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dc.contributor.advisorLaird, Paul R
dc.contributor.authorSallinger, Elizabeth Janelle
dc.date.accessioned2017-11-17T21:46:00Z
dc.date.available2017-11-17T21:46:00Z
dc.date.issued2016-12-31
dc.date.submitted2016
dc.identifier.otherhttp://dissertations.umi.com/ku:15087
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/25421
dc.description.abstractIn 1968, the sound of the Broadway pit was forever changed with the rock ensemble that accompanied Hair. The musical backdrop for the show was appropriate for the countercultural subject matter, taking into account the popular genres of the time that were connected with such figures, and marrying them to other musical styles to help support the individual characters. Though popular styles had long been part of Broadway scores, it took more than a decade for rock to become a major influence in the commercial theater. The associations an audience had with rock music outside of a theater affected perception of the plot and characters in new ways and allowed for shows to be marketed toward younger demographics, expanding the audience base. Other shows contemporary to Hair began to include rock music and approaches as well; composers and orchestrators incorporated instruments such as electric guitar, bass, and synthesizer, amplification in the pit, and backup singers as components of their scores. Some shows were first released as concept albums, allowing the audience to learn the music before the show was staged; others supplied hit songs for the charts, recorded by known popular artists. In the decades since Hair premiered, nearly all new musicals have had rock instruments and styles included in their scores in some capacity, and rock often plays a major role in the storytelling. As orchestration is a seldom-researched topic in musical studies, and one without a specific path of inquiry, this turning point in the soundscape of the theater and its effects requires attention. How an arranger approaches orchestrating a musical is ripe with possibilities for a discussion of the impact their decisions have on audiences, particularly in relation to how characters in a given show are perceived. This dissertation surveys a selection of shows from 1968-1975 whose orchestrators employed rock instrumentation, either as the entirety of the pit or alongside more traditionally orchestral instruments, and how their approaches affect characterization. These shows, which include Hair, Promises, Promises (1968), Company (1970), Jesus Christ Superstar (1971), Grease (1972), Pippin (1972), A Chorus Line (1975) and The Wiz (1975), demonstrate the work of an array of composers and orchestrators and were derived from different subject matter and source material. Taking into account the backgrounds of the creative teams with particular attention to the orchestrators, the plots of the shows, and the figures presented in each musical, the chapters that follow each provide a discussion of musical numbers. Special attention will be paid to how the orchestration serves to support reception of the characters, as well the legacies of the orchestrators’ work and techniques found in these shows. These studies reveal the inclusion of rock on Broadway to be a moment of fundamental change to many aspects of the genre and to the ways in which composers and orchestrators describe characters and dramatic situations, new ideas that continue to influence the musical theater to the present day.
dc.format.extent295 pages
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Kansas
dc.rightsCopyright held by the author.
dc.subjectMusic
dc.subjectTheater history
dc.subjectBroadway
dc.subjectcharacter studies
dc.subjectmusical theater
dc.subjectorchestration
dc.subjectorchestrator
dc.subjectrock music
dc.titleBroadway Starts to Rock: Musical Theater Orchestrations and Character, 1968-1975
dc.typeDissertation
dc.contributor.cmtememberSchwartz, Roberta
dc.contributor.cmtememberHaaheim, Bryan
dc.contributor.cmtememberRoust, Colin
dc.contributor.cmtememberBennett, Leslie
dc.thesis.degreeDisciplineMusic
dc.thesis.degreeLevelPh.D.
dc.identifier.orcid
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccess


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