The First Light of the Golden Age of the American Musical: O

klahoma!

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Oklahoma!

• Richard Rodgers (composer) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyricist): the most consistently fruitful and successful partnership

Carousel, South Pacific The King and I The Sound of Music

Other works:

• Written in 1943• The longest running

Broadway musical of its time, a record it held for fifteen years

• Over 30,000 productions worldwide in more than a dozen languages.

Story of Oklahoma!

• Curly & Laurey: A couple do not admit their love to each other• Jud Frey: intervene between Curly& La

urey • Will & Ado Annie & Ali Hakim• Aunt Eller: provide wisdom, respectab

le

Golden Age of the American Musical

• 1940s~1960s• Background: 1929 Stock Market

Crash, Great Depression, Entrance to WWII

• Get rid of the influence of traditional European operetta• Try to form their own American style musical: Show Boat

Show Boat" was the first musical to include show-within-a show numbers

Early Musical form

• Opening chorus :young and beautiful girls dress in well designed costume

Ziegfeld Follies

• Opening songs and dances: no special meaning and not relate to the story

0:33~1:35 2:16~3:25http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=

player_embedded&v=BjExqlkld3k#! 5:08~6:00http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=

player_embedded&v=FyGhmbfd7rY#! • Clear line between dance and drama• Songs and dances: lack of characteristics, emo

tion

Reform

• Oscar Hammerstein II : treat the subject frankly

• Innovation and challenge,

unlimited : more elements the directions

can use to tell story• Integration of song,

dance, character and plot

Song

• The songs must delving into characters and advancing the plot

• Oklahoma! : remove the opening chorus replaced by the solo of Curly “Oh What a Beautiful Morning”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNEUtN21cuU

• With the description of the golden dewdrop on the meadow and followed by a series of description of the scenes : lead audience in to the world on the stage

Dance

• The early dance was only the combination of a set of fix steps

• tell the audiences what can not told in lyrics and songs by body movement

• Advance the plot not only show the movements

• The ballet in Laurey’s dream: her marriage to Curly is interrupted by Jud knocking Curly unconscious and carrying her off

• Dream: the inner world of Laurey-DVD

• The ballet provides a dreamlike non-reality and the music accomplished through a seemingly irrational medley of various tunes from the show: “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” and other songs

• Reality and non-reality: predict at least one possible outcome

American: National Identity

• Distraction from the hard life: playful and hopeful songs

• The people in Oklahoma! overcome difficulties and adversities: confidence and strength to help rebuild a world ravaged by years of war

• “we know we belong to the land and the land we belong to is grand”: it conveys the concept of national identification

• “Oklahoma, ok”: “the State of O.K.” →”the state of okay” Bad thing will pass and everything will be fin

e• Oklahoma! 1:06http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

mrDVzbeDzRk

Thank you……