Course overview

A history course based on some well-known musicals. Writers of musicals often dealt with complex social, political and historical issues while also providing an entertaining show with great songs, but in this course we’ll look at some unexpected, surprising and even ill-conceived inspirations for musicals, some of which were very successful, some of which were not. The course includes the background to musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Stephen Sondheim, but also lesser-known writers whose work has become very successful and has acquired a cult following. At the end of the course, you will be able to: - Discuss howEvitaandCall Me Madamare influenced by the writers' personal viewpoints of the societies they are describing - Give examples of how fairy tale conventions are overturned inFrozenandInto The Woods - Identify some of the classic films, stories and characters that fed into horror musicals likeRocky Horror ShowandSweeney Todd. - Discuss why "bad taste" is such a prevalent feature of modern musicals, like the Producers and Little Shop of Horrors. - Identify some of the issues that caused a few of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musicals to fail.

Course description

This is a history course based on some well-known musicals. Writers of these works often dealt with complex social, political and historical issues while providing an entertaining show with great songs, although in this particular course we’ll also consider some ideas for musicals that didn’t quite work. We'll look at prominent figures from the realm of international politics in the musicalsEvita,Call Me MadamandChessand whether these musicals truly reflected the subjects they were dealing with; horror stories used as inspiration for musicals, particularly those depicted in classic films from the 1930s to the 1950s, subverted inRocky Horror ShowandLittle Shop of Horrorsand treated more seriously inSweeney ToddandJekyll and Hyde; musicals based on fairy stories, some creatively adjusted to provide unexpected twists, as inFrozen, and intertwined and satirised inInto The Woods,which also features a disturbing invasion of the “fourth wall”; and the controversial side of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s output, looking at some of their failures as well as their musicals that have a “dark side”. Plus other quirky musicals, likethe Producers,Hello Dolly!, andPaint Your Wagon.

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