert and Sullivan has inevitably and often been posed. The American due reminds us of the Savoy pair in the glibness with which they produced their songs, and in the unanimity between lyric and melody. Certainly, Hart*s fleet lyrics at their best have the Gilbertian tongue-in-cheek mockery. Hart*s lyrics— with their sophisticated tone and masterly versifi­ cation— swept an invigorating fresh breeze through the fetid atmosphere of Tin Pan Alley in the middle 1920*s. . . The two men had one thing in common; a natural facility for writing. They could produce quickly and easily— without sweat and tears— and with, a neatness of construction that never betrayed haste.4*° 38 For complete listing of operettas, see Appendix A. 39 Ewen, Men of Popular Music, o p . cit., p. 1 6 7 * lj.0 Ibid., p. 1 62.

68 The success of Rodgers, the musician, is formidable enough when one considers that he has written scores for more than thirty excellent productions, many of them ranking with the leading successes in the American theatre.

However,

in comparison with such other composers as Kern, Berlin, and Porter, in one respect he stands alone.

Examination of the

scores to his shows will reveal that he has written music for plays that range from a circus show f,Jumboff to a modernization of Shakespeare ”The Boys Prom Syracuse.11

Some of the varied

fields of subject matter that Rodgers has had to deal with include the American Revolution f,Dearest Enemy,M Kind Arthur’s Round Table ”A Connecticut Yankee,” the ballet ”0n Your Toes,” politics ”I*d Rather Be Right,” and problems of the second World War ”South Pacific.”

More than any other composer of

musical comedies, Rodgers has succeeded in making his songs an integral part of the play--growing out of the texture of the situation rather than superimposed upon it.

The songs

are not only good in themselves when set apart from the plot, but are integral parts of the plays in which they appear, reflecting the moods and atmospheres which the dramatist has tried to create in his text. Shortly before H a r t ’s death Rodgers had started col­ laborating with Oscar Hammerstein II, the librettist who had furnished some of the best lyric material to Kern, Romberg, and others.

The first effort of the new combination was an

69 adaptation of Lynn Rigg*s play ’’Green Grow the Lilacs,” which was renamed “Oklahoma.”

it was produced by the Theatre Guild

in New York early in 1943 a*id played for several years to sold-out houses in New York, and by a number of traveling companies in various parts of the country. closed in New York,

By the time it

there had been 2022 performances of

’’Oklahoma,” a record which has yet to be broken, although ’’South Paeific,” by the same authors, to surpassing it.

seems well on its way

Typical of the many comments made by

American critics and musicologists regarding this musical play are the following excerpts: Oklahoma is a triumph of collaboration. Rodgers1s music is highly individual, easily remembered, and of lasting quality. Hammerstein*s lyrics are filled with poetic imagery, but avoid oversophistication; and his adaptation of the original Riggs play to operetta purposes is a miracle in achieving a unity of plot, dialogue, songs, ballet numbers, and ensembles.4^ This musical play was a Pulitzer Prize winner, and . . . has achieved at least three desirable objects; its plot is excellent; it is well integrated with the music, which is also of a high order of excellence; and the story is clean and wholesome. Add to these good singing, clever acting, both comedy and drama, and an artistic ballet, and one has an unbeatable combination.43 Nowhere has Rodgers more conspicuously demonstrated his remarkable flexibility and resiliency than in his score for ’’Oklahoma.” The play called for simple and ^4-1 Louis Kronenberger, ’’The Theater,” Information Please Almanac, 1949 (New York: Farrar, Straus and Company, 1949)7 p p * 97-99lj.2 Howard, Our American Music, o p . cit., p. 668. 43 McSpadden, o£.

c i t ., p. £86 f f .

70 unpretentious music modeled after the patterns of American folk songs. . . The music to express this authentically American play had to have a definitely established American character. . . Shedding his former mannerisms as he would a cloak, Rodgers struck for a new and studied simplicity in song writing. The simplicity of its lino and design followed the pattern of the American folk music of the West. . . Oklahoma* has proved what other, and earlier scores have long suggested: Rodgers* versatility is of incomparable scope in the popular music of our time. . . . 1Oklahoma* sounded an altogether new tone for the American musical theatre. MiThe success of "Oklahoma" was followed two years later by the second Rodgers-Hammerstein collaboration.

This time

the partners adapted Ferenc Molnar*s play "Liliom," and pro­ duced a work they called "Carousel."

The foreign locale was

brought home to New England, and the characters were changed to Americans.

Musically, the score of "Carousel" was more

ambitious than that of "Oklahoma," for Rodgers attempted and achieved truly operatic effects, particularly in such extended numbers as his hero *s soliloquy. The current production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein team is "South Pacific," a musical play adopted from James A. Michener*s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Tales of the South Pacific."

This story of the lives of Americans and natives

involved in the events of World War II truly deserves the title of musical play, for "South Pacific" has no chorus in the conventional sense and no ballet.

This is a new trend in

"55 Ewen, Men of Popular Music, op. cit., p. l60 f f .

71 musical theatre, and Rodgers himself realized that the elimi­ nation of these accepted groups presented a difficult problem to the composer: In the construction of musical plays we have always been able to resort to ’’groups” for the development of the songs. There has always been a choral group to back up the soloists or it has been possible to follow the soloist with a dance group of one sort or another. ♦South Pacific,1 however, is quite a serious story, and when we thought of backing up our principals with a ballet or a singing ensemble, we feared that sincerity would go out the nearest exit, and we would be back in an artificial and unemotional form. It was easy to say no groups, but it w a s n ’t easy to find a substitute for them in developing the.songs. It happens that the simple direct answer is often the easiest one. We decided the only thing to do was to make the songs good enough and have them sung so well that they would stand on their own and need no further development. I hope this w o n ’t be construed as a rejection on my part of choral and dancing groups in the theater. I think they are indispensable in any musical play approaching fantasy. Certainly the fantasy in ’Carousel’ and in ’Oklahoma* could not have existed without the help of concerted-singing and dancing. But ’South Pacific’ is never fantastic, and it would have been hurt badly.by an attempt to mix the medium of realism with that of fantasy. 4-5 The treatment of the orchestral score in ’’South Pacific” is of greater importance than most musical comedies, as was that of ’’Brigadoon.”

Using a small symphonic orchestra, com­

poser Richard Rodgers and arranger Robert Russell Bennett have successfully utilized the instrumental group to intensify the

k-5 Richard Rodgers, ’’Richard Rodgers Describes the Problems of Adapting ’Tales of the South Pacific’ to the Stage,” Reprinted from New York Herald-Tribune in souvenier program of National Company of ’’South Pacific,” 1950*

72 the dramatic action and create the necessary mood.

Many

times words have been eliminated completely both in dialogue and lyric, and many scenes are played by the orchestra as well as the actors.

Robert Russell Bennett made the orchestrations

to suit .the action and sometimes to indicate the emotional content of the scenes in which there is practically no action. Although it is not the purpose of this work to deal with stage mechanics and design, there is a notable development in technique of staging songs without interrupting the conti­ nuity of the story, illustrated in ’’South pacific.”

This was

the adaptation of the quick dissolve or 11lap dissolve” technique of the motion pictures in which the next scene starts before the preceding scene is finished.

The result

is that the actions shifts with constant fluency. The trend toward improving not only the music in today’s theatre but also the rendition of the songs is also illustrated by the production of ’’South Pacific.”

Ezio Pinza, for years

one of the most noted bassos of the Metropolitan Opera Company left the operatic stage to take the leading role in the original Broadway production of ’’South Pacific” and in so doing caused much discussion among critics and music lovers.

Mr. Pinza

himself, writing in the Etude magazine stated that the new American musical theatre as exemplified by such productions as ’’South Pacific” gave the operatic singer an opportunity to

73 branch out more toward the legitimate t h e a tre.^

The trans­

planting of an operatic star from the Metropolitan to the musical theatre has opened the eyes of many Americans to the increasing artistic and musical values of such musical plays as those written by Rodgers and Hammerstein. In closing, it would be well to cite the opinions of two men involved in the musical comedy field, one as a composer, the other as a critic.

Marc Blitzstein, noted American composer

writing in Theatre Arts states that: The real advance of the last thirty years in the American stage has been in the field of the musical theatre . . . Actually, it is. our kind of opera, opera of this place and time.47 He cites that in the twenties, authentic reality and seriousness invaded the musical comedy in Jerome K e r n fs "Showboat" with such melodies as "Old Man River11 and charac­ terizations as the creole Magnolia.

The late thirties saw

the advent of ballet and modern dance together with the sounding of a more serious note.

For example, Agnes de Mi l l e 1s

ballet of jealousy and death in "Oklahoma" is not mere deco­ ration, but intensification of the mood.

The need for stronger

musical continuity brought forth a new school of arrangers and orchestrators for the musical theater, including such names as Ezio Pina, "Why I Went to 'South Pacific,*11 Etude, 67:3“^4-> September, 19^4-9• h-7 Marc Blitzstein, "Notes on the Musical Theatre," Theatre Arts, 34*30-1, June, 1950*

Ik Bennett, Royal, and Spialek, and the term ’’integration” be­ came a common one around Broadway, Howard Taubman has pointed out that: Not only is the musical theatre being revitalized, but in its daring and originality it is becoming one i" st adventurous forces in America*s cultural Such musical plays as ”Oklahoma,” ’’Carousel,” ”Finian*s Rain­ bow,” ”Kiss Me Kate,” ’’South Pacific,” and ’’Lost in the Stars” are seeking to fuse music and action into an integrated stagework, instead of the loosely knit musical comedies of the first thirty years of this century, and to, by this fusion, achieve the aim of all musico-dramatic forms. Worthy of mention at this point are two productions of rather unknown composers, ’’Brigadoon” and ”Finian*s Rainbow,” ’’Brigadoon” is a musical play with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.

The setting is Scot­

land and this has given the composer ample opportunity to utilize his orchestra in providing Scotch music to accompany the ballet numbers.

The orchestral score is of particular

note in this production as it plays a far greater part in the dramatic action than is usual in a musical show.

The emphasis

is on the strings with the traditional background of bag-pipe skirling and a melodic air.

Many are the lively airs that

W Howard Taubman, ’’Good Opera Need Not be Grand Opera, New York Times Magazine, December 11, 19^9t PP« lip-15*

provide the musical setting for Agnes de M i l l e d forceful country dances and it is the dancing that is probably the key to the compelling quality of the entertainment.

It

should be mentioned that lfBrigadoon” received the New York Critic!s Circle Award for the season of 19I4-8 * ”Finian's Rainbow,” book by E. Y* Harburg and Fred Saidy, music by Burton Lane,

combines the charm and humor of

Irish legend and mythology with the ever present American problem of racial discrimination in the South.

The intro­

duction of the Irish folklore with its leprechauns, gnomes, and elves gives ample opportunity for many scenes of magic and fun, and the locale of the South provides for the intro­ duction of large chorus numbers and folk dances.

The inter­

pretive dancing of the deaf mute, Susan Mahoney, is one of the high spots of the production.

CHAPTER IV EDUCATIONAL VALUES OP THE MUSICAL COMEDY One of the declared when amount of joy and happiness

most fundamental truths of life was someone wrote that 1perhaps the greatest experienced in human life is the ioy that comes from self-expression.*1

There is within the human being a most natural and dominating desire to express in some outward form the inner­ most thoughts and feelings, to be found everywhere.

This expression may take the form

of architecture, painting, music.

and instances of this instinct are

sculpture, literature,

drama, or

This is a universal desire, characteristic of all ages

and common to all races.

Ample evidence of this tendency has

been given in the preceding chapters of this thesis.

