love song with dialogue interspersed - not necessarily new technique- adopted but abandoned in TPA publishing era. 

emotion of wagon & trotting of horses, juxtaposition of mono and multi-syllabic words emphasizing emotion 

the associative melodies are in place

old fashioned waltz based on A&B melodies

scenic apparatus is set

curly provides active narration

reprised later, intuiting that Laurie and Curly are meant to be together

provides perfect vehicle to contrast to curly's romantic nature 

speech underlines station in life, uneducated & lower social class

melody is a funeral dirge

bad guy doesnt have good lyrical expression

tells Jud he's worthless and should commit suicide

only song in a minor key - dark undertones, three dimensional character of Jud revealed

cut from movie

dance could convey the awkward emotions in a poetic manner

confirms Curly's affections and Jud's intentions

classical, traditional & parisian follies

forecasts the plot for us

reprises Act I music and signature melodies

simple, tuneful music, traditional dancing

makes great counterpoint to dream ballet

reaffirms central message that they are decent, hardworking Americans

balletic/modern dance

Oklahoma chorus to celebrate marriage and the statehood of Oklahoma

last minute addition to cite the context of the land (suggestion made by Theresa Helburn)

reflected ordinary sensibilities and social issues

songs define and drive the narrative

multiple styles of dance

strong female protagonists

lengthy scenes set to music interspersed with dialogue

2212 performances

first musical to produce a soundtrack

sold in the millions

numerous revivals

R&H maintained artistic control

Kurt Weill (Three Penny Opera)

George Gershwin

Giacomo Puccini

redemption

morality play - good vs evil housed in the same person

opening scene unconventional

music of carousel and elaborate pantomime

provides basic plot in gesture

waltz not quite correct - strident/shrill in the wrong key

carousel music represents juxtaposition between fantasy and reality 

only duet between principles

TPA song structure tailored to the love song fashion

Billiedoesn't engage- fills out 3D portrait Is he really capable of love?

becomes basis for reprise will be used as an associative melody

only carousel love duet

carrie & Mr. Snow relationship catalyst

use of conditional = not traditional

last twelve minutes - dialogue interspersed with music

basis for important musical reprise

Julie's suplicaiton to Billy who is at war with himself - changed the subject 

they have outlined the course of their relationship - they will never be together

extended free association - breaking with traditions

assumes child to be male 

he forecasts his own end

STROPHIC FORM

Billy is singing about himself

WALTZ RHYTHM

Billy forges identity between son and carousel

song changes to TRIPLET RHYTHM, ROMANTIC ABLLAD when he realizes it could be a girl

moment of REALITY AND RESPONSIBILITY

brilliant nuance of R &H

ends with a totally different emotion than the beginning

Agnes di Mille

Act II - to enhance the drama and portray Louise as lonely, miserable, and ostacized

dance, pantomime, spoken dialogue

appearance of carousel ties to past & future music in the first half is mostly from soliloquoy and then reprise from If I Loved You

repulsed by the kiss. 

use of tragic subject matter

american tragedy contemporary to 1945

expressed looming post-war USA

protagonist: anti-hero

suicide, abusive, crass, stands outside of community

dramatic fabric: REALISM

entire scenes conveyed in music which conveys narrative

music joined to dance for narrative

dialogue and song used interchangeably

extension of concepts in Oklahoma!

lyricist of My Fair Lady

experience only musicals at Harvard

composer of My Fair Lady

emigrated to the United States in 1924 

song of Edmund Loewe - famous singer in Viennese opera

Brigadoon (1947) 

Paint Your Wagon (1951)

George Bernard Shaw

Pygmalion

sculptor who brings statue to life

OVID: Metamorphosis, Book 10 

plot too thin

nature of realtionship ambiguous at best - no romantic love story

no secondary plot or ensemble

legal issues from Shaw's estate

Higgins removed from University

chorus of servants underlines the message of class and social differences

eliza first appearance at the races, to juxtapose social class

expanded role of Alfred Dolittle - 3D character

contrived resolution between lovers

Eliza's TPA AA1BA style - almost operetta singing 

a popular sound that contrasts with the talk singing

Higgins and ELiza embody this contrast

faithful ot the stage version film 

only a single song is switched

all 21 songs are kept

talk song

no melody - free movement from speech to song

accompaniment: vamp

Higgins elitist, borderline misogynist lyrics 

passive narrative instead of active

Eliza is an eternal optimist

put right after last song so you can compare the characters

pure cockney speech

Hook is the title

A A1 BA TPA format

standard rhythmic pattern to contrast Henry's variable rhythms

2 contrasting musical and lyrical sections

A: self-description, smooth melody, gentleman, warped self image

B: more vigorous fast tempo angular melody underlines erudition and bias against women

lyrics are more important than the melody

closest to Broadway ensemble

crafting scene illustrates Eliza's breakthrough

Henry starts to see her as a woman

some exchange of character traits

eliza loses emotion and Henry gains it

tango rhythm - wrong but good

celebration of breakthrough

first sign of attraction to Henry

humanity and emotion vs. intellect

represents flowering of emotion

talk sings the beginning - relates to Henry

song emphaises first person until "I only know when HE" at which it reverts to the first melody shows her attraction to him

