Musical Theatre History - Where Do Our Favorite Shows Come From?

In this 10 week course, students will dive into the history of musical theatre, learning about four core eras and how they shaped the musicals the love today. Students will be responsible for at least one presentation on a musical in this course (more information in the homework section!). 

The class schedule will appear as follows:

Week 1 - Lecture/Discussion - What is a musical and where did it come from?

Week 2 - Lecture/Discussion - Golden Age 

Week 3 - Presentations - Two students present on musicals from the Golden Age

Week 4 - Lecture/Discussion - Rock/Protest Musicals/Mega Musicals

Week 5 - Presentations - Two students present on Rock, Protest, or Mega musicals

Week 6 - Lecture/Discussion - Disney Musical/Contemporary Musicals

Week 7 - Presentations - Two students present on Disney or Contemporary musicals

Week 8 - Lecture/Discussion - Post Contemporary Musicals

Week 9 - Two students present on Post Contemporary musicals

Week 10 - Wrap Up - Final thoughts, questions, etc.

The structure of each class is as follows:

Each class will begin with a check in before diving into a brief lecture on the musical era of the week. During this time, students will hear about and be able to take notes on a specific era in musical theatre history, the Golden Age, the Protest/Rock Musical, the Mega Musical, the Disney Musical, Contemporary Musicals, and Post Contemporary Musicals. Both throughout and after this lecture period, students will be asked discussion questions regarding themes from that era, how those themes relate to modern musicals, what the various styles conveys to them, and have the chance to ask any of their own questions. Because students may have not yet been introduced to certain moments in history, context will be given so they can accurately understand the relationship these musical eras had to their moment in time.

Following a week of lecture/discussion, there will be a week dedicated to presentations. Students will be asked to create at least one presentation (if there are fewer than eight students in the class, students will have the opportunity - but will NOT be required - to present more than once) on a musical from the previous week's era. For example, during week 2 we will discuss the Golden Age. The following week, two students will be asked to create a presentation on a musical from that era. Students will be asked to summarize the musical, give background information including when it was produced, where it was first produced, who wrote it, and more, and explain how it exemplifies themes from this era. They will also be asked to provide visual aids (production photos, videos, etc.). By the end of this course, students will have a vast knowledge of how musical theatre has changed throughout history, and how it has mirrored historical events onstage.