The MegaMusical  - "1000 Stars"

Musical Theatre

The Megamusical

• Megamusicals are sung through, with little if any, dialogue.
• The songs and emotions are big, loud, and bombastic.
• Characterization is often explained rather than dramatised: characters tell you who they are rather than showing who they are by their actions.
• The music is rock-pop, but can incorporate various styles; it does not reflect the sound of any particular era.
• The plots are melodramatic, with minimal humor.
• All major professional stagings are carbon copies.

"Substance took a backseat to spectacle, lush melody, and soap opera–style sentiment. In megamusicals, star performers were unnecessary—the production was the star, making these shows attractions regardless of who was in the cast."  - Kenrick

~ Lecture Notes

West Side Story 1957, Leonard BernstEin & Stephen Sondheim - [1039 Performances]

Buoyed by Robert Wise's dazzling direction, Leonard Bernstein's score, and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics, West Side Story remains perhaps the most iconic of all the Shakespeare adaptations to visit the big screen.

Westside story is a modern musical representation of the classic story "Romeo and Juliet". The sharks and the jets are rival gangs fighting for the same territory. Tensions rise as a shark girl named Maria and a Jet named Tony fall for each other, but there's a problem they can never be allowed to be together.

Score LINK

Musical Theatre

The Megamusical

Cats 1981, Andrew Lloyd Webber - [8949 Performances]

Cats was the ground breaking show for all of us ... The success of it gave us all the freedom to go on and do other shows.”

Based on a T.S. Eliot book of poems, the Andrew Lloyd Webber concept musical Cats starred British stage thesps like Elaine Paige and Brian Blessed when it opened in London and was an enormous hit when it arrived on Broadway in New York. But after several years of playing to hoards of NYC tourists, Cats lost its cache and gained a reputation as nothing more than a silly musical with no plot and a bunch of dancers dressed as felines. It was to be the first in a string of big musicals that originated in Europe and then came to New York City to conquer Broadway.

J Sternfeld, Megamusicals Chapter 3 - Reading

Musical Theatre

The Megamusical

~Lecture Notes

Score LINK  - I'll play a section from the score while you do the following:

Discussion & Note Taking:

Take 2 minutes to write up new thoughts.

What new things has been brought to light from the previous writings?

Think of the new context we now have.

CASE STUDY- "Cats"

Musical Theatre

The Megamusical

Les Miserables 1987, Boublil & Schönberg [13,964 performances]

The West End’s longest-running musical, Les Misérables, has reopened at the refurbished and renamed Sondheim theatre (formerly the Queen’s), and what a thrill – no, a privilege – it is to “hear the people sing” once more.”

Les Miz proved that mainstream Broadway audiences were willing to accept dreary subject matter (a prisoner, an orphan, and a failed revolution are at the heart of the tale) and a convoluted story, as long as it had timeless themes, anthemic musical numbers, and an impressive turntable set. Improbably, the show's logo of the little orphan girl Cosette became an internationally recognized symbol.

J Sternfeld, Megamusicals Chapter 4 - Reading

Musical Theatre

The Megamusical

Score LINK  - I'll play a section from the score while you do the following:

Discussion & Note Taking:

Take 2 minutes to write up new thoughts.

What new things has been brought to light from the previous writings?

Think of the new context we now have.

CASE STUDY- "Les Mis"

Musical Theatre

The Megamusical

The Phantom Of the opera 1986, Andrew Lloyd Webber [13,629 Performances]

Yet for now, if not forever, Mr. Lloyd Webber is a genuine phenomenon - not an invention of the press or ticket scalpers - and ''Phantom'' is worth seeing not only for its punch as high-gloss entertainment but also as a fascinating key to what the phenomenon is about. - The New York Times 1986

 

The king of all Broadway mega-musicals, the Tony-winning Phantom joined two titans of theater, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and director Harold Prince. The show spawned hit songs "Music of the Night" and "All I Ask of You," and theater audiences have been buzzing about "the chandelier" non-stop for over 20 years. The Phantom of the Opera currently holds the title of longest running Broadway musical.

J Sternfeld, Megamusicals Chapter 5 - Reading

Musical Theatre

The Megamusical

Score LINK  - I'll play a section from the score while you do the following:

Discussion & Note Taking:

Take 2 minutes to write up new thoughts.

What new things has been brought to light from the previous writings?

Think of the new context we now have.

CASE STUDY- "The Phantom Of The Opera"

Musical Theatre

The Megamusical