musical theatre essay

1. Musical Theatre Written Task
Chosen Musicals: ‘Hamilton’, ‘Wicked’, ‘Dear Evan Hansen’
Musical theatre is a genre of drama which also involves essential elements of dance and
singing. They’re are many different types of musicals such as: Book musicals, revue musicals,
jukebox musicals, film musicals, concept musicals, pop/rocks musicals etc. A book musicals is a
musical which has originated from a book, for example, Matilda. A jukebox musical is a musical
that features hit songs of a popular music group or genre is Thriller. A film musical is a musical
that is originated from a film for example Frozen. Musical theatre different from other types of
theatre such as, Greek Theatre where The main aspects used are singing and drama rather
than dance. It also differs from Opera where there is much more emphasis on dance and
singing.
Within musical theatre the common themes are: race, religion, conflict, power and love. Many
of these are very present within ‘Hamilton’ for example. Where Lin Manuel-Miranda uses a
multi-racial cast as well as mentioning immigrants on show the theme of race and social
conflict. He also shows the themes love and conflict, through the prominent love story
between Alexander Hamilton and Eliza and then when he later cheats on her. In ‘Wicked’ the
theme of power is present as throughout the musical we see how power corrupts those who
have it, twisting their intentions and leading them to do harm in order to keep the power. For
example when Elphaba’s sister come into power as the eminent Thropp or how the Wizard of
Oz is majorly corrupt and evil. The theme of love is also evident throughout as the love story
between Elphaba and Glinda as best friends plains a main part within the musical. In ‘Dear
Evan Hansen’ the theme of conflict is tackled throughout as Evan Hansen is a bullied high
schooler and Connor Murphy takes his own life due to mental health. The theme of ‘Love’ is
also present as Evan Hansen falls in love with Zoe Murphy, which ultimately is the main reason
why he begins to lie about being friends with Connor Murphy in the first place.
The typical structure of a musical theatre performance follows a basic: overture, act 1,
intermission, act 2, curtain call, exit music structure. A musical will always contain a show
stopping number which is the number that has the ‘wow’ effect within the show and may be
used for promotion material. They will also always contain an 11 o’clock number which, is a
song that builds towards the end of the musical. ‘Hamilton’ has run time of 2 hours and 50
minutes, it contains 2 acts, where an interval lies in the middle. I believe the show stopping
number in ‘Hamilton’ is ‘Non-Stop” as it contains all three elements of musical theatre and
manages to cover such a large amount of the story in such amount of time. I also believe the
11 o’clock number is ‘Burn’ as Eliza is telling a story in which leads to the resolution at the end.
‘Wicked’ has a run time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, it also contains 2 acts, where an interval lies
in there middle. I believe the show stopping number in ‘wicked’ is ‘Defying Gravity’ because it is
when Elphaba meets her turning point in the story and they use creative staging to give the
illusion of her flying. I also believe the 11 o’clock number in wicked is ‘For Good’ as in this
number we see Elphaba and Glinda coming together and resolving their issues which leads to
the ending. ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ has a run time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. Once again it also
has 2 acts where an interval falls in the middle. I believe the show stopping number in ‘ Dear

