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Musical Theater History Essay

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Musical Theater History Essay
“ The Click”
Musical Theater Research: Ancient History
Musicals have had many different names throughout time: comic operas, operettas, opera bouffe, burlesque, burletta, extravaganza, musical comedy, etc. Musical Theater is a form of performance that combines songs, dancing and spoken word to tell a story.
Musical theater has grown and developed from simple songs used for entertainment on the streets. However, the real purpose of a musicals is to aim or transport the audience into a different world and to help people escape the reality of the world and take a break.
The term musical theater originated from the ancient Greeks. A lot of the ancient Greeks songs were fun and up beat. The ancient Greeks have included music and dance in …show more content…
It took a while for James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nick Dante to create a book about an audition for a musical, incorporating many of the real-life stories of those who had sat in on the sessions with the Gypsies. With music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, A Chorus Line first opened at
Joseph Papp 's Public Theater in lower Manhattan. Becoming popular by spreading the word they knew this would be something extraordinary! After Chorus Line was performed for the very first time it boosted box office sales, and it mad critics run out of superlatives to describe what they witnessed on opening night, which was done on purpose. Eventually The large group had to be moved to the Shubert Theater uptown for a run that seemed to last forever. The show swept the Tony Awards and won the Pulitzer Prize, and its hit song, What I
Did for Love, became an instant standard and obsession for many.

To conclude, Musical Theater is full of surprising things you wouldn 't even think of. Although there are many more stages of Musical Theater I can still come to comprehend that from what I have researched and read the best musicals have three essential qualities: Brains- intelligence and style, Courage- genuine and
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