History of Musical Theater Reactions

After all, culture and the arts were not "new" at any point in time. But it is clear to me now that drama with music is ever present in our history as humans. It is truly what makes us human, what refines us in civilized society.

War and Prosperity

In line with more recent history the turmoil of war and the comfort of prosperity contribute much to the development of musical drama. The first artifacts of "lyric theatre" originated from the height Athenian history. Not only a source of entertainment, but also a way to honor the gods dithyrambs were musical retellings mythology in honor of Dionysus. The era of Greek theatre was brought to a close by the Peloponnesian war in 430 B.C. It would be reborn in the splendor of Roman society. One surprising exception was during the French Revolution. A war of the cultured plebeians vs. royalty, theatre remained intact and in fact, theatre with music thrived in Paris during this time. After the Napoleonic wars, the arts in Paris renewed their strength and flourished under the renewed prosperity

Cultural Norms and Significance

In Greece these performances were available to the public for a small fee or sometimes free. As the theaters were large amphitheaters, actors wore full head masks to differentiate characters. Critics were common citizens and not necessarily "specialists."

In Roman society, rank and class being important, priority seating is introduced. On stage choruses were not used. Overt costuming was "coded" with colored wigs (black=young, white=old, red=slave), denotation of females with yellow robes and gods with tassels. The first version of "tap" shoes were used - metal chips (sabilla) were attached to footwear to make dance steps more audible. 

During the Middle Ages a divergence between Church and State resulted in musical dramas by the Catholic Church and traveling minstrels or roving troupes who performed for room and board. 

Under Napoleon III, the Exposition Universelle opened the doors for the beginning of a musical form closer to what we know today. Jacques Offenbach took full advantage of the swarm of people around Paris at this time and soon we would have the extravagant and opulent version of musical dramas accompanied by the Offenbach "bounce." 

The "Right" to Copy

With The Beggar's Opera no one thought twice of its widespread reproduction in Britain and the American colonies. A hundred years later Gilbert and Sullivan's business manager D'Oyly Carte would go to great lengths to assure G & S would recieve the proceeds from any production of Pirates of Penzance. Copyright law is truly a product of Western culture in the last hundred years related to America's entrepreneurial spirit. 

Tokens from the Past

 The genres of drama from Greek theater are woven throughout modes of entertainment musical and otherwise.
Tragedy - somber storytelling
Comedy - lighter in tone, with a happy ending, often eliminated the "fourth wall"
Satyr - reflecting raw, impetuous human behavior

Characters that started in Roman Theatre are present even in today's dramatic counterparts.
-Pseudolous: the clever slave who could outwit his Roman masters (Erin Brokovich)
-Senex: ridiculous, aging girl chaser (Married with Children - Al Bundi)
-Miles Gloriosus: vain, bragging soldier (Beauty & the Beast - Gaston)
-Mulier: respectable wife of a citizen
-Courtesan: unmarried woman without social status (My Fair Lady - Liza Doolittle)

Out of the commedia dell'arte of Italy in the 1400's we are given slapstick comedy. Simulated battles required the sound effect of a pair of hinged boards creating a loud "whack" without any actual harm to actors. This kind of special effect was reproduced until very recently and digital technology provides for the kind of staging unheard of for 500 years previously.

Black Face - During the 1790-1850s

This practice was both interesting and surprising. Its hard to imagine that while Beethoven was creating, this kind of performing was going on. Additionally, how it was viewed as completely appropriate and how much money was made off it. I can definitely see the influences it had resulting in Barbershop Quartets and it's impact on Stephen Foster's music. 

"Variety passed on two legacies to the earliest Broadway musicals: under dressed showgirls in tights and the concept of adjusting content to audience demand."