booklet

1. What makes a
successful musical?
By Rebecca Moore

2. Musical theatre is a genre of dramatic production
which acting, singing and dancing play an essential
part. But there are many fundamental elements involved
in getting a successful musical. These include:
Music (the score)
The book
Creative team
Adaptations
Scene structure
The writer, songwriter, etc.
The cast
Orchestra
The choreography.
There are other ways to measure how successful a
musical is. For example; box office taking, longevity,
awards, audience reactions and critic reviews.
These are ways that a musicals success can be measure
and I will explore the success of the musicals.
Introduction

3. History of musical theatre
Early 19th Century.
- Theatre was a significant part of large
cities in America but the rural locations
weren’t able to attend theatre performance
because of the poor transportation.
- In the large cities like New York
performance were performed for several weeks.
- Music is performance in the U.S in the
early 19th century was expected rather than
being a rule. However, there were few orchestra
companies and fewer opera companies, because of
this the entertainment was imported for
audiences.
- First permanent theatre in North America
considered to have been established in 1753 “The
New Theatre”, but it was not intended primarily
for musical productions. Although European
imports occasionally played there such as John
Gay’s “The Beggar’s Opera”
- In 1866 (one year after the American civil
war finished) a dramatic presentation set an
astonishing record in North America of 455
performances was a shock.

4. History of musical theatre
“The Black Crook” 1866
- This was a mediocre melodrama that was to open
in Nibble's Garden.
- The same year the French ballet troupe were
booked to perform at Academy of music on 14th Street.
Then there is was significant problem when the theatre
burnt to the ground.
- The Black Crook became a 5 hour extravaganza
that included melodrama embellished with song, music
and dance (The dance happened whenever the melodrama
was beginning to drag girls rushed out and performed a
dance. The costume and set was lavished and glitz with
a complex scenery using complex stage machinery.
- Due to the accident the French Ballet company
performed in the Black Crook. The ballet company kept
there traditional costume of tight pink leotards which
put there limbs on show, however the company’s
stylised dance became more suggestive and nearly
erotic.
- The Black Crook mainly drew male audiences
because the dancers and song had little to do with the
plot and were blatantly suggestive.
- The show gained instant notoriety: it was
attacked by reviews and denounced from the pulpit. The
show got negative publicity kept audiences flowing for
16 months.
- The form of Burlesque emerged.

5. History of musical theatre
‘The Beggar’s Opera” John Gay 1728
- This show was one of the most famous
theatrically attacks om the aristocracy
- The Beggar’s Opera was created by John Gay
and it contained important social commentary.
- This “opera” wasn’t much like the Baroque
art at the time. Gay’s lyrics were set to a
known tune and the emphasis was on satire and
with rather than music
- It was a “ballad musically” with music
taken from popular cultures rather than composed
just for the piece.
- Some of the songs grew out of or related to the
plot which help made the the most popular
performance of the century.

6. History of musical theatre
Black-Faced Minstrel Shows
- The century before the Black Crook most
musicals fell into either ‘opera’ or “ballad
opera” categories. However, in the 1840’s there
was a very different and unique show – the black
– faced minstrel show.
- The Black-faced minstrel show grew from the
social climates in America in the mid-19th
century and from the divisive issue of slavery.
Slaves were devoid of human rights and seemed to
stand against the principals on which America
was built.
- White actors would apply black face make-up
and perform song, dance and comic repertoire.
- This influenced musicals because it
inspired the creation of music specifically for
the stage. Dance sequences were performed for
their own sake rather than for the plot. The use
of dance in the plot would develop in the forms
of Burlesque and Revue.
- Although blackface survived well into the
20th century it developed so that Negro
performers as opposed to white performers.
The influences of the “The Black Crook”,
“The Beggar’s Opera”, and the Black-faced
Minstrel shows came together to influence
a dominant format known as Burlesque,
Vaudeville and Revue.

