Development of Musical theatre
Book musicals
As musicals developed, stories became stronger and the songs more fully integrated into the plot. A book musical is a term for a work which contains well developed drama and manages to evoke other emotions apart from laughter.
A book musical usually comes in three parts:
- the book (which means script, where the dialogue and drama is contained)
- the music (arranged for various instruments within a band or orchestra)
- the lyrics (where the words to the songs are written underneath a piano part)
The lyrics and piano part together are known as the score. A large creative team work together to bring a book musical to the stage. These roles are very important.
Early prominent composers
From the early to mid-1900s Musical theatre was dominated by a few prominent composers and lyricists and the work was a vehicle for their song-writing talents and a showcase for the big stars of the day. Many of these were made into films. The stories in these were less important than the songs and spectacular dance routines. Leading songwriters of the time produced a vast number of musicals. Many of the songs they featured are so well known that they are now called 鈥榮tandards鈥 and are still popular today. Examples of these include songs by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and George and Ira Gershwin.
This audio clip looks at the story behind the song, Let鈥檚 Face the Music and Dance by Irving Berlin and explains why Musical theatre became so popular in the 1930s.