Choi+-+Musical+Theatre

 ** Musical theatre **  is a very broad artistic performance genre - a play that combines music and dance to form a plot. The productions include comical or dramatic themes and music is often used to illustrate the inner thoughts and inspirations of the different characters. Usually, there are dialogues along with songs with lyrics that tell a story. Musical is a living art form has developed over the last few centuries.

Musical was first developed in the United States in the 19th century. The first musical comedy was a combination of burlesque ("a dramatic work that seeks to ridicule by means of grotesque exaggeration or comic imitation") comedy from the 19th century United States and operetta from Europe.

Before the development of stage technology, music was the only means of expressing the characteristics or thoughts of the characters on stage. When, for example, the character was sad, he/she would sing an emotional ballad to show his sadness. Although the modern musical theatre productions use developed stage technology to produce spectacular performances, music and the overall dramatic plot are the two most important factors in a musical.

Some musical songs become very popular and receive much of audiences’ attention. Even in one musical, very **different** instrumentations are used to illustrate the **different** atmospheres of the **different** scenes. For example, some may be very happy while the other is very sad, and some may be very heavy and loud while the other is light and quiet. These different features of the music in a musical is what makes each musical so unique and interesting.

Let’s explore the different music styles from the musical //Wicked!// ** Wicked **  First opened in the fall of 2003, the musical Wicked is currently running on Broadway and other productions around the world. It reached its 1900th performance on Broadway in 2008, and this mere number shows the popularity of this spectacular musical. Music from the Wicked is composed by composer Stephen Schwartz. The orchestra in the musical is conducted by the orchestrator extraordinaire William David Brohn. The orchestra consists of 23 musicians. The instruments were chosen according to the atmosphere of the scenes in the show because different parts of the musical have to be played in different ways. Let's look at the two popular songs "Popular", "I'm Not That Girl", and "Defying Gravity".  **//__ Popular __//** This song is about how Glinda is willing to do a make-over for Elphaba to make Elpheba popular. It is a very "chick-like" music with very light instruments. Rather than loud and heavy instruments, light bells and string instruments are used to illustrate the "flirty" atmosphere shown in this scene. The string quartet, percussions, and keyboard are the main instrumentation of this music. Listen from 1:02 to 1:40. media type="youtube" key="y_uM8bUnlGQ" width="352" height="291"
 * 3 keyboards (one electronic acoustic piano & two synthesizers)
 * 1 Percussion
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">1 Drums
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">2 Harps (acoustic & electric)
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">2 Bass (acoustic & electric)
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">1 Guitar
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">2 Trumpets
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">2 Trombones
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">2 French horns
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">1 String quartet
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">4 Woodwind players

//**__I'm Not That Girl__**// <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">This song is very different from the song above. The base of this music is in the rhythm section which is mostly played by the guitar. It is a very melancholy song (as you can see by listening to the lyrics as well as the overall music) because the song is about why Elphaba thinks she is unable to have the boy she loves. This sad mood is illustrated through muted strings and harp as well as sampled dulcimer, acoustic guiter, and bass. Interestingly, bass slides on the string to make it sound like sighing. Let's listen to a short clip to hear these effects. Listen to 0:58 to 1:16. media type="youtube" key="NaT7DaqPbxs" width="340" height="273" <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px;">**//__<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px;"> Defying Gravity __//** <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">This song illustrates the self-realization that Elphaba goes through about her own dream. She decides to take a stand and to follow her moral belief even though it means casting herself out from society due to social rejection. The song uses a transition from quiet keyboards to loud percussion in order to illustrate Elphaba's definite and significant decision to follow what her heart is telling her to do. The instruments which are quiet and soft as well as slow at first become louder and speed up the tempo. The quite and soft sound illustrate at first warms the audiences' heart and allows the audiences to feel happy for the important realization. Then the repeated notes played on the keyboards makes the audiences excited and wonder about what will come next and the grand entrance of the drums illustrate the definite decision that Elphaba has made and is unwilling to change despite others' criticisms. Listen to 1:47 to 2:27 media type="youtube" key="FlMBcTGJ4YM" width="356" height="280"

**Conclusion** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15px;">Music is one of the most important factors in a musical and instrumentation is a very significant stylistic feature in muscial songs. Different instruments can be used to illustrate different themes, atmosphere and characteristics. As it can be seen fromthe specific example of the musical //Wicked//, music in different scenes of a musical differ very much from one another. For example, the song //Popular// uses light instruments such as light bells, string instruments and keyboards to represent a very "chick-like" and "flirty" atmosphere while the song //Defying Gravity// uses many instruments in the orchestra to make a bigger sound as well as to illustrate the significant decision Elphaba makes for herself. Although the audiences do not always pay attention to the different instruments used for every scenes in a play, they get more absorbed into the musical when the different instrumentations of a music suits beautifully with a scene, fitting perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle.

**Reference** “Biography: The Pieces of My Past.” Stephen Schwartz. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. “Burlesque.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010. 27 Apr. 2010. Ross Stuart and Evan Ware. “Musical Theatre.” //The Canadian Encyclopedia.// 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2010.

“Defying Gravity.” YouTube. 2010. 29 Apr. 2010.

De Giere, Carol. “Wicked Synopsis.” Wicked the Musical in London. 2010. 28 Apr. 2010.

De Giere, Carol. “Wicked The Musical.” //MusicalSchwartz.com//. 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2010.

“I’m Not That Girl.” YouTube. 2010. 29 Apr. 2010.

Kenrick, John. “What Is A Musical?” //Musicals101.com.// 2003. Web. 15 Apr. 2010.

“Musical.” //Dusan Encyclopedia// // EnCyber & EnCyber.com //. 2010. Web. 26 Apr. 2010. “Musical Theatre.” Picture. Richard Roebuck. 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2010.

Pollick, Michael. “What Is Musical Theatre?” //WiseGeek//. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. “Popular.” YouTube. 2010. 29 Apr. 2010.

“Popular (from Wicked).” Hal Leonard Corporation. 2010. Web. 27 Apr. 2010. “Wicked Poster.” The Broadway Store. Web. 29 Apr. 2010.