The

Greeks went to the theatre for diversion; the Romans declared holidays for the producing of plays; Medieval Europe staged pageants with pomp and ceremony; throughout all ages man has attended the theatre to see life as it ought to be, and not as it really was. Self-expression in the young child.

This urge for self-

expression manifests itself very early in' life in the makebelieve play of the little child.

In its earliest form, the

play instinct manifests itself in the aimless tumblings, 1 Kenneth R. Umfleet, School Operettas and Their Pro­ duction (Boston and New York: C. C. Birchard and Company, 1929) p. 1.

rompings, and skippings of the small child.

Later the child

takes to the dance, the song, and make-believe to provide the outlet for this urge.

So strong is this tendency that

the child not only transforms objects, but persons,

including

himself, into whatever his fancy dictates or-his make-believe play demands. songs.

He unconsciously dramatizes his stories and

Small boys become trains, horses, Indians or soldiers,

and little girls become housewives, mothers, queens.

The imitative instinct,

fairys, and

combined with a vivid im­

agination, re-creates actual conditions in their young minds. It is through these imitative processes that the young child is educated long before the school begins the formal process of training and preparing him for life. In the adolescent.

This tendency for self-expression

unites with the social instinct in the adolescent.

One of

the most noticeable traits of youth is his desire for associ­ ation in all of his activities, an ever-present longing to perform in the presence of others and to receive their approval. During these formative years emotions come into prominence and grow steadily in their importance.

Careful consideration

must be given to the problem of providing safe outlets for these pent-up feelings of joy or pain.

Our modern tempo of

life tends to restrain and supress the voluntary expression of these emotions and thus it becomes imperative for the

78 schools to encourage such expression and to provide means for its function. In the adult.

The adult, too, retains his urge for

self-expression but in a less active manner, perhaps modified by experience.

For the most part, it takes on a passive

form, such as attending the theatre, the game, the motion pictures, listening to the radio or watching the television set.

By this means the on-looker relives the emotions of

the participants.

However, in some people, the urge for

active participation remains strong and they join amateur theatre groups, musical organizations, or participate more actively in sports.

This tendency remains throughout life

and should be allowed to expand under constructive guidance which can be provided by the schools. Umfleet has pointed out that n . . . the two great im­ pulses of life . . . are the impulse of work and the impulse of play.1'^

Oftentimes it is difficult to differentiate

between the two, for any well-motivated activity is an example of work that has turned into play, or of play that developed into work.

All youth has a great store of energy and activity

that is constantly seeking outlet.

If this energy is not

directed into correct and constructive channels leading to cultural and artistic ends, it is apt to beeome mischievous ^ Ibid., p. 3.

79 and even destructive in its effect.

To convert this energy

into worthwhile and valuable attainments is a vital problem of the educators of today, and the combination of work and play in the musical comedy or operetta production meets all the needs of this problem . During the past several decades there has been a decided trend towards the extensive use of dramatic forms in our schools as a means to self-expression with work and play com­ bined.

In the elementary school of today, dramatic play as a

tool of learning has become an accepted practice.

Instead of

merely reading or being told about the processes involved in the marketing of foods, the children, in their dramatic play, act out the work of the truck driver who transports the food to the wholesale market,

the processors who prepare the pro­

ducts for marketing, the wholesaler who fills the orders of the retailer, the small businessman who purchases the food­ stuffs, and finally the consumer who completes the cycle of farmer to table.

By means of this ”living” the part, this

active participation, more concrete knowledge and desirable social attitudes are developed than would be possible through mere verbalism.

Also in great use in the elementary schools

are the simple musico-dramatic forms such as the Christmas pageant, the May Day festival of folk dancing, and the re­ enactment of important historical occasions. In the secondary schools, the dramatic forms naturally

80 become more complicated as the youth become more mature and we find most of the types of productions given in the elemen­ tary school now on a higher level of learning.

The pageants

become more elaborate in their production with greater use of scenic and musical effects and even operettas of a rather simple character may be performed in the junior high schools. The purely dramatic form of the play makes its debut into the educational scene at this point and occupies a place of quite some importance in the majority of high schools in the country. Music may be used in conjunction with these plays to provide the proper setting but it is usually of a purely instrumental character, thus limiting the number of students that may par­ ticipate.

The most satisfactory combination of the musical

and dramatic talent of any given school group may be made in the production of a musical comedy or operetta which provides the outlet for self-expression to far greater numbers of students in various fields of endeavor than any other form. The musical comedy as a unifying project.

The value

of a musical comedy or operetta production as a unifying project for the entire school or college is of paramount im­ portance.

It is a compound work of art exhibiting a coordi­

nation of the labors of several different artists with distinctive talents, each of whom employs his own distinct medium of expression.

Thus is a single musical comedy there

81 are combined the diverse arts of writing, painting,

sculpture,

dancing, acting,

decoration, music and stagecraft.

Umfleet has noted the opportunities for cooperation inherent in this type of production by saying: . . . (it) invites the teachers of the arts and crafts, the teacher of dancing and gymnastics, the teacher of literature and dramatics, as well as the teacher of music, to utilize material gleaned from the folk culture of the past, as well as material of modern invention, to express the larger emotions of the audience.3 It is the purpose of the following pages to analyze the learnings in the terms of increased skills and the opportu­ nities for worthwhile education offered to each of the co­ operating departments, with especial emphasis to the musical aspect of the production. Variety of vocal training.

One of the outstanding

qualities of the musical comedy form is the wide range and variety of vocal training it affords the students. There are a number of principal parts providing solo singing for all the voice ranges, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass; secondary parts utilizing the same ranges;

small ensembles

such as duets, trios, and quartets of these voices; and large choral ensembles for male and/or female voices be­ sides the predominating mixed choral group.

This not only

provides the opportunity for the more trained and talented

3 Ibid., p. 6.

82 students to further improve their voices while gaining valuable dramatic experience but also provides an outlet for creative self-expression plus necessary ensemble training for large numbera of students in the various vocal groups. Valuable training in voice production and projection can be gained from participation in a stage production.

This

applies not only to the singing voice but to the speaking voice as the two are inseparable.

Painstaking groundwork in

the fundamentals of correct tone production and projection that have been stressed in the classroom may now be put to the test in a practical performance situation on the stage. Of special importance is the practice offered in the problem of projecting the speaking and singing voice over the foot­ lights.

Such problems as singing too far down in the chest,

in the back of the throat, too far in the front of the mouth, or too much in the nose are quickly and forcefully brought to focus when the student attempts to make himself heard, without straining his voice, in a large and usually acoustically poor auditorium.

This actual experience of the student points

up the problem far better than all the lecturing the music teacher can deliver in the classroom. Pronunciation and enunciation.

Habits of good clear

speech are transferable directly to singing and both are developed in a stage production.

The two main phases of

diction are pronunciation and enunciation.

Pronunciation

means the correctness of sound and accent, while enunciation refers to the distinctness and fullness with which the sounds are uttered.

All amateurs, especially adolescents, are care­

less in their speech. inflexible,

The jaws are not relaxed, the lips are

the tones have little resonance, and the syllables

lack a distinctness that is very necessary in dramatic work. Good diction is considered one of the greatest assets of a speaker,

singer, or actor.

In good diction both the vowels

and consonants must be considered for the vowels give music to the words, and the consonants furnish the form.

Enunciating

the consonants clearly does not mean forcing the voice to be­ come louder; it merely allows time for each letter sound to be made so the word can be heard by those in the rear seats of the auditorium.

The problems of good diction as applied

to a small classroom and to a large auditorium with its soundabsorbing stage are entirely different and the necessary training in proper speech habits will aid the student in public speaking situations in later life. Part singing.

Another facet of the education offered

by the musical comedy is the variety of opportunities for partsinging in all types of vocal combinations.

The primary singing

group, of course, is the mixed chorus consisting of sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses in the usual four part arrangements.

Occasionally,

there will be found subdivisions in the various

voice parts for special effects, thus increasing the number of parts to six and even eight.

Taking the groups in the

order of diminishing numbers, the next to be mentioned are the m e n !s and women's choruses, or boyTs and g i r l fs glee clubs as they are most often called.

The male chorus com­

bines unison singing with occasional four-part numbers for two tenor parts and two bass parts while the female or women's chorus sings mostly in three parts,

soprano, second soprano,

and alto, with occasional four part numbers.

Also to be

found in the musical comedy are an abundance of quartets, trios, and duets, for like and mixed groups.

All these en­

sembles give the student valuable training in part singing with all its attendant problems of intonation, balance, and quality.

Whereas, in the normal school music program, the

average student will participate in only one type of choral group, in the stage production he may have the opportunity and experience of singing in many varied ensembles thus widening his musical knowledge. Intonation.

The problem of pitch or intonation as

related to stage singing is quite different from the usual concert or chorus experience.

The most immediate problem

the singer has to face is that of trying to hear the correct pitch as supplied by the orchestral accompaniment while

85 standing some distance from the pit.

The natural function

of an orchestral pit is to gather the instrumental sounds together and project them out into the auditorium proper rather than back onto the stage.

Thus the singer or singers

standing or sitting at various positions downstage must concentrate very closely on hearing the pitch from the or­ chestra.

This develops in the student a keen ear for musical

intonation.

With the larger choral groups,

there is also the

problem of keeping the correct intonation, blend and balance, while arranged in the variety of positions necessary for the presentation of an artistic stage picture.

There is a great

deal of difference between a choir of fifty voices singing while arranged on risers in close order and the same group spread out over a stage that may be forty feet wide.

Some

practical suggestions on how to overcome this and problems of a like nature will be presented in the following chapter. Following the conductor.

Closely connected with

training afforded the students in developing true intonation and balance is that of following the conductor.

Again the

problem of distance from the participants to the conductor in the pit requires that the students watch closely for indi­ cations of tempo, dynamics, and entrances.

They come to

realize the importance of the conductor in keeping the pro­ duction integrated and learn to watch for the beat of the

86 baton without obviously staring across the footlights at the conductor.

This requires development of the skill of listening

closely to the other members of the cast and chorus in addition to watching the director. Memorization.

One of the valuable skills that can be

developed in the musical comedy production, as it is in all dramatic forms, is the process of memorization of both dialogue and musical numbers.

Usually the singer or chorus member has

only to memorize the words and music of the songs to be per­ formed, but in a stage production, he must not only memorize his own individual musical part, lyrics, and dialogue, but also that of the other

players who provide him with the

neces­

sary cues to dialogue,

music, or action.

inthe

This training

memorization skill will be a valuable asset to later life, whether or

any student in

not he ever follows the stage as

a

profession. Pre-vocation training for instrumentalists.

The training

in theatre orchestra techniques afforded the student who plays in the orchestra for the musical comedy production will not only make a more well-rounded musician of himself, but will provide practical experience in a field that eventually might lead to employment.

Our schools today offer much in the way

of music education in the instrumental field through such groups as the band, orchestra, and various ensemble groups.

87 However, if the student instrumentalist is contemplating a career as a professional musician, he needs to have actual experience in playing all types of music from popular to symphonic, from small dance combinations to large symphonic orchestras and bands.

The professional musician of today,

if he hopes to make his living as an instrumentalist, must be able to play with accuracy, facility, and musicianship, any and every piece of music that might be placed in front of him. One has only to look over the programs of any major symphonic orchestra for an entire year to see that the wide variety of music from the popular standard compositions of Cole Porter, Gershwin, and others, through the great symphonies of Beethoven and Brahms require a flexibility of performance that was not required of the symphonic performer of a few decades past. While during the regular season,

the musician may play a pre­

ponderance of symphonic literature with a few lighter compo­ sitions included for variety and audience appeal, he will find that if he wishes employment during the summer months, it will be found in outdoor summer concerts which present a much greater percentage of light classical, musical comedy, operetta, and popular programs, or in the summer productions of musical comedies that are fast becoming so popular in the larger Ameri­ can cities.

