Musical Theatre Research

 

(No photographer credited. (1928). Florenz Ziegfeld. [Photograph]. No city stated: Time Magazine.)

 Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (1867 - 1932)

• American Broadway Impresario 

• Created one of the earliest forms of the musical with his show called "The Ziegfeld Follies" 

• Ziegfeld Follies incorporated all aspects of the performing arts (acting, singing and dance)

• They were very artistic and stylised using lots of talent and design to create spectacular settings with lots of colour and light

• Many of the acts within the Ziegfeld Follies were novelty acts and comedic sketches

• These acts often included show girls who were all very attractive, they learned a specific walk that allowed them to wear incredibly elaborate hats and headdresses

• Ziegfeld was often interested in glorifying the American girl and learned from very early on that sex appeal often sells however, one of his earliest acts was a strong man called Eugen Sandow 

• Ziegfeld's target audience was mainly ethnic minorities 

• He often matched the colour pallet with the music

• He moved to the modern theatre district in 1904 

• With the introduction of the subway, Broadway became more accessible to a wider audience which would launch Ziegfeld to a new height of popularity. 

(No photographer credited. (1909). George M. Cohan. [Photograph]. No city stated: IMDB.)

George M. Cohen (1878 - 1942)

• Cohen was on stage from a very early age 

• He specialised in song and dance 

• Cohan trained in Vaudeville a theatrical style of variety performances, this was often seen as a training ground for Broadway musicals for actors of the 20th century

• Vaudeville was cheaper than many other types of entertainment and involved a number of various acts

• Cohen never attended school and instead was a part of his family's performing act

•  During his career, Cohen wrote over 50 musicals, songs and plays. Some of his most famous works include "Give My Regards To Broadway" and "Going Up". 

• Cohen would make his Broadway debut in 1904 with Little Johnny Jones 

• He is known for imbuing Broadway with energy and style

(Samuel Lumiere. (1921). Egbert Austin Williams, 1874-1922. [Photograph]. Washington, D.C.: Library Of Congress.)

Bert Williams (1874 - 1922) 

• Williams was one of the first black comedians working in shows

• His career began in minstrel shows where he would perform black face or "Jack Crow" routines, in which he would perform comedic acts that often stereotyped black people

• Williams would become the first black man to take a lead role in a Broadway show 

• He was also hired by Florenz Ziegfeld

(No Photographer credited. (No year given). Irving Berlin. [Photograph]. No city given: Encyclopædia Britannica.)

Irving Berlin (1888 - 1989)

• American song writer 

• Worked in Tin Pan Alley this was a collection of music producers and songwriters that were incredibly famous throughout the early 20th century 

• Berlin would sell a variety of songs to Ziegfeld for his Follies 

• Some of Berlin's most famous works would be his Ragtime songs, these were seen as very scandalous and rebellious for musicians and the music industry at the time

• Although being a composer to many different Broadway shows of early 20th century, Berlin couldn't read sheet music and had to use a transposing keyboard to write most of his music as he could only place in the key of F-Sharp 

(No photographer credited. (1910s). Fanny Brice Ziegfeld Follies Photo. [Photograph]. No location given: Wikipedia.)

Fanny Brice (1891 - 1951)

• American Comedienne 

• Signed by Florenz Ziegfeld in 1910

• Brice was known for her fake Yiddish accent 

• She was known for her work as a comic, mimic, singer and dancer 

• She was also considered an incredibly versatile performer with a wide skill set for many different types of performances

• One of the few Jewish women in the theatre in the early 20th century 

(Oscar Hammerstein II. (1927). "Florenz Ziegfeld Presents Showboat". New York: T.B. Harms Company.)

Showboat (1927)

• Considered to be a very ground breaking show in the world of theatre 

• Based off of the novel of the same name written by Edna Ferber 

• The songs from the show were written by Oscar Hammerstein II an incredibly successful lyricist from the period 

• Ziegfeld was very apprehensive about the show as it was very Solemn and was a massive departure to his traditional up-beat and lighthearted Follies  

• However the show was a massive success due to its more solemn realism mixed with American theatre 

• The show tackled themes such as racial prejudice and enduring love, these were very rare for theatrical shows of the period 

• As a result of the show airing in the 1920's during the prohibition era, it resulted in classes mingling which would work to break the class divide 

(No photographer credited. (1930). Marilyn Miller. [Photograph]. No location given: IMDB.)

Marilyn Miller (1889 - 1936)

• American dancer 

• Miller specialised in tap dancing however she was also a singer and actress

• Her break out role was in the film "Sally" from 1929, it captured the wilful optimism of the age 

• Much of her work used Jazz dancing 

• Miller suffered from nasal infections for most of her life it is believed that she died from a toxic condition after a surgery on her nasal passages that cut her life short at the age of 37

(No photographer credited. (1932). Al Jolson, c. 1932.. [Photograph]. No location given: IMDB.)

Al Jolson (1886 - 1950)

• Lithuanian - American singer, comedian and actor 

• Jolson was the highest paid and most popular star of the Prohibition (1920s)

• Al began his career in minstrel shows, with his blackface act being a signature part of his performances

• Jolson was also notoriously difficult to work with and considered himself the world's greatest entertainer 

• He also starred in the world's first "Talkie" a film that had dialogue called "The Jazz Singer"

• Audiences often considered many of his performances as incredibly emotional and moving 

(No photographer credited. (1973). Eubie Blake, circa 1973. [Photograph]. No location given: Scalar.usc.edu.)