7. History of musical theatre
Burlesque
- Burlesque is based upon spoof and ridicule.
This includes comic imitation, exaggeration and
stereotypical caricature. They also developed
physical comedy and slapstick for the performers
to use in the performance.
- It is influenced from “The Beggar’s Opera”
and sex is the central theme. They wore skin
tight costumes which show of the body to the
male audience.
- As the genre developed the performances
became more erotic and suggestive because they
discovered that belly dancers were performing
with their midriff on show. This lead to the
Burlesque performances become more like full
striptease 3 decades later.
- Burlesque was the principle form of
“adult” entertainment until 1920’s when
new popular nightclubs took over.

8. History of musical theatre
Vaudeville
- Concurrent to burlesque and borrowed
some of the elements but it is aspired to be
accessible to families.
- It rooted back to the 15th Century
France with the balladeers of the village of
Val de Vire, but it first became an American
stage attraction with the opening of Tony
Pastor’s Theatre in Paterson, New Jersey.
- Pastor’s polices forbade drinking and
smoking, and he censored all of the acts to
eliminate vulgar humour.
- The entertainment included: dramatic
monologues, animal acts, magicians, circus
acts, as well as opera singers, musicians and
dancers. There was something for everyone.
- Vaudeville survived well into the 20th
Century spawning some famous performers such
as Fred Astaire. It eventually fell due to the
economic crash during the Great Depression.
.

9. History of musical theatre
Revue
- Was developed by vaudeville and drew upon
the Minstrel/ variety show concept.
- It aspired to a higher level than burlesque
and was close to the concept of musical comedy.
- Some shows had a storyline but they were
secondary to the spectacle.
- The emphasis on sex, topical comedy and
satire was pure burlesque, but added elements
included elaborate costume and extravagant
singing. The promoters hoped that this would
make it more acceptable to a wider segment of
the population.
- The emphasis changed from the performers
gyrating but often sat/ draped over pedestals
like fine art.
- Its highest levels and popularity came from
1907-31 with Florenz Ziegfeld and the “Ziegfeld
Follies”
- There were also more smaller revues around
at the same time, but often more coherent with a
linear structure.
Burlesque, vaudeville and revue all existed side
by side with more legitimate forms of musical
theatre such as operettas. They all came
together in the creation of the true American
Musical.

10. I am going to look at how successful
musical are and how an individual number
impacts the success of the musical. I am
looking at specific number from different
musicals to see if a set formula makes a
different to the success.
The supposed formula to a successful
musical is :
Overture
Chorus number
Solo
Duet
Comedy Song
Dance interlude
Showstopper
Finale

11. Showboat
Showboat was the first ever musical, and it
opened on Broadway on December 27, 1927 at the
Ziegfeld Theatre in New York, where it ran for a
year and a half.
‘Showboat’ is often considered ground breaking
in American Entertainment, it entered
unchartered territory and dramatically crossed
bridges in musical theatre and in it’s approach
to political issues. ‘Showboat’ stood out from
the currently recognised entertainment- the
revue. Theatre critics R.Eyre and N.Wright have
said that ‘Showboat’ was revolutionary, not only
because it was far removed from the plotless
style of revues, but because it was a show
written by non-blacks that portrayed black
history in a sympathetic manner rather than
condescendingly.

12. Phantom of the Opera
Phantom of the Opera was created in 1986 by
Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical is based on the
eponymous French novel by Gaston Leroux, the
plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, who
become the obsession of a mysterious musical
genius living in the subterranean labyrinth
beneath the Paris Opera house.
The musical was opened on London’s West End in
1986 and then on Broadway in 1988.It won an
Oliver Award in 1986 and then in 1988 it won the
Tony Award for Best Musical. It one of the
Longest running West End musical after Les
Miserables. Clearly, Phantom has been a massive
commercial success.
Overall the total estimate worldwide gross
receipt of over $5.6 billion and total Broadway
gross of $845 million. Phantom was a most
financially successful entertainment event until
The Lion King surpassed it in 2014.