2. Evan Hansen’ is ‘You will Be Found’ which falls at the end of act one, which is the musical
version of Evan’s speech about his fake friendship with Connor. I also believe the 11 o’clock
number in Dear Evan Hansen is ‘Words Fail’ as it is an extremely emotional number from Evan
where the audience get a huge insight into Evans emotions and feeling and to why he has done
the things he has done throughout the musical.
In regard to the element of dance, we see it throughout all three musicals with bigger aspects
of it some. The musical Hamilton is filled with dance and choreography, with styles such as jazz
and hip hop. However the musicals Dear Evan Hansen and Wicked see more musical theatre
style dances. For example in ‘waving through a window’ and ‘one short day’, where we see
more life like choreography in which interprets characters actual movements. In Hamilton the
ensemble plays a key part throughout; appearing in almost every number. The ensemble is
where we see most of the dance aspects within Hamilton as their choreography and
movements are used to help tell the story. For example in the number ‘hurricane’ we see
Hamilton tell the story about the hurricane that destroyed his childhood town. In this number
the ensemble members swivel around him on a turntable, hoisting furniture overhead, in order
to create imagery of the storm. In wicked an ensemble is also used in some numbers to help
tell the story through dance . A key moment where they are used is in the number ‘one short
day’. Here the ensemble are used to show the audience what it is like in the emerald city. In
Dear Evan Hansen however there is no ensemble and dance is very minimal throughout with
the main characters only have small bits of choreography throughout. For example in the
number waving through a window we see Evan Hansen perform multiple gestures and at times
move across the stage to show his nervousness and to support the story he is telling through
the lyrics.
In regard to the. Musical elements, all three musicals have many big and key moments of it
throughout, with the use of song being the main way they tell the story. Hamilton is not a
conventional musical as it involves many different music types, some not usually seen in
musical theatre, for example rap and hip hop. However the core elements and structure of a
musical are still very prominent in Hamilton as the music drives the plot forward. For example a
big musical moment in Hamilton where they have used the musical genre of rap is ‘my shot’.
Here you see Hamilton telling the people, his plans in life and for America through fast paced
rap that “creates a very forward motion in the song, and almost feels like Hamilton is running
away with the song”. However we do see more a more traditional musical theatre genre in the
number ‘Burn’ where Eliza delivers her heartbroken response to the “Reynolds Pamphlet”,
Hamilton’s public account of his affair. In Wicked a very big and key singing piece is ‘Defying
Gravity’, with it embodying the elements of the original big musical pieces, with belting,
expression, projection and intonation. “Belting is reserved for the climaxes of the song”, which
is what makes this number such a key moment in the musical as the climax of the song
generates a big belt which effectively draws the audience in and leaving a great effect on
them. In Dear Evan Hansen, the big and key singing number would be ‘You Will Be Found’. In
this piece we see a mixture of incredible harmonies which stay throughout the entire song,
leaving that ‘goosebump’ effect on the audience as many different sounds are used here to
create such power in this number. Not only do the harmonies make it much a great piece, but

3. also the use of expression and characterisation, makes it an emotional and beautifully sung
performance. The big and key musical numbers in musicals can be used to define wether a
musical is one of the greatest or not. However the numbers don’t always need to be the same
and stick to those of traditional musical theatre, as long as the effect on the audience is huge
and powerful and ultimately act as a crucial moment in telling the story of the musical.
Throughout all three musicals the focus on dramatics is strong with the story being told
through the acting of the individual characters. Hamiltons plot focuses on conflict and legacy,
specifically the legacy of the founding father of America Alaxander Hamilton and takes the
audience through the story of his life with the aim for them to create emotional connections
and relationships with the characters. The use of timing and pace, gesture, facial expression
and overall characterisation throughout heightens the message in which the characters are
trying to convey. For example a key moment in the musical where dramatics are used is in the
‘World Was Wide Enough’. In this number you see all music and choreography pause as
Hamilton moves round the stage while relaying his thoughts to the audience. Through the
acting here we get a huge insight into Hamiltons life and ultimately who he is as a person and
the audience are given a mini recap which is effective as this number falls at the end of the
play. Within Wicked the story of the wicked witches of the Land of Oz is told through various
different aspects of dramatics. The dramatic plot of wicked is reinforced by the acting within
the musical and the dialogue that takes place, especially between Elphaba and Glinda.
Elphabas intriguing friendship with Glinda is a very big aspect driving the musical and we see
many different intimate moments between the two of them, building their friendship
throughout and engaging the audience with it. A key moment in the musical is when Elphaba
and Glinda meet in the cornfield and get to see a lot into their relationship while they argue
with each other showing many different emotions, such as jealousy anger and love. This is a
key moment in regard to dramatics as this scene is just the two of them talking and therefore is
delivered purely through the characters acting, giving us an insight into the realistic emotions
of the two characters. In dear Evan Hansen, the story and plot are more melancholy and
relatable than that of the other two musicals. The story focuses on the issues faced by
schoolboy Evan Hansen, with mental health and honesty being he driving forces of the plot
and musical. A key moment of dramatics in this musical would be in ‘Sincerely me’ where we
see Evan and his friend faking emails to support his lie that he was friends with Connor
Murphy. This number shows many key moments of acting and dramatics as although it is a
song we see Evan and his friend break out of song on multiple occasions and purely act in order
to show the audience the characters emotions during the writing of these emails rather than
just the light hearted comedic side we see during the song. Allowing for character
development and for the audience to be drawn in and to build their connections with the
characters that much more.
In conclusion, musical theatre is used to express many diverse ideas and themes in order to
educate and entertain audiences. This is done by telling the story and plot through song, dance
and drama which can make for that much more of a powerful piece and have different effects
on the audience. The difference in genre and themes in musical theatre and in the three I have

4. chosen to discuss, produces a range of interesting entertaining and engaging performances in
the industry.
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Wicked/themes/
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/inside-choreographic-storytelling-hamilton-
6542/
https://baileykaplan.wordpress.com/my-shot-essay/
https://genius.com/Phillipa-soo-burn-lyrics
https://vocalprocess.co.uk/what-is-belting/