As one example of this trend it would be well

to cite the productions of two of companies that bring musical comedy to Los Angeles during the 1950 season.

The Los Angeles

88 Civic Light Opera Association is presenting four musical productions for a period of twenty-two weeks, while the Greek Theatre summer season presents five productions over a period of ten weeks.

Plans are already under way for a year round

season of musical comedy in Los Angeles and these facts are typical of the situation in other American cities. Manuscript reading.

A major type of training offered

the instrumental music student by the musical comedy production is the practice in reading from manuscript.

At least 95 P e**

cent of all musical comedy and operetta scores are either in manuscript or photostatic copies of manuscript orchestrations. For the student whose music reading experience has consisted solely of playing from printed parts, this type of an,experi­ ence offers valuable training.

In the professional music

world today, the majority of arrangements that are performed on the musical stage, in radio, television, and motion pictures, are written in manuscript, and an instrumentalist unfamiliar with the various eccentricities of this form of music writing faces a serious problem in sight-reading this often very poorly copied music. Correction of p a rts.

Inevitably,

changes must be made

in the musical score of any production to adapt it to the needs and resources of the producing group and this entails the clear marking of the orchestral parts.

Whereas,

some of this

89 task can be done by the music librarians,

still many changes

are made during the course of rehearsals and the orchestral musician must know how to clearly and concisely indicate these changes on his individual part without defacing the manuscript. A knowledge of the standard marking procedures for cuts, tempo changes elisions, and dynamic levels, in a practical situation.

can be brought to focus

Also, because of the personal quality

of manuscript writing, many mistakes in arrangement and copying will be found and the individual player can utilize his studies of harmony and allied subjects to pick out these mistakes and remedy them. Training in accompanying. comedy has a twofold purpose:

The orchestra in the musical

first,

to accompany the various

vocal numbers, and, second, to provide and set the mood of the production through the overture and other purely instrumental selections.

During the regular school year, the young instru­

mentalist is afforded many opportunities to perform with various groups where the main emphasis is on the orchestra or band itself, but few occasions to gain experience in the art of playing in an accompanying body of musicians.

Since

the musical comedy orchestra devotes the greatest proportion of its efforts to accompanying other vocal groups, it affords excellent training in this field.

There is a great deal of

difference between the two phases or types of orchestral work

90 and the musical comedy provides a greater variety of accompa­ nying problems than any other musical form.

There are solo

vocal numbers where the player must learn to subdue the dynamic level of his part,

choral numbers where the orchestra must

furnish a firm support to the singing body, and dance routines where strict attention to rhythm is essential.

The instru­

mentalist learns to recognize an obbligato part in its relation to the vocal solo, and how to bring out this musical line in order to enhance the performance.

In perhaps no other type

of orchestral experience does the player gain such practice in playing under the voices, especially when the singers may move from one position to another about the stage, thus changing the level of volume of their voices and requiring a corresponding change in the dynamic level of the orchestral support. Following the conductor.

Because of the large numbers

of people involved on the stage in a musical comedy production, and their difficulties in seeing the conductor over the foot­ lights, the conductor must always be alert to alter the tempo if necessary to keep, the number from falling apart or to change the dynamic level of the orchestra at a moment1s notice to prevent covering the vocalists.

This places a great responsi­

bility on the individual player in the orchestra to watch the conductor and be ready to conform with his directions.

With

91 the usual musical group, the interpretation has been clearly worked out before the performance and there is little chance for a serious blunder or mistake, but in any stage production, so many factors are involved that anything is likely to happen and if all concerned, especially the orchestra, are on the alert, a major, musical catastrophe can be prevented. dition to many dynamic and tempo changes,

the

In ad­

orchestral

player must jbe alert for fade-outs,

cut-offs, and direct

segues from one number to the next.

The fact

of playing in

a darkened auditorium with the aid of orchestral stand lights makes the problem of the musician even more difficult and provides needed training for later use in the professional field. Transposition.

A special type of skill in orchestral

playing for the clarinet and trumpet players is provided in many musical comedies.

These works written before approxi­

mately 1930 have a great percentage of A clarinet and A trumpet parts, and present the player with the problem of learning how to transpose at sight, a skill which is accepted as a prerequisite of a professional musician. Theory classes.

Besides the two main divisions of the

music department that are involved in the production of a musi­ cal comedy, other classes and groups within the field of music can gain much in the way of increased skills and widened

92 appreciations.

The theory classes,

such as harmony and

solfeggie, can apply their knowledge of harmonic structure in composing small orchestral interludes that may be neces­ sary to bridge a gap in the production caused by a difficult scene change.

This skill is more often developed on the

junior college level than in the high school, but even the high school students can utilize their harmonic studies in the transposition of parts that may be in keys not suited to the singers.

If the junior college or college has a class

in orchestration, the students there may make a very practical use of their studies and a great contribution to the success of the production in reorchestrating or rearranging such passages as the director may feel are orchestrally weak.

This

problem of rescoring the orchestra will be discussed in greater detail in the following chapter. Appreciation and history classes-

Practically all

high schools, and certainly all junior and senior colleges offer courses either in music appreciation and music history, or both.

These groups, too, can enter into the production

of the musical comedy by preparing biographical material on the composer and librettist, tracing the past performances of the work to be presented and supplying this material to the student in charge of the printing of the programs.

In

this way, not only do they contribute to the school production

93 but also grow themselves in knowledge and appreciation of not only the particular show, but of the field of musical comedy and operetta in general. The drama department.

Closely allied to the music

department in the production of a musical comedy is the drama department.

As was with the music department, all the know­

ledge imparted to the students in the dramatics classes is brought to a culmination in the stage production.

The one

advantage of the musical play over the straight dramatic or comedy work is the opportunity given to drama students to receive training in the musical skills, especially those who are in the chorus.

Vice versa, it also provides the music

students with all the educational advantages of dramatic training. Umflee tk has summarized many of the skills inherent in dramatic training in saying: The value of amateur acting is inestimable. It teaches one to face an audience, to be composed and conscious at the same time of the trend of thought, of the lines, and of the audience. The training for the part has included memorization, voice placement, control, quality and projection. To act and speak with ease, while conscious that a large and critical audience is staring at you, demands a sensitized physical control over voice and body. Many times both dramatic and musical talent is found and de­ veloped which otherwise might be unknowingly overlooked. ^ I b i d» , p. 9*

9kOpportunity for dramatic or musical careers is opened, and appearance before public groups is made easier to the parti­ cipants. Although the technique of the stage is specific, and is not applicable to many other lines of- work, the training in speech fundamentals is a valuable acquisition to anyone. The development of bodily grace, control, and self confidence, gained through performance, will result in a social ease that will be of great advantage to the individual.

The actual

memorizing of dialogue not only enriches the vocabulary, but many phrases and even sentences are carried over into everyday life. Of primary importance is the understanding of the character or part in relation to the whole story and the other characters involved. . . . The understanding of a part demands great visual imagination. Acting requires shrewd appre­ ciation and observation of human beings and life. And in the character study a sympathetic understanding of human beings is learned. The portrayal of charac­ ters which possess instincts, emotions and thoughts foreign to the actor inculcates in him an appreciation of these characteristics. Not only mentalities and emotions, but habits, manners and customs are assimi­ lated as a part of a cultural background.5 A production of a musical comedy by a leading American writer can serve as the culminating project in a study of the history of the American musical theatre and build not only £ L o c • cit.

95 increased dramatic skills in the participants but wider and deeper appreciations of the place of the musical stage in our culture. Physical education department.

One of the outstanding

characteristics of a musical comedy is the abundance of dancing. There are solo dances for the principals,

there are small

ensemble dances for groups of boys and girls, and there are large routines for all on stage to participate .in.

As was

pointed out in Chapter III of this thesis, there is an even greater trend today towards the inclusion of interpretive ballet in the musical play thus presenting increased opportu­ nities for training in all forms of the dance from tap dancing, ballroom dancing, and eccentric dancing, to toe dancing.

Such

productions as Rodgers* and Hammerstein* s “Oklahoma1* provide opportunities to include examples of folk dancing which today has such a hold on the young people of America.

The young

students participating in the dances develop physically through increased muscular coordination and are provided with a health­ ful outlet for creative self-expression.

They grow in rhythmic

expression through matching their steps to the rhythmic pul­ sation of the music and in musical awareness through striving to interpret the mood of the story and music by means of graceful movements. The supervision of the dances in the musical comedy production gives an opportunity for the physical education

department to participate in this unified school project by applying the principles of dancing taught in their classes to an actual stage production.

Talented students interested

In the dance can be given opportunities to: design creative choreography for the production and actual teaching practice in training the members of the chorus who may not have had previous dance instruction.

Thus they not only grow and

mature in their own interest but also impart new skills and grace to many other students.

The extreme flexibility of

the musical comedy allows for the utilization of any and all talent that may be available in the physical education de­ partment or elsewhere throughout the student body. Art department.

No musical comedy could be staged

successfully without scenery and lighting.

In fact, the degre

of success of a production depends to such a great extent upon a proper setting vitalized by the warmth of colorful lighting that no dramatic production should be conceived or planned without a careful study of their dynamic possibilities Whereas in the school production,

the music director may have

an adequate general background in the principles of stage design, and certainly the drama teacher will have been trained in the fundamentals of set construction and planning,

still

an opportunity exists for the cooperation of another depart­ ment of the school, the art classes.

By utilizing the experi­

ence of the art teacher and the efforts of the art students

97 under his direction, both the musical and dramatic directors will be relieved of a great deal of responsibility and the inclusion of a greater number of students in this cooperative enterprise certainly fits in with sound educational practice. Set design.

When the musical comedy to be produced

has been chosen, the art teacher should be called into con­ ference with the directors and be given the opportunity to read through the script and whatever suggested stage settings may be included therein.

After the basic types of sets have

been established, and the general stage picture outlined, then there is an opportunity for the art teacher to call together the students in the art classes and present the problem to them.

Then students with a creative talent for design may

make suggestions or present actual sketches for the proposed scenery and from the many suggestions can come a combined design fulfilling the desires of the directors and the needs of the production.

Thus, the stage picture can be the pro­

duct of the cooperation of many creative minds rather than the duplication of one man's ideas. Costume design.

For those in the art and home economics

classes interested in clothing design, an excellent opportunity is offered them in the designing of the necessary costumes for the production.

If the show has a historical setting, the

students can tie together their knowledge of history and art

98 besides doing research into the clothing styles of the time. The students will learn to design costumes with an eye toward economy of materials and ease of sewing, for they will be bound by a budget allottment and the ability of the students in the sewing classes.

They will learn the effect

of various colors on the stage', the types of materials that combine economy .of cost and maximum durability, the relation of costuming to characterization, and many other valuable skills. Set painting.

The actual painting of the sets and

properties for the production falls into the classification of art work and utilizes students from that department in cooperation of others in the manual arts and stagecraft classes. In this project the students gain a knowledge of the various types of painting materials utilized in scenery and actual practice in painting on a large scale,

such as a backdrop,

as compared to painting on the rather small surfaces used in the classroom.

They must cooperate with these in charge of

lighting the set in studying the effects of various colored lights upon the scenery. Advertising posters.

Another project that stimulates

the creative urge in the art students is the design and execu­ tion of colorful and striking posters for advertising purposes. Those students interested especially in commercial and

99 advertising art can have practical experience in putting to practice the principles taught in the classroom. Manual arts department.

The various manual arts or

shop classes play a large part in the cooperative production of the musical comedy for without these students who work with their hands, in the schools.

this type of production would be impossible The actual behind the scenes work of stage

setting and lighting usually falls under the scope of the stage crew or stagecraft classes.

