The Classroom
Course Description:
How has the American Musical Theatre influenced social movements over the last hundred years? How has Broadway created or supported political statements/movements? What is the future of Broadway and how will it survive? This course will be a deep dive into the historical significance of shows, such as Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Chicago, Cabaret, RENT, The Scottsboro Boys, Hamilton, and Jagged Little Pill, that were on the forefront of change that included conversations about race, mixed marriages, gender, sexuality, AIDS crisis, slavery, addiction, and immigrants. This course will give students an overview of musical theatre history but it will also connect to how musical theatre has influenced history for over a hundred years. There will be readings, discussions, individual and group projects, and performances.
Course Competencies:
To draw connections between historical social and political movements and musicals on Broadway
To understand the broader social impact of these specific musicals: Oklahoma!, South Pacific, West Side Story, Hello Dolly, RENT, Hamilton,
To understand how and why diversity (race/gender/sexuality/ability, etc..) and inclusion (behaviors and social norms that ensure people feel welcome) have been processed/challenged in American theatre
To look at a musical and its historical background from a different perspective, and create a focused website curriculum to support the research
Unit 1
How Queers, Jews, Immigrants and Blacks set the stage for the American Musical Theatre
How/Why did the Queers, Jews, Immigrants and Blacks begin musical theatre?
How did their influence shape what the American Musical Theatre is today?
How do you make musicals relevant to today in 2020?
Unit 2 - Oklahoma!
The Original vs. Revival
How did Oklahoma! change musical theatre history?
How did the most recent revival become relevant to 2019?
How does changing characters ability/sexuality/gender/race change the storyline?
Does this representation matter?
Unit 3 - South Pacific: The Politics of Race Before The Civil Rights
How did South Pacific become a Broadway musical?
How did South Pacific push a conversation about race on the national level?
What themes in South Pacific still resonate in 2020, and how do you continue to elevate those themes?
Unit 4 - Tony-Award winning Black Musicals, Revues & Revivals of the 1970s
How did the black musical emerge in the 1970s?
What are the stories of black musicals, black musical revues and black musical revivals of the 1970s?
Was the “Golden Age of Musical Theatre” really over starting in the 1970s or is this a reality of black excellence being erased?
Unit 5: RENT: A New Diversity on Broadway – LGBTQ, HIV/AIDS, POC’s
Essential Questions:
How did Queer Musicals come about?
How did RENT break down barriers for LGBTQia+ characters?
What was the representation like in RENT for People of Color and LGBTQia+?
How has Broadway created awareness around HIV/AIDS?
Content Knowledge:
Unit 6 -West Side Story (revival) & Hamilton: Seeing People of Color Represented on Stage
Essential Questions:
How were Latinos represented in the original production of West Side Story?
How did Hamilton break down the barriers for People of Color in casting and representation?
How did the revival of West Side Story (2020) cast their show? And how did it become more inclusive?
Why is it important to see correct representation on the stage in diverse stories?
Content Knowledge:
West Side Story - History
Hamilton - History