13. Phantom of the Opera
(Overture)
Traditional musicals often start with an
Overture, which is a term originally applied to
the instrumental introduction to an opera. In
musicals, an overture is usually a piece of
music at the start that plays through the main
songs from the show, for example, in West Side
Story. It makes sense for Phantom to start with
an overture being both a musical and themed on
opera.
Phantom, however, does something slightly
different. The overture is not at the very
beginning, but after a short scene that takes
places in the opera house where they are selling
the chandelier. The overture for Phantom is part
of the story, in that it is used to take the
audience back in time to when the story takes
place. The chandelier is lit up and rises to the
top of the theatre. The music of the overture
starts with the Phantom theme played on the
organ, which is one of the instruments used
throughout the show. It is a very loud and
dramatic piece of music, creating a big impact
to the start of the show.
The overture is one of the most recognisable
musical themes from the show and is instantly
associated with Phantom. Andrew Lloyd Webber has
mixed features from Opera and musicals, as well
as changing the role of the overture. This is a
good balance between convention and innovation
that contributes to the success of this musical.
As mentioned earlier, West Side Story uses a
traditional overture, and is still classed as a
successful musical. Both composers have
understood the standard formula for musicals and
have chosen to either use or adapt for their own
shows to make them successful.

14. Rent
Rent is a rock musical with music, lyrics
and a book by Johnathan Larson, loosely
based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera La
Bohème. The first musical was seen in a
workshop production in 1993. The same Off
-Broadway theatre was Rent’s initial home
for it official opening in 1996. The
creator died suddenly of an aortic
dissection the night before the Off-
Broadway premiere.
Then it moved to Broadway in April 1996.
It ran for 12 years with a total of 5,123
performances. It is now the 11th longest
running Broadway Show. The production
grossed over $280 million. The success of
the show led to several national tours
and numerous foreign productions.
What is interesting, is that the musical
was not as successful when it opened in
London in 1998, and it closed after only
a year and a half.
So what makes Rent successful in America,
but not in the UK?

15. Rent
(chorus number)
Rent tells the story about 7 people living in
down town New York, and they are living
through the AIDS epidemic. This helped towards
the success of the musical because when the
musical was created it was during an AIDS
epidemic in New York. If the musical was
created now it perhaps wouldn't be as
successful because there is no longer an AIDS
epidemic because people know about it and
there is a way to deal with it. Also this
could be an influence as to why the musical
wasn’t as successful in the UK compared to
America because the AIDS epidemic wasn’t as
prolific in the UK. AIDS is a unique theme for
a musical, and Rent is the only musical to use
this theme. Even though Rent isn’t as
successful as many other musicals it has one
song that stands alone and has become
successful.
Most musicals have an chorus number, which is
a number that contains all the members of the
cast as they sing a song as whole group. This
number in Rent is ‘Seasons of Love’ the song
is sung at the start of the 2nd act. All the
cast stand in a straight line down stage and
sing the song to the audience.
This song stands on it own in the musical
because it doesn't continue the story. Instead
the song gives the message of the show; “how
do you measure life/measure life in love”.
This has allowed this chorus song to exist
outside of the musical successfully and become
a standard musical theatre song. This allowed
the song to become more well-known and could
have contributed to the success of the
musical. Rent is innovative in the way is
uses the chorus number and theme in a musical
but it has quite conventional with the other
things within the musical.

16. Cats
Cats premiered in 1981 at the New London
Theatre. This performance went on to win 2
Laurence Oliver Awards. It arrived on Broadway
in 1982 and received again another awards but
this time it was a Tony Award. Then it opened
in Japan, Australia and became the world
record holder for the longest running musical
in 1997. Cats had 6,138 performances.
It closed in London on it 21st birthday and
this performance concluded with a 20 minute
finale featuring 200 cast members from former
productions of Cats. It then opened in China
in 2004 as part of it world tour. Then It was
revived in London in 2014 with Nicole
Scherzinger starring as Grizabella. This then
lead to more performance being announced due
to its success.

17. Cats
(Solo)
Musical uses solos to show one characters
individual story or feelings at this point in
the story. The solo within Cats shows the
emotions that Grizabelle is feeling when she
is thinking about all her memories she has.
She is reliving this memories because she
wants to join her family but isn't rejected.
During the solo Grizabelle gives up and lays
down but another member of the Cats gets up
and sings part of the song to give Grizabelle
more strength. Grizabelle finishes the song
powerful giving all the emotion the audience
wants to see. It is a powerful solo because
there is a deep amount of emotion. Also, this
solo contrasts the majority of the performance
because it is all mainly dance through the
performance with singing on top.
Overall, this solo helps makes the musical
successful because it gives an emotional
moment to the story.