However, if the school

does not teach stagecraft as an individual subject, then a combination of students from the various shops such as elec­ tric shop, carpentry shop, and radio shop, may be used to make up the actual stage crew. Carpentry classes.

The actual construction of the

scenery for the production can be the product of the efforts of the members of the carpentry or wood working classes, with, in most cases, aid from various interested students from the drama and stagecraft departments.

In the average school stage

production the scenery comes from three sources:

(1) redesigned

and repainted scenery already available in the school stocks; (2) large backdrops and even complete scenes of a complicated nature that may be rented from scenery companies; and (3) newly constructed properties and scenery especially designed for the particular show in production.

The carpentry students can

apply their knowledge of woodworking to the construction of

100 the framework for the sets and gain new knowledge of the use of canvas and paper as a cover for the frames.

They must

carefully consider such problems as ease of moving of scenery for quick set changes and tho problems of storage of all the mass of scenery needed for a production of such a scope. They must also consider the safety factor in construction to prevent accidents due to faulty building. Electrical shop.

The students enrolled in the elec­

trical shop training courses can contribute their knowledge of lighting while studying through practical experience the various types of lighting equipment used in stage, motion pictures, and television production.

They will learn the

use of color in lights to create mood and effect on the stage and how each different piece of lighting equipment has its purpose in gaining a special effect.

Such practical problems

as setting up

and operation of equipment, wiring of new

circuits, and

coordination of lighting effects with the

dramatic and musical elements of the production, offer in­ valuable training in this field. Radio shop. .One of the most difficult problems in the production of

musical comedies both in professional and school

situations is

that of making sure that every member of the

audience is able to hear clearly both the dialogue and music. Only a very small percentage of the auditoriums used in school

productions have adequate acoustic control and so invariably the need arises for installation and operation of public address amplification systems. in of

another

shop.

field

of

This entails the bringing

knowledge

and instruction, the radio

In many situations, this subject is taught in conjunc­

tion with the electrical shop and so the duties may overlap. Among the problems that the students must solve using their knowledge gained in their studies, are the number of micro­ phones,

the size of amplifier needed to carry the load, and

the number and size of speakers needed to assure complete aural coverage of the auditorium.

There are problems offered

by the stage production that are not to be found in any other field and practice in solving these difficulties prepares the student for possible employment in later years. Stage crew.

During the actual performances of the

musical comedy, the changing of scenery, placing of properties, and operation of lighting effects are in the hands of the stage crew.

As previously mentioned this group may be an

actual class in the school or a combination of talents from the drama and manual arts departments plus any other qualified interested students from the school at large.

The musical

comedy offers additional aspects of educational value over the straight dramatic production in that, usually, many more sets are used thus giving experience in quick manipulation of scenery in order that the production may not lose continuity.

102 Also cues for the changing of scenery and the operation of lights depend many times upon the musical content of the show and so the members of the stage crew learn to listen for various musical numbers rather than waiting for specific lines or directions. Actual manual practice in the installation of rented scenery, the careful handling of scenery and properties to prevent damage, and quiet efficient manipulation of scenic materials are offered to the stage crew students.

A great

lesson in the values of teamwork and the careful planning and division of labor apply not only to the school production but carry over into everyday life.

All these problems can

and should be planned by the students themselves under the careful guidance of a stage manager who is not only an effi­ cient professional man but a true teacher. Before leaving the field of stage design and operation, it would be well to point out that these behind-the-scenes activities are just as important as the work of the actors and singers and offer valuable training in varied fields to those students who do not possess musical or dramatic talent or training.

Without the efficient teamwork of all concerned in

the production staff, the undertaking of such a large enter­ prise would be impossible and a waste of valuable time. Business department.

Those departments surveyed in

the preceding pages have been directly involved in the actual

103 production of the musical comedy but there remains the count­ less details of the business procedures involved in such an undertaking.

It is in this respect that another large segment

of the school enrollment can participate in a manner that will be.at once helpful and educational. Accounts.

General business procedures are generally

included in the high school curriculum and specific classes in accounting are always offered at the junior college level. These students can apply their training in accounting pro­ cedures in keeping accurate cost sheets on the various phases of the production such as royalties, publicity, make-up,

scenery, and the like.

costuming,

Although it is the responsi­

bility of the director of the production to keep within the budget allotted to the undertaking,

the business department

students can offer him aid by providing up-to-date expense accounts on all items involved.

They can assist in the pre­

liminary handling of purchase orders, requisitions, and moneys for necessary purchases. Tickets.

A great deal of careful planning and effort

is necessary in conducting the sale of tickets to, the pro­ duction.

Experience in conducting negotiations with outside

firms such as ticket printing companies is involved unless the school operates its own print shop.

After the tickets

are procured they must be sorted as to performance, price,

104

and location before tlie sale can be conducted.

The business

department students can conduct the actual sale of tickets by mail, by direct pre-sale to students, and at the boxoffice on the nights of the production. Publicity.

In the conduct of a proper publicity

campaign, the business students, especially those in the typing classes, can gain experience in typing business and publicity letters.

They can also address any publicity

materials that may be sent through the mail. The planning and execution of a dynamic publicity campaign is vital to the success of any school production as it is in the professional world.

No matter how finished

the production may be, no matter how high may be the standard of production,

the prime necessity is that of obtaining an

audience to view this intra-school enterprise.

This campaign

should enlist the combined knowledge and effort of the business and journalism classes.

The school newspaper staff will

naturally be involved in preparing publicity releases both for their own paper and those of the surrounding community. The photographers will apply their training to the taking, processing, and releasing of pictures of the cast to accompany the press releases.

Under the heading of publicity come such

tasks as preparation of printed and hand-drawn posters, planning, writing, and obtaining of radio and television publicity,

105 contacting the community merchants and service clubs to enlist their aid, and reaching out to the alumni of the school to bring Relation

them back to support the production. of the production to thecommunity.

The

preceding pages have attempted to show how the musical comedy can be a unifying project for an entire school by enlisting the students from a great many departments and fields of learning.

In each case the educational values in terms of

increased skills has been noted.

Thus the relation of the

production to the school program has of the relation

been covered but what

of the production to the community of which

the school forms only a part? Public relation value.

The main value of the musical

comedy production in relation to the community is that of public relations.

More than any other single undertaking in

a school year, with the possible exception of athletic events, the musical production can, if produced with a high standard of showmanship and musicianship,

draw the greatest numbers

of members of the community into contact with the school. This contact, for many, may be the first and only opportunity of viewing the results of the educative process.

Many schools

prepare serious programs and exhibits for such events as Parent Teacher*s Association meetings and Public School Week, but find that the attendance is small and composed of those

io6 personally interested in the participating students.

With

the musical comedy production, the school not only draws the parents and friends of the cast, which in itself is a number worthy of the effort expended, but great numbers of outsiders from the community who harken to the call of music and the stage.

This assumes, of course,

that the vehicle of expression

is of worthwhile and proven quality, and that the production is of high calibre. Stimulating interest in the music program.

If the

school is trying to promote interest in its music program both in the community and in surrounding schools, no better means exists than the musical comedy production.

This many times

may eventually take the form of financial support from the community to enlarge and develop the entire music program of the school.

This type of production,

too, may serve as a

stimulus, not only for the participants,

but also for the

audience, toward more serious undertakings in the fields of music and dramatics.

If the need is to stimulate musical in­

terest in the community, it will be far better served in the beginnings with a musical comedy production than a serious symphony concert.

Later, this type of enterprise can become

an integral part of a well-rounded school program of serious plays, band and orchestra concerts, and vocal group concerts. Besides the specific skills and educational values mentioned during the course of this chapter, there are for

107 all who participate in this activity, regardless of their field of educational emphasis,

certain outcomes in terms of

general growth that deserve mention. 1.

Growth in strident initiative.

2.

Growth in ability for leadership.

3.

Growth in knowledge of the value of cooperation, the value of the part to the whole, and the eco­ nomic division of labor.

Ij..

Growth in terms of mental and physical coordination.

5.

Growth in the understanding and practice of responsi­ bility.

6.

Growth in efficiency, preciseness, orderliness, and system.

7.

Growth

in the traits of persistence and concentration.

8 . Growth

in creative imagination and vision.

9*

Growth

in ability for self-analysis.

10.

Growth

in critical evaluation.

Umfleet has pointed out an important reason for the inclusion of the musical comedy production in the school program when he says: We have come to recognize the importance of edu­ cating people, especially the young, for the humanizing recreations and avocations of life as well as for the imperious, bread-winning vocations which they must follow. Our minute subdivision and specialization of industrial labor make it more and more impossible for man to find adequate self-development through his work. Therefore, there is a necessity for the study of ways and means to find it in recreation and leisure . . .

108 Those who are studying the problem seriously advocate a training in some artistic endeavor to give respite from the monotony of daily existence that is so charac­ teristic of the modern factory, in order to allow a , rightful growth of spiritual values in the individual.^ Audience building.

It is upon this note of the place

of recreation and leisure that we base the last broad edu­ cational aim of the musical comedy production in the school. In the high schools and junior colleges of America the oppor­ tunity presents itself for the building of the theatre-going public of tomorrow, for the developing of the audience of tomorrow.

If the school presents as part of its program of

cultural experiences,

the highest quality productions possible

of the works of the American musical theatre, both serious and popular,

the students, as well as all who witness the

productions, will develop a high standard of taste and dis­ crimination that will in the end result in the general raising of the level of the American theatre.

For those who have

participated in the actual presentation of a musical comedy, from beginning to end, lasting standards and values, tastes and attitudes, understandings and appreciations have been firmly impressed upon their minds, there to remain throughout the remainder of their years.

8 IbidTT P# 8*

CHAPTER V PRODUCTION HINTS In the closing pages of Chapter I, the author reviewed related studies in the fields of operetta production and mentioned several adequate volumes containing methods of producing this type of rausico-dramatic work in the secondary schools.

It is not the purpose of this thesis to restate

well-known principles of dramatic production but rather to point out, first, how production of a musical comedy may differ from that of an operetta, and, second,

several sug­

gestions for training of the musical groups involved, since current literature deals mostly with scenery,

dramatic action,

and other technical rather than musical problems. Libretto.

It would be well to analyze in the beginning

how the musical comedy differs from the standard operetta or light opera so prevelant in today1s school productions.

As

to the libretto, which is in reality the story or plot, the musical comedy places the emphasis on comedy and laughter more than the operetta.

The dramatic content of the early

musical comedies of the twenties is not as strong as that of the light operas and the emphasis rather is on lightness and charm instead of intrigue.

One paramount characteristic of

the musical comedy libretto is the flexibility of the plot.

110 In the make believe world of the stage anything can happen and plausibility is not of prime importance.

This is worthy

of note in choosing a school production where the directors must attempt to build a show around the available talent, rather than fit the talent to the show.

To tamper with the

plot of any of the standard operettas would seriously injure its dramatic continuity, but in the musical comedy the emphasis is on the singing and dancing, so the plot may be moulded to suit the needs. Solos.

Many times school music departments do not

possess the singing talent, especially solo voices, necessary for the proper presentation of a light opera or operetta, yet wish to avail the students of the educational opportunities presented by a combined musical and dramatic stage production. The musical comedy provides the answer to this dilemma because of the greater simplicity of vocal writing.

Analysis of

musical comedy solos will show that they are less difficult in range and demands upon the young voices.

Corresponding

solo passages from light operas approach the difficulty, many times, of operatic arias and demand highly schooled voices which are not always present in the secondary school.

If

the student singer has to spend so much time in mastering the vocal difficulties of the number, often he spends less time on the actual interpretation of the solo in relation to the

Ill dramatic action and the place of the individual number in relation to the production as a whole.

In the musical comedy

solo, therefore, more time can be spent on interpretation than vocal gymnastics,

and the result is more likely to be

an artistic one. Chorus parts.

