To see a Broadway musical is to experience how a drama, using melody, harmony and rhythm, evokes the emotion needed to perpetuate a storyline. Without music, many of these plays would not succeed, failing to convey the intended message. This new edition of Swain's text reveals how a music drama achieves plot movement, character development and conflict through strategic placement of song and music in twenty musical plays. Unlike critical literature that has simply explored theatrical style and production histories, this ...
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To see a Broadway musical is to experience how a drama, using melody, harmony and rhythm, evokes the emotion needed to perpetuate a storyline. Without music, many of these plays would not succeed, failing to convey the intended message. This new edition of Swain's text reveals how a music drama achieves plot movement, character development and conflict through strategic placement of song and music in twenty musical plays. Unlike critical literature that has simply explored theatrical style and production histories, this survey focuses mainly on the power of music. Illustrated with more than 150 musical excerpts and essays, Swain includes the latest research and viewpoints of contemporary critics, offering insight into dramatic expression and hoe renowned composers including Jerome Kern, Georg Gershwin, Jerry Bock, Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber influenced the Broadway musical.
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