WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2011-2012       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
History of Musical Theater
THEA 208
Spring 2012
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: MUSC 276, ENGL 233

This course is a survey of American musicals produced in theater and film, roughly from the 1940s to the present. We use early revivals of Oscar Hammerstein II's SHOW BOAT and George Gershwin's 1935 production of PORGY AND BESS as the entry points of our analysis and end with Lin-Manuel Miranda's IN THE HEIGHTS. Using Broadway, Hollywood, the contemporary Chitlin Circuit, and regional theaters across the country as sites of investigation, we trace the development of American musicals as they traverse different racial, social, cultural, and aesthetic boundaries. In each case study, our analysis is supplemented by a review of historical production documents, theater criticism, and theoretical texts.

Essential Capabilities: Intercultural Literacy, Interpretation
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA THEA
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (AMST)(MUSC)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on MAR-29-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459