The choral parts of light operas again

are patterned closely after the grand opera choruses with much attention paid to difficult and intricate part singing. However, if the school choral groups have not had careful training in this type of part singing, they more often than not do a poor job in performance.

There is a great deal more

unison singing in the musical comedy choruses, with enough part singing included to give training in this necessary skill, while allowing a more musicianly and artistic rendition. Because of this emphasis on unison singing, the musical comedy is more adaptable to groups that are not properly balanced for part singing and also makes it easier for the musical director to utilize large groups if they are available or small groups if necessary without sacrificing the quality of the music performed.

The individual voice parts in the chorus

are less difficult than those- in the light opera and thus more adaptable to the untrained amateur voices found in so many school situations.

Any choral teacher knows that balance is

essential in four part singing and faces a real problem if

112 there happens to be a great many more girls in the chorus than boys.

If there are sufficient unison numbers in the

production,

then it will not be necessary to either sacri­

fice 3ome of the voices for the sake of balance or include poor singers or even non-singers to balance the numbers. Dancing,

As was pointed out in Chapter IV, the musical

comedy offers more opportunities for dancing then does the light opera or operetta.

This allows the inclusion of ad­

ditional students who may be talented in this field while not trained singers or actors.

The wide range of dancing styles

from the simplest chorus routines to the highest type of interpretative ballet offer opportunities for the talented students in solo dances and training in physical grace and movement for the larger body of participants.

The flexibility

of the musical comedy plot makes it possible to insert origi­ nal dance routines designed by students without ruining the continuity of the story. Orchestral parts.

The orchestral parts in the musical

comedy are generally of lesser difficulty than light opera. The inclusion of many more dances, however, gives the orchestra ample opportunities to display its talents.

If the orchestra

in a school is lacking in full instrumentation,

they will find

that the arrangements of the musical comedy more easily adapted to their incomplete group than those of the operetta.

113 Costuming.

Costuming a musical production is a great

financial problem in many schools.

Most operettas have

historical settings and require large numbers of period costumes, costumes not easily made by the average school designing and sewing classes. . To rent enough costumes to provide a minimum of three changes for each of fifty chorus members would cost, at today1s prices, approximately fjl^OO, a sum not easily obtainable from student body resources. Musical comedies, however, have a greater proportion of stories requiring modern settings and modern clothes,

thus

allowing the students to contribute the greatest proportion of their wardrobe and making it possible for the school home economics classes to provide the smaller amount of costumes needed.

Whereas dramatic action in the operetta oftentimes

requires specific period costumes,

the flexibility of the

musical comedy plot allows for the changing in styles and types of costumes in order to utilize perviously made cos­ tumes from another production, or the making of more simple and less expensive ones.

The locale of the musical comedy

scene may often be changed to fit scenic or costume problems without damaging the body of the story because the music and dancing in a musical are of more importance than the dramatic action. Scenery.

This same flexibility of plot may be a life

saver for the school in regard to providing scenery for the

i i U -

production because without too much rewriting the loeale of a scene may be shifted to utilize available scenery.

More

often than in the operetta, scenes in the musical comedy will return several time3 through the production so in reality, a story that calls for ten scenes may in reality be played in not more than three sets.

This is possible because many

scenes are in the form of interludes while large sets are being changed and are played in front of curtains or "down in one" as it is known.

This provides for fast action and

continuity which is a key to the success of a musical comedy production.

There is also less emphasis placed on elaborate

and costly sets and in keeping with modern scenic trends, many sets can be suggested in a simple form rather than elaborately constructed. Choosing the production.

Musical and dramatic directors

who choose to produce a musical comedy should first become familiar with the many choices available to them through music libraries throughout the country.

This can be done during the

summer months, when approval materials are more readily avail­ able and the teacher, perhaps, has more time for perusal and evaluation of the productions.

The greatest number of musical

comedy materials are available through Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc., 115-117 West i|-5th Street, New York 19, New York. They have printed catalogues of all royalty and non-royalty

115 productions and will gladly furnish them to any interested parties.

Each of the directors concerned with the production

should read it, play over the music, and record his evaluation on a musical production review sheet.1 There are many considerations in choosing a production for school use that are covered well in many production manuals but it would be well to note some special considerations in regard to musical comedies.

For too long a period of time,

the secondary schools of America have been producing either supposedly simplified operettas written especially for school consumption and of inferior quality or repeated performances of a few standard light opera and operetta works.

The time

has come for the forward-looking music departments to look into the untouched fields of the American musical theatre, especially that of musical comedy for new and fresh materials. They should try to choose productions that have not often been produced in schools and provide much needed variety to our amateur theatrical bill of fare.

In choosing such a

vehicle, the directors should check back through past reviews in theatrical periodicals and anthologies to see if the pro­ duction had a successful run on Broadway, for it is well to note that if a production was a failure in the professional world of the theatre,

certainly, the amateur school company

cannot resurrect it from its grave. 1 See Appendix B.

116

Another factor in choosing the production is to realize that the parts, were for the most part, written to fit specific personalities of the stage at the time of pro­ duction.

This must govern the choice of the students to

play the leading roles, for if the show was originally con­ ceived for Marilyn Miller, then the student player certainly must be a charming young lady with a capable singing voice and marked ability for dancing.

It will be of assistance to

the directors if they will check in the stage guide or prompt book for the production to find the list of the original players who filled the roles. Above all, the choice of the production must be based on the material available, not on what the directors wished they had.

Too often, a work is produced because of the am­

bitions of some musical or dramatic director to further his career without considering the education of the students in­ volved* which is of prime importance.

In addition to the

specific data recorded on the Musical Production Review Sheet, previously mentioned,

the choice should be based on the

following important points; 1.

The acting,

singing, and dancing ability of the

principals. 2.

The size of the chorus and the type of numbers they sing in relation to their capabilities.

2 See Appendix B.

2

117 Remember,

the more chorus numbers,

number of participants,

the larger

and the greater the edu­

cational value. 3m

The available dancers, both solo and ensemble, and their ability.

I},.

The instrumentation and proficiency of the orchestra.

5.

The scenic problems and cost.

6.

The costume problems and cost.

7.

The quality of the plot and dialogue.

8.

The quality of the musical numbers.

Two main tasks face the musical director of the school production, the training of the chorus and the training of the orchestra.

This author believes that the directional responsi­

bilities can and should be shared by all participating faculty members with final responsibility for decisions rested on one teacher from the music department in matters musical, and one teacher from the dramatics and speech department in matters dramatic and technical.

If the school has two music teachers,

one vocal and one instrumental, the subdivision of labor is obvious. Training the chorus.

The rehearsals for the actual

chorus music should be held during the regular chorus periods during the school week, thus saving the extra outside re­ hearsals for combined musical and staging problems.

Many

118 times, efficiency will be served if one period is spent on nothing but girls1 chorus parts, another on m e n fs chorus parts, and the majority of the time on mixed chorus rehearsals. On the days of section rehearsals,

those students not actively

participating in the work can use the time to memorize the lyrics of the songs.

If other students outside the music

classes wish to participate in the chorus, they must either enroll in the class or provide the time necessary to attend all the rehearsals.

Remember that everyone on the stage must

sing during a musical number as nothing looks worse than people standing around on the stage doing nothing while the chorus is participating in a number.

This includes even

those students who have only speaking parts for they must at least learn the melody to the chorus numbers* Assignment of parts.

Usually, 32 chorus parts are

included in the rehearsal materials from the publisher, although r~ additional copies may be obtained, if available, at a cost of

per copy.

Thus, if more than 32 students are used in

the chorus, some arrangement must be made for the sharing of parts, with one person made responsible for the return of the numbered part at the close of the production.

Definite assign­

ments should be made at each rehearsal of material to be learned by the time of the next meeting.

The quick and accurate

memorization of the music and lyrics should be insisted on and

119 careful checks should be made of the progress of the indi­ vidual students in this task.

It is important to require this

immediately as it is impossible to stage musical numbers if the participants are still concentrating on the words and music for the song.

All musical numbers must be learned before

any attempt is made at assigning stage positions or business and no chorus books should be allowed at combined musical and dramatic rehearsals. At an early music rehearsal, the director should go over the production with the chorus to show them how their ensemble numbers fit into the action and mood of the over-all story. This is vital, for only an understanding of the whole story can bring about a true interpretation of any individual number. The music should be played with the members watching their parts and the director should hint at the action that will take place in the staging of the number.

The voice parts

should be assigned immediately with regard to the balance of the choral group, and after being once assigned,

they must

not be changed. Importance of tempo.

Among the many things to be em­

phasized at rehearsals of the music is the importance of tempo in a musical comedy production.

The director should insist

on the keeping of a strict tempo where necessary and it is his responsibility to determine the tempo ahead of time and

120 stick to it throughout all rehearsals.

Especially when more

than one teacher is involved in training the chorus and or­ chestra, often there will be one tempo adhered to in rehearsals in the muslc room, and another when the production begins to take shape on the stage.

It is the eventual responsibility

of the instrumental conductor to set the tempo as it is he who will be the conductor during the actual performance. Enunciation.

A great problem in any stage production

Is that of enunciation, of getting the meaning of the words across the footlights to the audience.

Special emphasis must

be given to beginning and final consonants and for guidance in this matter, the director will do well to utilize the method of tone syllables as designed and practiced by Fred Waring. It is best to overdo the enunciation in rehearsals in the chorus room and then it will be clear when the students move to the stage, with its attendant acoustical problems. Intonation and interpretation.

The director must not

allow careless intonation or poor tone quality to pass by during preliminary rehearsals as it will be too late to correct it once the chorus is involved in.stage business.

The place

to correct these problems is the choral class and the time to do it is early in the rehearsal schedule. In the musical comedy perhaps more than in any other form of the musical theatre that the spirit of the musical

121 number means so much.

It is the interpretation,

the spirit,

the punch, the drive of the musical number that sells it to the audience.

The director should emphasize it from the

beginning and always seek to keep the group in the gay, happy frame of mind needed for the singing of light-hearted songs. Tempo can play a great part in this obtaining of spirit, for the slow tempo that drags can remove all the zest from the most high-spirited chorus. Early combined rehearsals.

Before moving the location

of rehearsals to the stage, it is well to have a combined orchestra and chorus rehearsal in the music room.

This helps

the chorus to become acquainted with the orchestral accompani­ ment and shows the orchestra their place in supporting the groups on the stage.

It also impresses upon the chorus the

importance of clear enunciation and singing in projecting their words and music out over the orchestra to the audience and also emphasizes to the orchestra the necessity of playing softly as an accompanying group. Basic stage positions.

At the first rehearsal on the

stage, the musical director in cooperation with the dramatic director should set the basic stage positions of the members of the chorus.

They must be paired off in partners according

to size, appearance, as to voice parts.

etc., but also must retain basic positions The usual procedure is to group the

122 sopranos paired off with the tenors on stage right, and the altos paired off with the basses on stage left.

In all large

choral ensemble numbers these basic positions should be main­ tained 110 matter what formations are used for dramatic effect. When the chorus is on the stage, the musical director should never let them sing upstage or towards the back of the stage.

Even if proper dramatic grouping requires them to

stand facing the wings, they can move their heads slightly and project their voices up and over the footlights,

thus

preventing the sound being swallowed up in the vastness of the stage. The musical comedy orchestra.

The second major musical

group in the musical comedy is the orchestra that sets the mood of the production, provides sparkling backgrounds for the dances, and supports the vocal solos and ensembles. There seems to exist in the schools of today a misconception about the purpose and place of a theatre pit orchestra of the type used in operettas and musical comedies.

In many pro­

ductions the orchestra teacher will crowd the pit with a motley array of from 30 to ij.0 instrumentalists without any regard for the balance within the group itself or between the vocal groups on the stage and the orchestra.

