The American Musical Theater Songbook

3 units

From its birth in vaudeville and musical reviews to current future classics such as Hamilton, American musical theater has produced a voluminous catalogue of material referred to herein as the American Musical Theater Songbook. Part survey and part performance, this course will focus on the composers, lyricists, performers and subject matter that have been instrumental in defining musical theater and its role in describing a continually evolving human psychology and sociology. The performance aspect of the course will develop students' existing vocal skills and knowledge of style. As both singing and non-singing students are welcome to participate in the course, adjustments for non-singing students will be accommodated so that they may participate fully in the class. The format of the course will be a seminar of student-generated presentations, discussions, and workshop performances. A sampling of shows from which repertoire will be sourced includes the following: early song-and-dance shows (Girl Crazy, Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate); Rodgers and Hammerstein (Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific); Stephen Sondheim (Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park With George); modern era (West Side Story, A Chorus Line, Cabaret, Hair, Pippin); and contemporary (In the Heights, Caroline, or Change, Kinky Boots, Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton). This course serves as a prerequisite for L15 372.