“Because My Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock,” Sherman Alexie, the author, depicts a very rare, but normal image of a Native American family. Victor, the narrator, father beat a National Guard solider during an anti-Vietnam war rally. The incident was documented, seeing that his father a Native American. In result of this incident, Victor’s father was imprisoned for two years. After being released from being imprisoned, the first thing his father did was go back to Woodstock, where he says he was he was the only Indian to see Jimi Hendrix’s famous performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner”.
The musical begins with an animated Disney-like illustration performed by the actors communicating some history on the religion of The Book of Mormon. Before attacking the entire summary and analysis of the musical, it would be a good time to make note that the creator for the production had intended for this musical to be a spectacle. Besides the point of addressing a religion in a humorous matter, they wanted the musical to have elements that are traditionally associated with Disney musicals and other blockbuster plays such as Wicked. Thus elaborate scenery, creative choreography and show-stopping musical numbers form a big part of the production. At the very top of the musical the audience is introduced to some history and ideas of the religion by characters that are dressed in animated clothing that is lit like mechanical characters at Disney world.
Urinetown is the fall musical that our school magnificently performed. It centers about this town in which people have to pay to pee and a love story about two young adults trying to change the way of the town. The musical premiered in 2001 with the music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. What interested me was that the musical mocks capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism,and the whole idea of going against the corrupt government. Also, the concept of going to the bathroom is not free is unique to me.
The dialogue and lyrics are straightforward and full of ironic elements, which bring a lot of fun to enjoy. The transition from lines into a song is pretty smooth. For example, when Shrek is “hurt” by what Fiona says and his anger reaches a climax, he naturally starts to sing to express his emotion. In addition, the music, which embraces several styles such as pop, rock and jazz, also add dynamics into the show. So in sum, the writing of the show is appealing.
The fact that people could actually sing like that and all of the different special effects and scene changes were happening right in front of my eyes got me hooked. I am sure that is a similar story to many other peoples. Andrew Lloyd Webber changed the way the general public responded to live theatre. He had the world hooked on the beautiful melodies as well as the intriguing story lines. I think he is the reason many people began theatre in the first place.
The song “Yankee Doodle Dandy” was utilized by the British in a satiric manner during the Revolutionary War, declaring the colonial troops as “country bumpkins” unfit for battle. Over the course of the war, the composition of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” adapted over one hundred and ninety versions varying in insults from the British criticizing the Americans and vice versa. Oftentimes during the battle, the British played the tune, mocking the rebels. Nearing the end of the war, this song obtained the title as the New Republic’s national anthem; despite the original objective of the piece. “Yankee Doodle Dandy” shares a similar tune to that of “Lucy Locket”, and the rendition performed throughout the duration of the Revolutionary War is believed
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is a joyful, holiday, thrilling production created in order to help people not only get in the Christmas spirit, but to realize what makes Christmas special is who you spend it with. The musical opens up with an army scene on Christmas Eve. All of the soldiers are attempting to get in the holiday spirit, but especially Bob Wallace and Phil Davis. These guys are the life of the party. They performed for all of the other soldiers by singing different holiday songs as they wore their Santa hats, and bells around their neck.
Shrek the Musical is a Broadway musical comedy that is created by DreamWorks Theatricals in 2008. It is adapted from Shrek, a 2001 DreamWorks Animation movie, as well as a 1990 children’s literature Shrek! written by William Steig. The original musical is directed by Jason Moore with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori. After watching the recording version of Shrek the Musical, I consider that it is a successful production if the purpose of this musical is to amuse audiences and bring them an enduring audio-visual feast.
Theme: Friendship Song: “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” – Randy Newman “You've got a friend in me. You got troubles then I got them too. We stick together, we can see it through cause you've got a friend in me.” Justification: This song relates to the relationship George and Lennie had because even though Lennie was always getting in trouble, George was beside him no matter what. Also, when they got to the ranch, Slim said to them that is not common to see such good friends like George and Lennie, who travel together and look out for each other.
A Father’s Affection “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Those Winter Sundays” describe a character who reflects on their childhood. Although they based on the same theme, the two poems have very different perspectives. “Those Winter Sundays” talks about how the son regrets for not showing his love for his father, when all his actions went unnoticed. “My Papa’s Waltz” reflects on a son 's memory with is father where his danced around the house after the father long day at work. Both poems reflect on how their fathers showed his love for his son, the time spent with their fathers, a maternal conflict, and their relationship with their father.
Every time a character would break out in song dance, it always correlated with the feelings they had. The famous scene of Lockwood singing in the rain portrayed the actual happiness that the character was feeling in that moment. As an audience member, the scene did not feel strange because the average individual knows what it’s like to be so happy, you feel like singing and dancing. The MGM musicals produced by Arthur Freed specifically combined surrealistically imaginative musical numbers, enjoyable scores, a pleasing use of color, and funny, spoofing plots that often still related to the
It is officially credited with bridging the gap between musical theatre and pop culture. Rent is a contemporary musical revolving around a group of poor, struggling, young artists, or “Bohemians.” It is set in East Side New York City in the height of the 1990s HIV/AIDS epidemic. Despite obstacles of sickness, financial difficulties, and death, the characters locate the ability to remain optimistic and positive. Rent has proceeded to become extremely successful and iconic in modern day musical theatre.
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz based on a book by Winnie Holzman. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz. Wicked celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway on 30 October 2013. It is the 9th longest-Broadway show, surpassing Beauty and the Beast. A typical performance runs for approximately two hours and thirty minutes.
The five song playlist that I chose is Fireworks, Set fire to the rain, The way, Love the way you lie and Firestones. All of these songs relates to the novel in different ways. The song Fireworks by katy Perry relates to the novel Fahrenheit 451 because in this song it is saying if you ever feel Like a plastic bag drifting through the wind wanting to start again. Guy Montag had committed mistakes that he might regretted.
In The Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein created fourteen pieces tailored to the various scenes: The Hills Are Alive - The Sound of Music, Overture, Morning Hymn, Maria, I Have Confidence, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, My Favorite Things, The Lonely Goatherd, Do-Re-Mi, Something Good, Processional, Edelweiss, So Long Farwell, and Climb Every Mountain. While I won’t deal with each of these individually, as it could take years to properly analyze each piece of music in the movie, my point of focus will be directed towards the opening piece, “The Hills Are Alive – The Sound of Music”. The movie’s opening visual, which happens to be one of the most iconic scenes, sets a positive and carefree mood showing Maria Von Trapp (Julie Andrews) innocently dancing on top of a majestic mountaintop with breathtaking views behind her, and the sun glowing on her face. The song, which happens to be named after the film, compliments this image well, as it too, sounds innocent, positive and playful. The piece has a high pitch and a strong melody, setting an upbeat and positive mood, creating excitement and intrigue to continue watching.