Eubie Blake (1887 - 1983)

• American Lyricist and Composer 

• Blake was a member of The Dixie Duo along with Noble Sissle 

• The Dixie Duo would be best known for their work on "Shuffle Along" the first successful musical written by a black person along with Miller and Lyles another famous duo of the period

• Blake influenced many different artists throughout his career up to his death in 1983 

(No photographer credited. (1934). George White. [Photograph]. No location given: IMDB.)

George White (1892 - 1968) 

• American actor, writer and producer

• He started his career in a Burlesque dance team but became a solo act later 

• White performed in Ziegfeld's Follies for a short time before splitting away to make an annual revue (A performance that featured various stars and songs of the period) called "George White's Scandals" these would run from 1910 to 1939

• Two of these scandals would be filmed during the mid thirties 

(No photographer credited. (1935). George Gershwin. [Photograph]. No location given: Encyclopædia Britannica.)

George Gershwin (1891 - 1937)

• American Composer 

• Gershwin was said to have wanted to create artistic unity 

• He was known for allowing people to come and test out songs down in Tin Pan Alley in his apartment

• Some of his most famous songs are "Swanee" written in 1919 and "Rhapsody In Blue" written in early 1924

• Gershwin's song "Swanee" would go on to be sung by Al Jolson

• Created the idea of a Folk Opera with the play "Porgy And Bess" in which Gershwin wrote his own spirituals and featured a full black cast to play the roles of black people

(No photographer credited. (1961). The Pleasure Of His Company. [Photograph]. Hollywood, Los Angeles: Paramount.)

Fred Astaire (1899 - 1987) 

• American dancer, singer, actor and choreographer 

• Fred along with his sister Adele were often described as having a fascinating rhythm 

• Astaire is said to have truly captured the feel of New York in the Jazz age with his up beat and energetic performances 

• The majority of his performances had a jazz rhythm to them 

• Over his career Astaire made over a dozen films and starred in countless Broadway performances

(No photographer Credited. (1961). Walter Winchell. [Photograph]. New York, United States: ABC Studios.)

Walter Winchell (1897 - 1972)

• American Columnist

• Winchell celebrated Broadway and made it a major destination for the public

• He's believed to have coined the phrase "The Big Apple" when describing New York

• He was originally a Vaudeville performer before beginning his career working for the newspaper as a Broadway reporter and critic

• He was known for using a lot of New York "Jazz Age" slang in his column

(No author credited. (1927). Chanin's Forty-Sixth Street Theatre. New York Magazine Program. 3 October 1927, p.1.)

Good News (1927)

• Written by Buddy De Sylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson

• First performed in the September of 1927 and would be the biggest musical of the year 

• Many of the songs were written about positive topics, mainly on good times as a young person in 1920's America 

• The songs were very idyllic, optimistic and dreamy 

(Ullstein Bild. (1929). Stock Market Crash: 1929. [Photograph]. Seattle, Washington: Getty Images).

Wall Street Crash (1929)

• The crash in 1929 began Broadway's decline 

• Florenz Ziegfeld lost more than 3 million dollars in the first few days

• "The Broadway Melody" was the first ever film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards 

• Many of Broadway's biggest stars began to transition into the film industry where they began to star in more Talkies than shows on Broadway

• However, Broadway was still considered the king of creative freedom amongst the creative arts world

(No photographer credited. (1931). Men waiting in line for free soup, coffee, and doughnuts. [Photograph]. Washington D.C.: National Archive.)

Depression Era (1930s)

• Shows began being much more focused on Social Commentary than dreamy and idyllic stories 

• "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" written by Jay Gorney became the song of the depression and spoke to the hearts of everyone in the depression, it was first recorded in 1932 and sung by Bing Crosby 

• Many music companies of the period only wanted love and escape songs, things that people of the period really weren't interested in 

• Broadway was the only medium that tackled the real issues that the people of America were troubled with at the time

(No photographer credited. (1936). Ethel Merman in Anything Goes (1936). [Photograph]. No location given: IMDB.)

Ethel Merman (1908 - 1984)

• American actress and singer 

• Was seen as an emblem of Broadway

• Known for her skill in holding incredibly long notes during vocal performances 

• Merman was cast in the 1930 musical "Girl Crazy" which was written by George and Ira Gershwin

(George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, Ira Gershwin. (1921). Of Thee I Sing. New York City, United States Of America: Alfred A. Knope.)

Of Thee I Sing (1931)

•  First musical to ever win a Pulitzer Prize

• The show was about the satire of politics, a stark contrast to most shows of the time

(No Photographer Credited. (1943). Ethel Waters. [Photograph]. Beverly Hills, California: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.)

Ethel Waters (1896 - 1977)

• American singer and actress

• Big star on black circuits 

• Waters wouldn't perform any roles that were demeaning towards minorities

• Ethel would teach primarily white audiences about the lynchings of black people in the south through songs like "Supper Time" and the struggles that black people of the time faced 

(No photographer credited. (1930). Cole Porter. [Photograph]. No location given: Encyclopædia Britannica.)

Cole Porter (1891 - 1964)

• American Composer 

• Originally, Porter wanted to be a Broadway writer 

• He offered audiences an escape from the gloomy depression with lighthearted comedies 

• Cole composed the songs the incredibly successful 1934 play "Anything Goes" and became a staple among American Broadway and highlighted Porter's talent for producing incredibly cheerful music 

• "Anything Goes" is often considered as very symbolic of the Roosevelt Recovery, the period in which America was coming out of the depression under the presidential leadership of Theodore Roosevelt