CLARTTH005 - The Beginning of Broadway: 1900–1930
In the early 20th century, American musical theater developed from European imports of operetta and Gilbert and Sullivan into our own American style with the wonderful songs of Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. This lecture series explores Broadway’s early days, with a look at its antecedents and the contributions of Jewish, African American and Irish cultures in forming a distinctly American art form. We examine the role of vaudeville and minstrel shows, including their troubling history of blackface. We also explore the development of tap and ballroom dancing, the influence of Tin Pan Alley and jazz on composers of the period, and stars of the 1920s and 1930s including George M. Cohan, Al Jolson, Fanny Brice and Ethel Merman. Through lectures, photos, videos and audio, we learn about stylistic changes from the lush operettas of Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern and Sigmund Romberg to the sophisticated wit of Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart.
You may also be interested in Debra Dickinson’s pre-recorded/on-demand course, Broadway Pulitzer Prize Winners.
Course Details
Debra Dickinson, M.A., is an artist-teacher of opera studies for acting and movement at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. She was a professional singer and actress in New York for 15 years before starting her career as a director. She performed with Richard Burton on Broadway in “Camelot” and as Guenevere opposite Richard Harris in the subsequent national tour. Ms. Dickinson has taught master classes for Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ebony Opera, served as the acting instructor for Glimmerglass Festival, Brevard Opera and Chautauqua Opera, and was the recipient of the Marcus Bailey and Betty Graves Shelfer Eminent Scholar Chair in Music Theatre at Florida State University. Ms. Dickinson holds a graduate degree from Hunter College in New York City.
Online: Synchronous
This course will be delivered in a synchronous format online. Registered participants will receive login instructions to the course page, which will provide access to the virtual classroom link and other resources.