18. Lion King
The Lion King is based on the 1994 Disney
animated feature film with music by Elton John.
The musical debuted on 8th July 1997 and it was
an instant success before premiering on Broadway
in October 1997. Lion King has now run on
Broadway for over 8,500 performances to be the
3rd longest running show. It has a gross of more
than $1 billion making it the highest grossing
Broadway production.
The show opened on the West End in 199 and is
still running with over 7,500 performance done
and then cast was invited to perform at the
Royal Variety Performance in 1999 and 2008.In
September 2014 The Lion King became the top-
earning title in box-office history for both
stage production and film.

19. Lion King
(Duet)
Traditional a duets is a musical composition for
two performers in which the performers have
equal importance in the piece. In musicals duets
usually happen when love is involved or when a
conflict is happening. This is related to the
fact that love or conflict usually involve 2
people.
In Lion King the duet is used to show the love
story between Simba and Nala. The duet is called
‘Can you feel the love tonight?’, it is when
Simba and Nala meet again after years apart and
Puma & Timon start the duet by suggesting that
love is happening and how this is going to
change there trio. This created an introduction
to the story that develops throughout the duet.
This the music then develops by introducing more
sounds before the singing between Simba and Nala
happens. After this the theme of love and
romance are shown throughout.
This duet is a popular duet because it can be
understood by any audience member and it has the
theme of love throughout. This helps towards the
success of the musical because this duet is
memorable and this then makes the whole musical
memorable. This is also very successful because
the duet is a tradition love story between the
two favourite characters.

20. Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! was created in 1943 by Richard Rodgers
and Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical was based
on Lynn Riggs 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs.
Oklahoma! is set in Oklahoma Territory outside
the town Claremore in 1906. It tells the story
of a farm girl, and two rival suitors a cowboy
and a sinister farmhand.
Oklahoma! was building on the early innovations
of Showboat, epitomized the development of a
book musical. A book musical is a musical that
integrates dance and song into a well-made story
with a serious dramatic goals that are able to
evoke genuine emotions.
Due to this Oklahoma! won many awards including
Laurence Oliver awards in 1999 and Tony award in
2002.
Additional, Oklahoma! has had many positive
critic reviews and has had many influence on the
musical theatre industry.

21. Oklahoma!
(Dance Interlude)
Before Oklahoma! a dance interlude wasn’t used,
there was dance, singing and acting but the
dance never continued developing the story. By
the 1940’s people wanted a development in
musicals. Rodger and Hammerstein were innovative
in there development of Oklahoma! because they
made a decision to make the dance continue the
story and make sense in the development of the
story.
The “Dream Ballet” is a full dance scene that
continues to develop the story. Within Oklahoma!
the dance interlude tells the story of Laurey
faced with her feeling about the two men, Curly
and Jud.
This dance section was new in the musical
theatre industry because the scene continued to
develop the story which no musical had done
before. It shows a progression in the
development of musical theatre. This was the
first sign of the musical theatre developing to
the industry it is now.

22. Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman,
lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It
was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob
Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside
John McMartin. It is based on the screenplay for the
Italian film Nights of Cabiria. However, whereas
Federico Fellini's black-and-white film concerns the
romantic ups-and-downs of an ever-hopeful prostitute,
in the musical the central character is a dancer-for-
hire at a Times Square dance hall.
The musical premiered on Broadway in 1966, where it
was nominated for 9 Tony Awards, and also ran in the
West End as well as having revivals and international
productions. The musical was adapted for the screen in
1969 with Shirley MacLaine as Charity and John
McMartin recreating his Broadway role as Oscar
Lindquist. Bob Fosse directed and choreographed this
film.
The musical ,at the time of its arrival it, wasn’t
very successful and became a financial flop. Why is
Sweet Charity successful even though it was a flop?