Time and

time again the orchestra will completely overwhelm the singers and fill the auditorium with sounds that were in the beginning

123 conceived as an accompaniment to singing, not orchestral show­ pieces.

Another unmusical practice followed in many school

productions is that of cutting the orchestra out and playing certain passages with just piano accompaniment because of a problem of a light voice on the stage.

This completely ruins

the colorful effect of the number and gives an obviously amateurish tinge to the production besides being poor edu­ cation, for it is of much greater value to the orchestral students to learn how to play softly under a singer than just to sit holding their instruments in their laps.

The problem

of the light voice that does not carry across the footlights can be remedied by the installation of an adequate amplifi­ cation system as will be discussed later in this chapter. The size of the musical comedy orchestra must be kept within the bounds of the conception of the original composer and orchestrator.

Orchestras in the theatre today usually

do not exceed 2£ musicians and it is this size that the school music director should aim for.

If there are so many qualified

instrumentalists in the school that keeping the orchestra down to this size would result in many students being excluded from the benefits of performing, then the director should either form a separate second orchestra or else substitute players for the different performances.

They could all rehearse to­

gether in the music room and each instrumentalist would then receive the training of playing in an actual production.

12i(. Stringed instrument parts may be doubled without injuring the balance of the orchestra, but wood-wind and brass parts were conceived for one player per part and any doubling on these stands will result in an unwieldly group with poor intonation. Based on the average orchestration that comes with the operetta or musical comedy rental materials, the following instrumentation would adequately meet the requirements of a good theatre orchestra: String section I4.

first violins

1|_ second violins 2 cellos 1 bass Wood-wind section 1 flute 1 oboe 2 clarinets 1 bassoon Brass section 2 french horns 2 trumpets 1 trombone 1 percussion player 1 pianist (optional) Total 26 players.

If the school does not have all the Instrumentalists to fill these positions then the following substitutions and omissions can be made: 1.

If the First Violin part is subdivided into Violin A and B, and there is a shortage of violinists, it is best to utilize all players on the A and B parts and eliminate the 2nd violin part.

2.

If violas are not available, they can be omitted in most scores without damage to the orchestra.

3*

If the school is short on cellists, do not substi­ tute a baritone saxaphone player on the part as it will be too heavy. If there is a bass clarinet available, it would make a much more satisfactory substitution.

Ip.

If no flute Is available, it can be eliminated for its important passages will be cued in the first violin part.

5.

The oboe can be omitted and its important passages played either by muted trumpet, clarinet, or solo violin

6.

Bassoon can be substituted for by a bass clarinet with excellent results. This is far more satisfactory than any of the saxaphone family as the tone produced is closer to that of the bassoon than any of the others.

7.

The 2nd horn part can be omitted and still leave four part harmony in the brass section. If the 1 st horn has to be cut, then it is wise to score his part, especially in important brass passages or solos, for another trumpet or even trombone.

8.

In the average school theatre orchestra, it is wise to use the piano to bolster the orchestra. It also saves the players during long rehearsals when small details of dances are being worked out.

9.

The director should be sure that the percussion part is played on a set of drums by one player with the possible addition of a second man if the part requires much tympany. The drummer should have had dance band experience if possible and should be able to keep a

126

firm tempo and rhythm while watching both the director and the stage for cues and special effects. He is perhaps the most important player in the musical comedy orchestra. Rescoring the orchestrations.

At least 80 per cent of i

the musical comedy orchestrations that are available for production by schools are dated and badly in need or rearranging. They were for the most part written in the style of the times and orchestra styles change more often perhaps than musical styles.

However, in most cases these arrangements can be

modernized by rephrasing many of the figures without losing the original intended flavor of the number.

In many parts,

the instrumentalist will find awkward leaps, unplayable figures, and unnecessary fill-in figures.

These can be altered or eli­

minated by the student if his background is adequate, by the orchestration class in the junior college, or by the director himself.

If the wood-wind and brass fillers sound too dated,

they may be rewritten, rephrased, or even eliminated without damaging the orchestration especially during vocal solos and ensembles.

The director should carefully analyze the vocal

and orchestral construction of the finales of all acts since these are not usually scored in a manner likely to bring out the necessary climax.

A few changed chords here and there

-together with an up-to-date vocal effect can strengthen that all-important final moment of the production and leave the audience with the impression of a professional standard of production.

127 Training the orchestra.

As was mentioned in connection

with the training of the chorus, the orchestra should rehearse the music during class time and have all of the inevitable mistakes in copying, lettering, and marking worked out before the time of the first combined music and drama rehearsal.

The

orchestra should rehearse both with the principals and with the chorus before stage rehearsals to work out problems of tempo,

dynamics, and interpretation. Of primary importance in training the orchestra is to

insist on absolute alertness and attention to the baton and the director for if during a performance one of the singers becomes rattled and skips a phrase or even a page the orchestra must be on the alert to follow the director*s instructions and keep their heads in skipping to catch up with the singer.

A

well trained and alert orchestra can cover up even the most obvious mistakes.

Also the director should emphasize the

ability of the instrumentalists to play soft and still maintain a good pure tone instead of merely dropping out when the dynamic level is lowered. Use of amplification.

Several times during the course

of this study, mention has been made of the problem of having the vocalists on the stage heard over the orchestra when the auditorium is acoustically poor.

Although this is a technical

problem involving the use of electronic .amplification, it is of primary concern to the musical director for no matter how

128 well the groups may perform their music,

if the audience can­

not hear and understand it, the whole impression will be less than desirable.

On the average, eight out of ten school audi­

toriums now in use need proper amplification systems to prevent dead spots and most of the schools own and have available such equipment*

Some musical directors feel that to amplify the

voices on the stage injures the vocal quality and refuse to use public address systems but if the proper equipment is obtained and operated by someone with knowledge of the possibilities of such equipment, the result need not be a distorted one. The minimum amount of microphones to be used to properly cover the stage should be three and many times five are used in professional productions.

However, the average school ampli­

fication system is capable of handling three microphones with­ out extensive alterations and if they are placed either in the pit on boom stands that extend up and across the footlights or on small table stands placed along the outside rail of the stage, adequate coverage should be effected.

The microphones used

should be of the directional type so that they will not pick up the orchestra in the pit and should be of the low impedence, high sensitivity type.

If only one loudspeaker is to be used,

then it should be located above the proscenium in the auditorium but if two speakers are available, then they should be placed on either side of the stage, to the front and approximately six feet above the stage height.

CHAPTER VI SUMMARY The author was led to undertake this investigation of the educational aspects of the musical comedy because of a deep interest in the modern American musical theatre and a desire to see if these productions could serve an educational purpose in the high schools, this country.

junior colleges and colleges of

The great national popularity of the musical

comedy offered an opportunity for investigation into the reasons why millions of Americans yearly attend these pro*•

ductions and leave humming and whistling the melodies from them.

Although most of the theatre-goers accept the existence

of this form, little material is available upon its background and historical development, and this study gave the author the opportunity to look into the whys and wherefores behind this most popular art form. Chapter II traees the historical background of the European ancestors of the musical comedy of America from the days of Greece through those of Gilbert and Sullivan in England. The early Greek musical comedies were a unity of the four elements of merriment, poetry, music, and drama, with the inclusion of dancing as an interpretive art.

The Grecian

Comedy Melodrama combined the low comedy elements of the villagers with the high comedy of the chorus performing at

130 the festivals of Bacchus, the god of the vintage and harvest. In this early form are to be found the introduction of the principal actors as a contrast to the ever-present chorus, a distinction which holds true in today*s musical comedies. Among the noted writers of Grecian comedies were Bpicharmus, Cratinus, Eupolis, and Aristophanes.

The ancestors of the

stock characters of the musical comedy, the hero and heroine, the villian, the matchmaker,

the love-sick lover, are all to

be found in the Grecian Comedy of Manners or drama of Comic Situations.

Even the touring company was in full sway with

traveling companies of players touring the highways and byways. The beginnings of the musical comedy orchestra are noted in the accompaniments provided in these times by the flute and lyre. The earliest Homan comedies were adaptations of popular Greek comedies and the main contribution that the Romans made to the history and development of the musical theatre were in the fields of theatrical construction and design, especially the development of the orchestra pit.

The professional singer

makes his debut at this time as he sang backstage while the actors mimed the part in front of the audience.

Despite the

efforts of Terence and Plautus, two excellent writers,

the

multitudes turned away from the comic theatre and flocked to the circus and arena for the chariot races and the gladiatorial contests.

131 During the middle ages drama and music were kept alive in the religious houses of Italy and the Renaissance found great activity in the two fields of musical drama, the sacred and the profane.

The musical comedies of the bime were based

on revivals of the village revels with the improvement in the music through the addition of part singing.

The reaction

against the contrapuntal music of Palestrina brought new interest in the solo voice and paved the way for the birth of grand opera with Peri and Caccini in l600.

The Italian

Renaissance brought forth the Opera Buffa, a light and playful form of Italian opera and the Intermezzo,

a short comic sketch

performed between the acts of serious opera.

Composers in

this style included Scarlatti, Logroscino, Pergolesi, Paisiello, Cherubini, Cimarosa, and the climaxing figure, Rossini. Light operas and musical comedies in Prance grew from the Jeux or Merry Plays of the Troubadours and Trouveres. They soon developed Into Vaudevilles and Opera Comique,

the

former a species of light comedy and the latter, operas con­ taining dialogue and varying degrees of comedy.

Writers of

opera comique were Rousseau, Monsigny, Gretry, Boieldieu, and Auber,

The school of Opera Bouffe,

the satirical musical

comedy of the early 19th century, was headed by Jacques Offen­ bach, who with h s true and timely comedies pointed the way toward Gilbert and Sullivan. The German Minnesingers and Meistersingers cultivated

132 the national taste for music and prepared the way for the coming of the Singspeil or Song Play.

Among the composers of

these vaudeville-like works containing songs in the tradition of the German lied were Hiller, Dittersdorf, Reichardt, and the master of them all, Mozart. became German comic opera, wonderful music.

With Mozart, Singspeil truly

sunny, pleasing, and filled with

After Mozart came the school of German

Romantic Opera with Von Weber, Lortzing, Nicolai, Schubert, and Flotow.

Austrian Valse Opera, the Strauss family, and

such names as Lehar, Oscar Strauss, and Richard Strauss,

close

the discussion of German musical comedies. England*s musical comedies stem from the early Bards and Minstrels together with the musical forms of the ballad and the madrigal.

Early forms of musical dramas were the

Masques and the Ballad Opera but it remained for the Burlesques to point the way to the musical comedy of today. Italian Intermezzi,

As with the

the Burlesques started as comic relief in

an evening of serious drama but grew later into works occu­ pying an entire evening at the theatre.

The highest point of

the English dramatic and musical stage came with the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, the masters of the inimitable British comedy operetta. Chapter III takes up the development of the typical American musical comedy and traces its outgrowth from the early operettas through the present day.

Early American

.

operetta composers were mostly composing under the influence of the European forms and in this tradition we find such men as Sousa, De Koven and Herbert,

Their operettas have formed

the backbone of the American musical stage and many of them have been-performed with success in the schools.

Musical

comedy is the product of the fusion of the European operetta with the popular music of Tin Pan Alley, Negro, the torrent of vaudeville,

the music of the

the influence of the motion

picture and radio, and the rising interest;in the American folk song and legend.

Following in the line of direct descent

from Herbert and De Koven come the operettas of Friml and Romberg, also standard productions in the educational field. Such productions as ’’Maytime,” ’’The Student Prince,11 !fRose Marie,11 ’’The Firefly,” and ’’The Desert Song” have remained popular through constant revivals on the American stage.

