Enchanted Evenings:The Broadway Musical from 'Show Boat' to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber by Geoffrey Block Read Free Book Online

shows discussed here adopt techniques analogous to those practiced in the operas of Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner, and the book is based on the premises that for some musicals, melodic and rhythmic connections and imaginative use of classical borrowings (for striking examples of the latter see
West Side Story
) audibly enrich the dramatic fabric, and that some knowledge of these connections might contribute to the appreciation and enjoyment of these works.
    For readers who neither read music nor profess any musical discernment beyond knowledge of what they like, the intent here is that the lyrics that accompany most of the musical examples will provide an aid in figuring out the point and purpose of the analytical discussion without undue discomfort. Since for many, negotiating musical terminology of any kind is an ordeal, occasionally even rudimentary concepts, including intervals, rhythmic note values, and the idea of central and hierarchical key relationships, will need to be explained. Although the attempt to create a text suitable for a “Broadway audience” unaccustomed to musical terminology may inevitably lead to some oversimplification from the perspective of theorists and musicologists, it is nevertheless the goal that something meaningful and new can be gained for this audience as well. In nearly all cases the focus will be on those musical features that can actually be heard, and on the musical expression of dramatic meanings and dramatic context.
The Making of a Musical, Adaptation, and Social Issues
     
    How is a musical created and how does knowledge of compositional process, including the revisions made during out-of-town tryouts, lead to a better understanding and appreciation of the works we see and hear today? How were the composers, lyricists, and librettists, our principal subjects, influenced by directors, choreographers, producers, and audiences? How did the creators of these shows achieve a balance between artistic and commercial control of their work?
    Although a knowledge of a musical’s compositional process can provide partial answers to these questions, the study of how a musical evolves from pre-compositional discussions, early sketches, and drafts to opening night and subsequent revivals has not been widely explored in the literature on Broadway. 13 In fact, this book is the first to do so over a broad spectrumof the field. Sometimes the creative problems posed by musicals seem to find solutions by opening night or shortly thereafter; other problems remain for the life (and afterlife) of the show. When source materials permit this type of an inquiry—and some musicals were selected for this survey in part because they left conspicuous paper trails—the present study will examine how unpublished compositional materials (such as early libretto and lyric drafts, musical sketches, and letters) support or contradict more widely available published memoirs, interviews, and retrospective panels of creative participants.
    One common denominator that links most of the musicals discussed in this survey is the practice, ubiquitous after
Oklahoma!
, of adapting a literary source for the musical stage (see “Sources, Published Librettos, and Vocal Scores” in the online website). Three adaptations that contend with formidable antecedents are explored at some length. The chapters on these shows will examine how and why these famous plays were adapted for new audiences in a new medium and how they preserved (
Kiss Me, Kate
and
West Side Story
) or distorted (
My Fair Lady
) the fundamental dramatic meanings of their sources in their musical reincarnations. The two new chapters that conclude acts I and II ( chapters 8 and 14 ) and the expanded Sondheim and new Lloyd Webber chapters ( chapters 15 and 16 ) will also examine what happened in the next step of the adaptation process experienced by most Broadway musicals, the conversion to film, and how partisans of stage performances might handle the realities of