Performing In Contemporary Musicals

Performing in Contemporary Musicals brings into sharp focus the skills performers must possess when tackling shows that are newly written, in development, or somewhere in between. The authors bust myths about contemporary musical theatre and analyze the development timelines of musicals from around the world. They also explore how performers can become invaluable to a creative team by developing the skills needed to move a new musical forward including: contemporary acting and singing techniques, dramaturgy, quickly picking up new material, and collaboration. Each chapter features insightful industry interviews, recommended activities, an extensive reading list, and an online companion for further study. This textbook is the only comprehensive resource that provides an overview of the development process of a new musical while guiding musical theatre performers to be fruitful collaborators in a new works scenario.

The Routledge Companion to the Contemporary Musical is dedicated to the musical’s evolving relationship to American culture in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In the past decade-and-a-half, international scholars from an ever-widening number of disciplines and specializations have been actively contributing to the interdisciplinary field of musical theater studies. Musicals have served not only to mirror the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural tenor of the times, but have helped shape and influence it, in America and across the globe: a genre that may seem, at first glance, light-hearted and escapist serves also as a bold commentary on society. Forty-four essays examine the contemporary musical as an ever-shifting product of an ever-changing culture. This volume sheds new light on the American musical as a thriving, contemporary performing arts genre, one that could have died out in the post-Tin Pan Alley era but instead has managed to remain culturally viable and influential, in part by newly embracing a series of complex contradictions. At present, the American musical is a live, localized, old-fashioned genre that has simultaneously developed into an increasingly globalized, tech-savvy, intensely mediated mass entertainment form. Similarly, as it has become increasingly international in its scope and appeal, the stage musical has also become more firmly rooted to Broadway—the idea, if not the place—and thus branded as a quintessentially American entertainment.

Twenty-First Century Musicals stakes a place for the musical in today’s cinematic landscape, taking a look at leading contemporary shows from their stage origins to their big-screen adaptations. Each chapter offers a new perspective on a single musical, challenging populist narratives and exploring underlying narratives and sub-texts in depth. Themes of national identity; race, class and gender; the ‘voice’ and ‘singing live’ on film; authenticity; camp sensibilities; and the celebration of failure are addressed in a series of questions including: How does the film adaptation provide a different viewing experience from the stage version? What themes are highlighted in the film adaptation? What does the new casting bring to the work? Do camera angles dictate a different reading from the stage version? What is lost/gained in the process of adaptation to film? Re-interpreting the contemporary film musical as a compelling art form, Twenty-First Century Musicals is a must-read for any student or scholar keen to broaden their understanding of musical performance.

This volume in the Routledge Key Guides series provides a round-up of the fifty musicals whose creations were seminal in altering the landscape of musical theater discourse in the English-speaking world. Each entry summarises a show, including a full synopsis, discussion of the creators' process, show's critical reception, and its impact on the landscape of musical theater. This is the ideal primer for students of musical theater – its performance, history, and place in the modern theatrical world – as well as fans and lovers of musicals.

The first book to systematically analyze the role the performing arts played in English schools after the Reformation.

Since the turn of the millennium, films such as Chicago (2002) and Phantom of the Opera (2004) have reinvigorated the popularity of the screen musical. This edited collection, bringing together a number of international scholars, looks closely at the range and scope of contemporary film musicals, from stage adaptations like Mamma Mia! (2008) and Les Miserables (2012), to less conventional works that elide the genre, like Team America: World Police (2004) and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill (2003/04). Looking at the varying aesthetic function of soundtrack and lyric in films like Disney's wildly popular Frozen (2013) and the Fast and the Furious franchise, or the self-reflexive commentary of the 'post-millennial rock musical', this wide-ranging collection breaks new ground in its study of this multifaceted genre.

(Vocal Collection). This four-volume series is a giant resource of songs from msucials that appeal to the young singer. Contents: Astonishing (from the Broadway Musical LITTLE WOMEN) * Belle (Reprise) (from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) * Come To Your Senses (from TICK, TICK...BOOM!) * Everything I Know (from IN THE HEIGHTS) * Find Your Grail (from MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT) * Finding Wonderland (from the Broadway Musical WONDERLAND) * Follow Your Heart (from URINETOWN) * Good Morning Baltimore (from HAIRSPRAY) * Home (from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL) * I Know It's Today (from SHREK THE MUSICAL) * I Know The Truth (from Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA) * I Speak Six Languages (from THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE) * I'm Not Afraid Of Anything (from SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD) * It Won't Be Long Now (from IN THE HEIGHTS) * The Lamest Place In The World (from the Broadway Musical 13) * Live Out Loud (from A LITTLE PRINCESS) * Maybe I Like It This Way (from THE WILD PARTY) * My New Philosophy (from YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN) * Once More I Can See (from the Broadway Musical WONDERLAND) * A Part Of That (from THE LAST FIVE YEARS) * Popular (from the Broadway Musical WICKED) * Practically Perfect (from MARY POPPINS) * Show Off (from THE DROWSY CHAPERONE) * So Much Better (from LEGALLY BLONDE) * Start Of Something New (from the Disney Channel Original Movie HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL) * Tryouts (from BRING IT ON) * Waiting For Life (from ONCE ON THIS ISLAND) * We're Not Done (from BRING IT ON) * Whipped Into Shape (from LEGALLY BLONDE) * Whispering (from SPRING AWAKENING) * The Wizard And I (from the Broadway Musical WICKED)

Musical Theatre Song is a handbook for musical theatre performers, providing them with the wide-ranging skill set they need for success in today's competitive musical theatre environment. Breaking down the process into knowing how to select your song material based upon your individuality and how to prepare and perform it in a manner that best highlights your attributes, Stephen Purdy provides a succinct and personalized trajectory toward presentation, taking the reader through a series of challenges that is designed to evoke original, personal and vibrant song performances. Written by renowned Broadway and West End vocal and audition coach Stephen Purdy, Musical Theatre Song is a must-have guide for all performers who are looking to succeed in the musical theatre industry.