23. Sweet Charity
(Showstopper)
A showstopper is a song or other performance receiving
prolonged applause from the audience. Within musicals
a showstopper usual comes before the interval because
this leaves the audience on a high one before the
break and them they will wanted to come back in to
watch the second half.
Sweet Charity’s showstopper is Big Spender it is the
main dance number where the dancers are in the club
lined up in front of the bar. This number is seductive
and powerful, in the choreography and the lyrics. This
number is memorable from Sweet Charity because it is a
powerful number. However, when sweet charity came out
it was a complete flop. This was due to the fact that
bob Fosse purely made the musical for entertainment
not with any really meaning or theme behind it. This
was going against the development of musicals in the
time because they were developing to have more serious
storyline and means that would affect people rather
than just entertain. This meant that when it was first
performed it was a financial flop.
However, when Sweet Charity was revived it as more
successful because it was different to everything
currently on stage. Now musical can be watched for
entertainment or for a serious message.

24. Les Miserables
Les Misérables, colloquially known in English-speaking
countries as Les Mis is a sung-through musical based
on the 1862 novel of the same name by French poet and
novelist Victor Hugo. The musical premiered in Paris
in 1980, and has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and
original French-language lyrics by Alain Boublil and
Jean-Marc Natel. An English-language libretto and
English lyrics were written by Herbert Kretzmer. The
London production has run continuously since October
1985, making it the longest-running musical in the
West End and the second longest-running musical in the
world after the original Off-Broadway run of The
Fantasticks.
Set in early 19th-century France, Les Misérables is
the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his
desire for redemption after serving nineteen years in
jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for his
sister's starving child. Valjean decides to break his
parole and start his life anew after a bishop inspires
him by a tremendous act of mercy, but he is
relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named
Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of
characters are swept into a revolutionary period in
France, where a group of young idealists attempt to
overthrow the government at a street barricade.

25. Les Miserable
(Comedy Song)
A comedy song is used in musical to bring a light
hearted moment or to show the comedy characters in the
show. Within Les Miserable the comedy song is Master
of the House, this song brings a light hearted feel to
the musical because before and after is sad songs.
Master of the house is staged in the Inn (pub) which
is owned by Thenardie and Madame Thenardie. They are
singing about how they fix prices to make more money
and how they rob from the rich customer who enter the
Inn. This song is particularly successful because it
is different from the rest of the musical. The song
changes the mood of the musical because it is a mood
up beat song and the lyrics create more of a humours
moment for the audience to enjoy. This helps the
success of the musical because it make the musical
memorable. This also helps the audience get through
the whole musical because it gives them a moment of
happiness before the rest of the sad story continues.

26. Hairspray
Hairspray is an American musical with music by Marc
Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a
book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on
John Waters’s 1988 film of the same name. The songs
include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm
and blues. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager
Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny
Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the
real-life Buddy Deane Show. When Tracy wins a role on
the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, and meets
a colourful group of characters, leading to social
change as Tracy campaigns for the show's integration.
In 2003 it won eight Tony Awards, including one for
Best Musical, out of 13 nominations. It ran for 2,642
performances, and closed on January 4, 2009. Hairspray
has also had national tours, a West End production,
and numerous foreign productions and was adapted as a
2007 musical film. The London production was nominated
for a record-setting eleven Laurence Olivier Awards,
winning four, including Best New Musical.

27. Hairspray
(Finale)
A finale is a traditional used in a musical to finish
the performance in an outstanding way. Hairspray used
a finale in the traditional way and does it
successfully. The finale is called You cant stop the
beat and is set on the Corny Collins show.
The finale being with Tracey Turnblad appearing in the
rocket and she begins to sing the song. Throughout the
song many other characters get involved and perform
the song alongside. This song makes the musical
successful because it is a memorable song and this
makes the musical memorable. Throughout the musical it
leads up to the success of Tracey and that everyday
should be nigro day. This idea had happened before the
musical was made and this also made the musical
successful because it was relevant and help inforce
the chances.

28. Conclusion
In conclusion, a successful musical doesn't have a
specific formula. All musicals are slightly different
in the formula and the way it is created. For example,
Hamilton doesn't have an overture but the performance
is still really successful because of it relevant to
recent times.