The

blending of the streams of popular music and the operetta occurs in the works of George M. Cohan and Gershwin, for it was Gershwin who did more than any composer up to his time to establish the pattern of the typical American musical comedy.

His ”0f Thee I Sing” captured the Pulitzer prize in

1931 and became the first musical comedy to be awarded that coveted honor.

Also included in this division would be the

works of Irving Berlin whose ’’Annie Get Your Gun” points to the new trend of adapting American history and legend to the musical comedy.

Jerome Kern wrote typical examples of the

13lf musical comedies of the twenties and thirties and his "Show­ boat11 was one of the great moments in the American musical theatre.

Cole Porter represents the height of sophistication

in his song writing and has contributed many successful pro­ ductions to the stage of today.

The greatest contribution

toward the improvement of the musical comedies of America has been made by Bodgers and Hammerstein, who with "Oklahoma" opened new vistas of opportunity for the young composers.

By

making their songs integral parts of the play, by improving the dramatic content of the plots, by introducing a greater amount of truly interpretive ballet instead of mere dancing, by writing melodies of genuine musical worth, by adapting American history and life to the stage,, and by advancing the position of the orchestra to the musical comedy, these men have pointed the way toward the establishment of a truly American form of musical theatre. Chapter IV considers the educational opportunities inherent in the production of musical comedies in the secon­ dary schools and colleges of America.

Since the urge for

self-expression is basic in all youth, the schools have turned to dramatic forms to satisfy this need.

A discussion

is made of these forms as utilized in the elementary,

junior

high, and high schools of today with emphasis on the values of each.

Careful consideration is made of the value of a

musical comedy production as a unifying project in the school

135 with an analysis of the growth in terms of increased skills that are possible in each department that participates.

The

musical learnings of the singers in the production, both solo and chorus, are evaluated in terms of increased skill in tone production, pronunciation, enunciation, part-singing, intonation, balance, memorization, and following of the conductor.

A discussion is made of the values offered the

instrumentalists in improving reading ability, learning to read from manuscript, marking and correcting of parts, playing as an accompanying body, following the conductor, and trans­ position.

Ways in which members of the theory and appreci­

ation classes can benefit from the musical comedy production are also discussed.

Following this evaluations are made of

the values to be applied to the other participating students from other departments and classes.

Emphasis is placed upon

the training offered to many students in the elements of drama and the dance.

The place of the physical education

department and its students in designing and executing the dances is noted together with mention of the creative possi­ bilities in this field.

The possibilities for using the art

students in this cooperative enterprise through designing of scenery and costumes are discussed with note being made of the practical training in applying classroom knowledge afforded by the production.

The inclusion of the members of the manual

arts classes, radio, electric, and carpentry shop, are

136 discussed in relation to the technical side of producing the musical comedy with emphasis again being placed on the value of actual experience over the reading of knowledge in a book. The place of the stago-craft or stage-crew classes in the production is analyzed showing the importance of these behind the scenes technicians.

A section is devoted to the discussion

of the practical experience gained by students in the business and journalism classes in handling such matters as tickets, publicity, and accounting.

The relation of the musical comedy

production to the community is analyzed with its values in bringing the community in contact with the school, promoting support for the general music program, and providing a stimulus toward further goals in more serious music.

Besides

the specific skills attained by each participating student, there are values in terms of general growth in qualities beneficial to each student in living in today's world* are listed in a concise form.

These

The last section is devoted

to the important educational value for all who participate in or witness the production, that of building high standards of taste and discrimination, lasting values and attitudes, understandings and .appreciations that will remain with the student for the years to come.

This, in reality, is the

building of the audience, of the theatre-goers of tomorrow* Chapter V analyzes the musical comedy in comparison to the light opera or operetta in terms of its possibilities

for production in the schools and offers some suggestions in the training of the musical groups involved.

The musical

comedy was found to be more flexible in plot than the operetta thus easier to produce.

The vocal parts were found to be of

less difficulty With more emphasis on unison singing in the chorus thus providing opportunities for stage experience to choral groups not highly trained in part singing.

The musical

comedy was found to contain more dancing thus allowing for the inclusion of greater numbers of students in this creative activity of self-expression.

If the problem of the school is

one of expense, then the musical comedy is ideally suited for production because simplicity of costume and settings mean less cost in production.

& section is devoted to suggestions

for choosing the musical comedy for school production.

Because

so many existing production manuals emphasize the dramatic and technical aspects of producing the school stage production, two sections are devoted to practical suggestions for the musi­ cal director in organizing and rehearsing the choral and instru­ mental groups.

The last section is devoted to the use of

electronic amplification systems in the school auditoriums, where the musical comedy is to be produced. I.

CONCLUSIONS

The following are brief statements of the most important conclusions found as a result of this study:

138 1*

The musical comedy has grown out of a long line of European light operas and operettas and has its roots firmly established in the music of many noted composers.

2.

The American musical comedy is a result of the fusion of European operetta tradition with American popular music, vaudeville, history, folk song and legend.

3.

Analysis of the latest musical productions of the American theatre points toward the improvement of the quality of both the music and dramatic elements.

if.

The new American musical theatre shows a greater fusion of the arts of music, drama, literature, ballet, painting and stagecraft than ever before and points toward the establishing of a new vigorous school of musical drama.

5.

The production of a musical comedy in a school pro­ vides a strong unifying project while developing social and technical skills for all involved and building greater understanding and appreciation of the place of the musical theatre in the cultural life of America.

6.

The musical comedy offers greater simplicity of production than the operetta and because of these lessened difficulties, allows for a higher standard of quality in performance than is usual with amateur school groups attempting productions far above their abilities.

7.

Careful planning and care in the rehearsal of musical groups involved in the musical comedy pro­ duction will result in a musicianly performance. Careful preparation and study is required of the • musical director together with great knowledge of the literature in this field.

8.

The important place that musical comedy now holds in the American scene charges the educational system of this country to guide, through actual participating experiences, the students to a deep understanding and appreciation for this truly American art form.

139 9.

It is the duty of the music teachers to include these works of the contemporary American theatre in their curriculum ^instead of depending solely on works of European composers or Americans composing in the European tradition. ‘II.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

There is a need for a careful analysis of the musical comedy productions of the American theatre in regard to the feasibility of utilizing them in our secondary schools.

They

should be scrutinized carefully as to their musical values and problems, their dramatic content, and their technical problems.

At present, there is not available literature

evaluating these works with the exception of brief outlines of the stories available in the catalogues of the copyright holders, which are of no value to the musical director con­ templating choosing a musical comedy for school production. A suggested form for use in evaluating productions is included as Appendix B. Since this is a contemporary art form, there is a need for a new evaluation and study of additional works at least every five years.

Further study in a few years will be

necessary to see if the current trends in improving the musical and dramatic content of the musical comedy, pointing toward its fusion with operetta and even opera, continue.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A.

BOOKS

Armitage, Merle, editor, George Gershwin* Green and Company, 193&• 252 pp*

New York: Longmans,

Aronson, Rudolph, Theatrical and Musical Memoirs* McBride, Nast and Company, 1913* 283 PP*

New York:

Beach, P. A., Preparation and Presentation of the Operetta* , Boston: Oliver Ditson Company, 193020l£ pp* Caton, Clifford A*, How to Select and Produce Operettas« Los Angeles: Southern California Music Company, 1932* 79 PP* Cooper, Martin, Opera Comique. 1949• 70 pp.

New York: Chanticleer Press,

Darlington, W* A*, The World of Gilbert and Sullivan* York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1950* 209 PP*

New

Dykema, Peter W*, and Karl W* Gehrkens, The Teaching and Administration of High School Music * Boston: C* C* Birchard and Company, 19ip-* 5^0 pp* Einstein, Alfred, Music Norton and Company,

in the Romantic E r a * Inc., 19i|Y* 371 pp*

NewYork:

Elson, Louis C*, The History of American Music * Macmillan and Company, Ltd *, 190lf.* 3 8 6 pp.

W. W*

New York:

Ewen, David, Living Musicians. 19I4.0 * 390 pp.

New York: H* W* Wilson Company,

_______ , Men of Popular Music. Company, 19iflj^ 213 PP*

New York: Ziff-Davis Publishing

_______ , The Story of George Gershwin. Company, 19^3* 211 pp.

New York: Henry Holt

Gilbert, Douglas, American Vaudeville * House, 19^0* 14.2b pp.

New York: Whittlesey

Goldberg, Isaac, George New York: Simon and _____ , Tin Pan Alley* 341 pp.

Gershwin: A Study in American Music,* Schuster, 1931* 30F PP* New York: John Day Company, 1930.

Graf, Herbert, The Opera and Its Future in America* W. W. Norton and Company, Inc7, 19^1 * 305> P P •

New York:

11±2 Henderson, Charles, and Charles Palmer, How to Sing for Money. New York: Hare our t, Brace and Company, I9I4D.

369 pp. - Iiipsher, Edward Ellsworth, American Opera and Its Composers# Philadelphia: Theodore Presser Company, 193V* V78 PP* Howard, John Tasker, Qur American Music. Crowell, 19V6. _______ , Qur C on temp or ar y Composers. Crowell, 1 9 •

New York: Thos. Y.

New York: Thos# Y.

Johnson, Harriett, Your Career in Music. New York: E# P. Dutton and Company, Inc., 1956* 319 PP* Jones, Charles T., Musico-Dramatic Producing; A Manual for the Stage and Musical Director# Chicago: Gamble Hinged Music Company, 1930* Kaye, Joseph, Victor Herbert. 1931. 271 pp.

New York: Crown Publishers,

Kidson, Frank, The Beggar1s Opera, Its Predecessors and Successors♦ England: Cambridge University Press, 1922# 109 PP* Lang, Paul Henry, Music in Western Civilization. New York: W. W# Norton and Company, Inc., 19V1* 1107 pp# MacKinlay, Malcolm Sterling, Light Opera# and Company, Ltd., 1926. 2o3 pp*

London: Hutchinson

_______ , Origin and Development of Light Opera. London: Hutchinson and Company, Ltd., 1927* 293 PP* r Marks, Edward Bennet, They All Had Glamour# J. Messner, Inc., 1944* "Iflj.8 p p . Purdy, Claire Lee, Victor Herbert. Inc., 19 W * 271 PP*

New York:

New York: Julian Messner,

Rodgers, Richard, and Oscar Hammerstein II, South Pacific. New York: Random House, 1949* 170 pp# _______ » Carousel# _______ , Allegro.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 194&* New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 19V®*

178 PP* 157 PP*

1*4-3 Saehs, Curt, Our Musieal Heritage. Inc., ifOO pp.

New York: Prentice-Hall,

Strang, Lewis Clinton, Famous Prima Donnas. 1906. 270 pp. _______ , Famous Star3 of Light Opera. 293 pp.

Boston: Page,

Boston: Page, 1906.

The Musical Blue Book of America, 1913-« Blue Book Corporation^ 1915*

Hew York: Musical

Umfleet, Kenneth R . , School Operettas and Their Production. Boston, New York: C. C. Birchard and Company, 1929. 128 pp. Upton, George Putnam, The Standard Light Operas; Their Plots and Their Music. Chicago: A. C. McClurga Company, 1902. 239 PP* Wilson, Don and Charles T. H. Jones, Stage Book on Presentation of Operettas. Chicago: Gamble Hinged Music Company, 1932. Witmark, Isadore, and Isaac Goldberg, From Ragtime to Swingtime. New York: Lee Furman, Inc., 1939* \ 8 0 pp. B.