Alfred Doolittle: third musical style

English Music Hall

simplistic with repetitive lyrics

participation of the chorus

remains unchanged despite marriage

stylistic counterpoint 

injects comic relief

"I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face"

Henry Higgins culmination of musical

presented in talk song

lyrics recount relationship 

music is filled with reprises suggesting an affinity for Eliza

process of rationalization is being affected by emotion, not intellect

begins to reprise "let a woman in your life"

conclusion is consistent with Shaws

2717 performances

movie rights sold for $5 million

Rex Harrison not traditional Broadway star 

original: broadened the range of sources

returned elements of English operetta to Broadway

non-American subjects could succeed on Broadway

no relevance to 1956 - element of the exotic

presents the plot with 3D characters

distinct musical styles: diverse, well-defined characters in music

NYC Ballet

choreographer of West Side Story

director of the NY Philharmonic

write music for West Side

wrote the book for West Side Story

prominent Hollywood screenwriter

jerome Robbins

choreography emulated music

five major dance scenes

replacement for nurse

bernardo's lover

catalyst for tony's death

inroduces main characters, music and dramatic themes

dance, pantomime, and music narrate the story

choreo: classical and modern

the two warring clans are synchronized showing unity 

musical signatures presented here which will later transform

intended clash HATE motive

three notes presented in prologue

hate undoes all

used in the prologue, jet song, and music of the sharks but alway left incomplete - tony allowed to complete it with a descending note in Somethings Coming

Riff based upon character of Mercutio

based on "Up to the Moon" earlier song by Bernstein

Riff and the entire gang have a collective identity

meoldy first heard in prologue

song: operatic, complex, expressing sentiment and pathos, musically very hard to sing

ingenuity of the song: RHYTHM

in a triple pattern

accompaniment in a double pattern

juxtaposition of 2 against 3 - HEMIOLA - intuiting strife between jets and sharks 

juxtaposition of 2 against 3 - HEMIOLA - intuiting strife bettween jets and sharks 

melody triple pattern

accompaniment double pattern

also seen in America

Tony's song of introduction actually based on Mercutio's Queen Mab Speech

appropriate moment, grafted onto Tony and introduces music to later be recalled. 

Recalls the hate motive from the prologue but it now descends with a third note

figure of peace and reconciliation

Love motive

tony completes the hate motive in Maria and produces the love motive

also previews the music for tonight

gangs meet at community center

first meeting of Tony and Maria

opening music: big band jazz

"hate motive" prodominently featured in jazz music

the "promenade music" has the hate motive in the bass line

MAMBO cuban dance refers to the ethnicity of the Sharks

well synchronized: their common ground is on the dance floor

"dream sequence" in the midst of mambo

"cha cha melody" basis for the melody of Maria

disguised in the cha cha melody

first full expression of positive sentiment

Tony's excitement: rhythmic introduction on a single note

Maria melody completion of hate motive

she represents peace, reconciliation 

sng based on melody from Regina (Mark Blitzstein)

we understand the dynamics between characters now

counterpoint to the Jet song

defines and embodies the sharks

dance critical element of identity

song considers racism in America

rhythm utilizes 2 against three pattern of hemiola previously seen in Jet Song

the rhythms between the two are thus the same - there is no difference between the two groups. Both are immigrants, the jets are just one generation removed

the 1961 release of the movie had a great deal of relevance to contemporary issues of the time

emotional culmination

transferred to fire escape from R & J

traditional Broadway Love duet

previewed earlier in Tonight

Maria expresses her feelings in a balance to Tony's

They trade verses in the duet

each sing love motive

duet song ends in unity (traditional sense of unity of mind)

WSS Act I Finale

"One Hand One Heart"

"Tonight Quintet"

"The Rumble"

opera technique: bring all the characters on stage and recap their situations

sung in five parts

Sharks (Riff) - sharks and jets sing the same thing

Jets (Bernardo)

Tony - tony and Maria same thing

Maria

Anita

reprise of love and hate motives

balances opening prologue

book end that reprises nearly all of the music

same music used when Tony kills Bernardo as when Bernardo cuts Little John

dance narrates the action

rumble logical conclusion

pantomime delivers violence and shock value

marias response to Tony is surprising

most powerful duet in act II

almost traditional except it repeats the B concluding section 

A A1 B A B1

brief but great deal of importance to the dramaturgy

she sings it back to Tony - forgiveness

becomes the basis for reprises - had been foreshadowed in Tonight

melody becomes the basis for cool

anita's rebuke

harsh dissonant manner 

verse sung twice

"I love him"

Maria's transformation of Anita's A Boy Like That

similar to the transformation of the hate melody

shes transforming anitas sentiment

her love for Bernardo is flawed because Bernardo and Riff could never see beyond their hate

WSS Act II Finale

it cant end happily because it is still a tragedy

Maria does not die because does not succomb to violence

Tony must die for his sin

his is an act of self-consumption: suicide

finale succeeds through understatement

maria does not sing a farewell aria

orchestra plays Somewhere

and I Have love played for procession of the body

conclusion: HATE MOTIVE PLAYED

premiered in Washington DC

Broadway: Sept 1957

732 performances

national and european tours

nimonated for Tony Award 1957

WSS impact not considerable until film version 1961

11 academy award nominations

soundtrack outsold Oklahoma