Lesson Overview:
This lesson is designed to put the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in the historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. To achieve this goal, students will explore the "roots" of the genre as it evolves in the last half of the 19th and first two decades of the 20th century.
Length of Lesson:
Six 45-minute periods
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- gain understanding that segments of early musical theatre were integrated into the development of the modern musical.
- gain insight into specific ways the themes and formats of early performance modes in American musical theatre reflected social, economic, political, and cultural aspects of a given time period in American history.
- examine the implications of musical theatre as a unique American genre, reflecting and contributing to the realignment of American identity in post-Civil War America.
- appreciate the role of musical theatre in helping to wean America from dependence on European modes of the performing arts.
- explore the influence of American musical theatre in helping to crystallize regional images in American consciousness.
- strengthen process skills of reading, writing, oral presentation, and explicating; also, visual literacy.
- enhance experience in collaborative problem-solving.
Instructional Plan:
Activity A
This activity focuses on early performance entertainment modes that were forerunners of American musical theatre: melodramas, minstrels; operas and operettas; musical farce, vaudeville and Broadway musical revues; and the Ziegfeld Follies.
Divide students into collaborative groups. Assign each group one or more of the following topics to research, and report back findings to the class. Advise students that research should include Web and print media, and where applicable, video and audio sources. Assign each group to turn in a written summary of the material presented. Their research should address the issues outlined on the accompanying handouts.
1. The Early Years
2. The New American Cultural Scene
Activity B
Some students might be interested in researching background information on the Barnum Circus, and comparing the entertainment mode of the circus to that of vaudeville and the Ziegfeld Follies.
Activity C
This activity focuses on the early development of the modern musical as a distinct genre, and encourages students to examine the development of the modern musical in relation to its historical roots, and as a cultural reflection of the early decades of the 20th century.
Take a poll of how many students in the class have seen or participated in a musical, or viewed a film of a musical. Ask students to write a brief summary, to be turned in, of one of their experiences with a musical. Students who have not have had any experience participating in or viewing a musical may use the Web, or access print media to familiarize themselves with the genre. Have students share these experiences in class discussion, probing such aspects as individual perceptions about themes, story lines, stage sets, costumes, key roles, tone quality, choreography, musical scores, and song lyrics.
Divide the class into working pairs. Distribute the titles of the following early musicals. Ask each pair to collect details on the story line, stage sets, music score, lyrics, and choreography of their assigned title. If time allows, encourage students to record a sound bite, to be played for the class, of one or more of the songs from their assigned selection.
- Little Johnny Jones
by George M. Cohan
- Lady Be Good by George Gershwin
- The Girl From Utah by Jerome Kern
- The Desert Song by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II
- Dearest Enemy by Richard Rodgers and others
Initiate a class discussion that examines the influences of the earlier genres on the genre of the musical as it comes together at the beginning of the 20th century. Encourage students to consider performance styles, themes, infusion of musical scores and lyrics. Do students perceive any influences? If so, what are they? What changes have occurred that justify labeling the musical as a new and distinct genre?
Initiate a general discussion about the themes of the early musicals. Were they light-hearted? Romantic? Frivolous? Serious?
Assign an in-class essay, asking students to develop an analysis of the way the theme of one early musical projects the cultural manners and mores of post-World War I America. Consider giving students the option of researching other early musicals in preparation for the assignment (for instance , Cocoanuts or No, No, Nannette), or drawing from a previous experience with an early musical.
Activity D
Assign students to write a formal essay (5-7 pages) on one of the following prompts:
1. Consider the following assertion carefully:
American musical theatre, as it developed in a variety of formats, often drew inspiration from American patriotic themes. These themes were projected through such aspects as story lines, stage sets, music scores, song lyrics, choreography, and key performance roles. In fact, musical theatre, since its inception, has been a strong agent in building patriotic fervor in time of war.
In a clearly structured paper, effectively supported with evidence from Web, print media, and, where applicable, video and audio sources, select one or more (not more than three) examples from early forms of American musical theatre that are developed around patriotic themes.
Give your analysis of evidence good range by delineating, where applicable, specific ways story line, stage sets, music score, song lyrics, choreography, and key performance roles project patriotic themes.
2. Consider the following assertion carefully:
American musical theatre, from its early inception, provided a mirror of the unique character of American life as it struggled to bring unity out of the diversity inherent in its origins. In fact, early forms of American musical theatre were a contributing force in the shaping of national identity as that identity emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Develop a clearly structured, vigorously supported paper in which you argue for or against, or take an in-between position about the above assertion. Be sure to support your argument with carefully defined evidence from your selected sources. Give your analysis range and penetration by exploring your selection(s) from various perspectives.
3. Develop an essay in which you take a position about the following statement, defending your position with specific examples from one or more early American musicals developed in the first few decades of the 20th century:
"The American musical in the first part of the 20th century is characterized by the naiveté of its themes, the banality of its musical scores, and the sentimentality of its song lyrics."
Be sure to shape your essay with a clearly defined thesis statement and structural frame. Give your paper persuasive power by supporting your position with a good bank of precisely defined evidence and forceful linguistic (words, phrases) expression.
Activity E
Encourage students to develop a performance day, during which they role play acts, impersonate some of the dominant figures, sing some of the songs, demonstrate some of the dance idioms prevailing in different decades in the development of American musical theatre. For instance, in a year long course in American history, American literature, or an integrated American literature and history course, a performance day could be built into the end of a time period unit to reinforce the examination of cultural shifts driven by historical change and philosophical outlook.
Note: It is important that students perceive such a day dedicated to the development of American musical theatre as a significant step in grasping the historical, philosophical, and psychological changes in the fabric of American life as these changes play out in the last half of the 19th and the first part of the 20th centuries. If carefully planned and implemented, such a performance day effectively summarizes how America’s indigenous musical theatre is a revealing mirror of changing attitudes and cultural expression in American life.
Assessment:
Evaluate students’ performance according to the following criteria:
- level of serious and cooperative participation in research and collaborative assignments
- level of discernment in contributions from research and to collaborative work
- substantive contributions to class discussion and special projects
- range and depth in analysis
- organization, meaningful substance, rhetorical skill, and poise in formal oral presentation
- willingness to volunteer for special activities
- general level of engagement in all activities and assignments
Sources:
Print:
- Brinkley & Friedel, et.al. (ed.). A Survey of American History—Eighth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1991.
- Green, Stanley. The World of Musical Comedy, Fourth Edition. New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1980
Media
- Various Artists. Front Row Center: The Broadway Gold Box. New York: MCA, 1996.
- Various Artists. Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 (Original Cast Recording). New York: Universal, 2001
- Del Ruth, Roy and Norman Taurog (directors). Ziegfeld Follies. Los Angeles: Warner Studios, 1946.
Authors:
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Jayne Karsten, English, Grades 9-12
The Key School
Annapolis, MD US