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

' Bay, H . , ,fDesign for the Musical Stage,M Theatre Arts, 292 650-55* November, 19^5* * Blitzstein, M . , “Notes on the Musical Theatre,“ Theatre Arts, 3^:30-31, June, 1950. Gassner, J., “Theatre Arts,11 Forum, 110:152-55* September, I9I4.8 . Glider, R., “Broadway in Review,“ Theatre Arts, 29:322, 330-31* June, 19I4. 5. Gorng, J., “Close Harmony: Collaboration of Lyricist and Composer, “ Theatre Arts, 3k-lk-9> March, 1950. Hammerstein, Oscar, II, “Where the Song Begins,“ Saturday Review of Literature, 32:ll-llf, December 3* 19^9 • % Isaacs, E. J., and R. Glider, “American Musical Comedy; Credit It to Broadway,“

iii4 * James, H. S., flRoad to Musical Comedy,11 Theatre Arts, 32:6, January, 1948Nathan, G. J., “Musical Comedy and Laughter,11 American Mercury, 68:55l-52> May, 1949New York Theatre Critic *s Reviews. New York: Criticfs Theatre Reviews, Vol. VII, 1914-6; Vol. IX, 1948; Vol. X, 191*9. Saidy, P., and E. Y. Harburg, “Finian's Rainbow,11 Theatre Arts, 33:55-76, January, 19^4-9• Smith, C., “Road to Musical Comedy,11 Theatre Arts, 31*5^-59 9 November, 1947• _______ , “Wanted: A Modern Laocoon; new lyric. Theatre and Its Contributing Arts,” Theatre Arts, 31-39~43> September, 1947 • Taubman, H., “Good Opera Need Not Be Grand Opera,“ New York Times Magazine, pp* 14-15* December 11, 1949* ■ Umfleet, Kenneth R., “The School Operettas Pros and Cons,“ School Music, p. 10, November-December, 1930. C.

PUBLICATIONS OP LEARNED SOCIETIES

Beale, P. P., “Operettas for Their Music Content Value,“ Music Educators National Conference Yearbook, 1935Pp. 228-29. 0 !Hara, Geoffrey, “Operetta in Schools,“ Music Educators National Conference Yearbook, 1933- Pp- 111-13“Operettas and Operas in the Schools,“ Music Educators National Conference Yearbook, 1936. Pp. 336-39D.

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

Federal Theatre Project, New York City, “Adult Operettas (a bibliography),“ New York: Play Bureau, Federal Theatre Project*

ik-5 Federal Theatre Project, "Operettas," Compiled by the Music Play Department, National Service Bureau. Albert Julian, Supervisor, assisted by Arthur Ganzfried; musical comments contributed by Max Hirschfeld. E.

DICTIONARIES AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Grovies, George, Dictionary of Music and Musicians. New York: The Macmillan Company, 19^+^* Third edition; 5 vols. Kronenberger, Louis, “The Theater,” Information Please Almanac, 19if9* New York: Farrar, Straus and Company, 19^-9« 928 pp. McSpadden, Joseph Walker, Light Opera and Musical Comedy. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1936. 362 pp. Siegmeister, Elie, The Music Lovers Handbook. W. Morrow and Company, 1953* Sl7 PP*

New York:

Towers, John, Pictionary--Catalogue of Operas and Operettas Which Have Been Performed on the Public Stage. Morgantown, West Virginia: Acme Publishing Company, 1910. 10l{.5 PP* F.

UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS

Huntington, A. P., ”A Survey and Summary of the Literature on the High School Operetta,” Unpublished Master*s thesis, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1936. 109 pp. McKee, Mary Frances, “Operetta Production in the Secondary School.” Unpublished Master*s Thesis, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1939• 105 PP* Palmer, D. S., ”The Place of the Operetta in the High Schools of Southern California.” Unpublished Master*s thesis, The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1933* 121 pp.

G.

PROGRAMS AND PAMPHLETS

^Finian’s Rainbow,1* Program for production at Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California, July, 1950* **South Pacific,** Program for production by L. A. Civic Light Opera Association, Los Angeles, California, June, 1950*

APPENDIX A

llj.8

TABLE OP BEST KNOWN AMERICAN MUSICAL COMEDIES Berlin, Irving Pace the Music

1932

As Thousands Cheer

1933

Annie Get Your Gun

19^-6

Miss Liberty

1949

Cohan, George M. Little Johnny Jones

19^4

Forty-five Minutes from Broadway

1905

George Washington Jr.

1906

The Merry Malones

1927

Billie

1928

De Koven, Reginald The Begum

188?

Don Quixote

1889

Robin Hood (as Maid Marian)

1890

The Fencing Master

1892

The Algerian

1893

The Knickerbockers

1^93

Rob Roy

1894

The Tzigane

1^95

The Mandarin

L 896

The Paris Doll

I897

'

349 The Highwayman

1897

The Three Dragoons

1899

Poxy Quiller

1900

Red Feather

1903

Happyland

1905

The Student King

1906

The Golden Butterfly

1907

The Beauty Spot

1909

The Wedding Trip

1911

Her Little Highness

1913

Friml, Rudolf The Firefly

1912

High Jinks

1913

The Ballet Girl

19lif

Katinka

1915

The Peasant Girl

1916

Y o u ’re in Love

1916

Glorianna

1918

Tumble Inn

1919

June Love

1920

Cinders

1923

Rose Marie

19214-

The Vagabond King

19^5

The Wild Rose

1926

150 The White Eagle

1927

The Three Musketeers

1928

Gershwin, George La, La, Lucile

1919

George ?i/hite!s Scandals

1920-2lj.

Lady Be

Good

192ij.

Song of

the Flame

1925

Oh Kay

1926

Funny Face

1927

Treasure Girl

1928

Strike Up the Band

1930

Girl Crazy

1930

Of Thee

I Sing

1931

Let fEm

Eat Cake

1933

Herbert, Victor Prince Ananias

l89l|-

The Wizard of the Mill

1895

The Gold Bug

1896

The Serenade

1897

The Idolfs Eye

1897

The Fortune-teller

1898

Cyrano de Bergerac

1899

The Singing-Girl

1899

The Ameer

1899

151 The Viceroy

1900

Babes in Toyland

19^3

Babette

1903

It Happened in Nordland

190J4.

Miss Dolly Dollars

1905

Wonderland or Alice and the Eight Princesses

1905

Mile. Modiste

19^5

The Bed Mill

1906

Dream~City

1906

The Magic Knight

1906

The Tatooed Man

1907

The Hose of Algeria

1908

Little Memo

1908

The Prima Donna

1908

Old Dutch

1909

Naughty Marietta

1910

When Sweet Sixteen

1910

Mile. Rosita

1911

The Enchantress

1912

The Lady of the Slippers

1912

The Madcap Duchess

1913

Sweethearts

1913

The Debutante

191^

The Only Girl

191^J-

Princess Pat

1915

lf>2 Eileen

1917

Her Regiment

1917

The Dream Girl

1921).

Hoschna, Karl The Yama Yama Man Three Twins The Girl of My Dreams Bright Eyes D r • De Luxe Jumping Jupiter The Belle of the West Back Again Katie Did Madame Sherry Kerker, Gustave Castles in the Air The Whirl of the Town An American Beauty Fascinating Flora The Telephone Girl Ki sme t The Belle of Hew York Kern, Jerome The Red Petticoat

1912

153

The Girl from Utah

191^-

Very Good Eddy

1915

Oh Boy

1917

Oh. Lady, Lady

1918

Sally

1920

Sunny

1925

Show Boat

1927

Sweet Adeline

1929

The Cat and the Piddle

1931

Music in the Air

1933

Roberta

1933

Luders, Gustav The Prince of Pilsen King Dodo The Grand Mogul Marcello Woodland The Burgomaster The Gypsy The Pair Co-ed The Sho-Gun The Old Town Porter, Cole See America Pirst

1916

154 Hitchy-Coo

1919

Greenwich Follies

19^3

Paris

1928

Wake Up and Dream

1929

Fifty Million Frenchmen

1929

The New Yorkers

1930

Gay Divorcee

'

1932

Nymph Errant

1933

Anything Goes

193k-

Jubilee

1935

Red Hot and Blue

193$

Leave It to Me

* 1938

DuBarry Was a Lady

1939

Broadway Melody

19^-0

L e t !s Face It

19^1

Something for the Boys

19^4-3

Mexican Hayride

19^4-

Around the World

19^4-6

Kiss Me, Kate

19^4-8

Rodgers, Richard Rodgers and Hart: The Garrick Gaieties

1925

Dearest Enemy

19^5

Peggy Ann

1926

155 The Gdrl Friend

1926

A Connecticut Yankee

1927

She Ts My Baby

1927

Present Arms

1928

Spring is Here

1928

Heads Up

1929

Simple Simon

1930

America!s Sweetheart

1931

Jumbo

1935

Babes in Arms

1937

I Married An Angel

1930

The Boys from Syracuse

1938

On Your Toes

1939

Too Many G-irls

1939

Higher and Higher

1940

Pal Joey

19I4-I

I !d Rather Be Right

1942

By Jupiter

1942

Rogers and Hammersteint Oklahoma

1943

Carousel

1945

State Fair (film)

1945

Allegro

1947

South Pacific

1949

156 Romberg, Sigmund Midnight Girl

1913

May time

1917

Blossom Time

1921

The Rose of Stamboul

1922

The Student Prince

192ii.

Princess Flavia

#

1925

The Desert Song

1926

My Maryland

1927

The New Moon

1928

Melody

1933

Sunny River

1941

Up in Central Park

19^5

John Phillip The Smugglers

circa 1879

Our Flirtations

circa 1879

El Capitan

1896

The Bride-Elect

1897

The Charlatan The Tree Lance Chris The Glass Blowers The American Maid

circa 1900

Tierney, Harry Rio Rita

1927

Irene Wathall, Alfred G. The Sultan of Sulu

1903

Youmans, Vincent Two kittle Girls in Blue

1922

Wildflower

1923

No, No, Nanette

192lf

A Night Out

1925

Oh, Please

1926

Hit the Deck

1927

Rainbow

1928

The Great Day

1929

Smiles

1930

Through the Years

1932

Plying Down to Rio (film),

193^

APPENDIX B

159 MUSICAL PRODUCTION REVIEW SHEET Reviewer________ _______________ Date reviewed__________________ Name of production______________________________ Type____________ Composer_______________________ Librettist_____________________ Publisher______________________ Available from_________________ Royalty & rental charges: 1st perf.

add.perf.

Misc.___

No* of acts_____ No* of scenes_____ Style or locale________ List of scenes and sets:

2.__________________________________________________________ 3-__________________________________________________________ k - ______________________________________________________________________

5.__________________________________________________________ 6 *________________________ 7*__________________________________________________________ 8 *_____________________ Principal parts: Male singing parts: Name 1. 2. 3

Type

Voice range

No* songs

Style songs

Dance? Y.orN*

__________________

i6o Female singing parts: Name

Type

Voice range

No. songs

1. 2

Style songs

Dance? Y.or N.

______

.__________________________________

3 - _ ________________________________________________________ ; _____________________________________________

Speaking parts only: Name

Type of char.

1.

______________________



_______________

3.______________________

______________________

k-*___________________________

___________________________

Chorus parts: No. mixed chorus songs___ No. in__harmony___ No. uni son____ No. male chorus songs____ No. in_harmony___ No. uni son____ No. girls chorus songs___ No. in

harmony

N o. unis on____

Most difficult male solo_______________________________________ Most difficult female solo____________________________________ Most difficult chorus number

_________ ____________________

List of characters with specialty dances: Name 1.

2. 3*

Type dance ________________________________

l6l Number of ensemble dances and type of dance suggested: Song

Type ensemble

Style dance

1 . ______________________________________________________________________

2 *_

;

'

3-___________________________________________________________ ____________ 5 .______________________________________________________________________

6.____________________________________ Short synopsis of story:

Possibilities for simplification:

Possibilities for elaboration:

Brief estimate of costumes required:

Personal comment: