Hamilton: Musical Theater, Public History’s New Frontier?

Hamilton is one of Broadway’s newest musicals and it’s the hottest thing to hit the stage in a long time. The show, a rap-opera, follows the life of Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s ‘forgotten Founding Father.’ The show has had immense success since it opened in August 2015, with thousands of followers on the show’s Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube pages. It has exploded from the stage into a cultural phenomenon, but what makes the story of this Founding Father so compelling for audiences? Previous productions of historical musicals and plays have failed on the stage, while Hamilton thrives. What is its secret? [excerpt

Die Fledermaus

This is the concert program of the Boston University Opera Institute and Boston University Chamber Orchestra performance of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss, running Thursday, April 18 to Saturday, April 2, 2002 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 21, 2002 at 3:00 p.m., at the Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Avenue. Digitization for Boston University Concert Programs was supported by the Boston University Humanities Library Endowed Fund

Racial Representation and Miss Saigon: A Zero Sum Game?

People have been protesting and supporting the musical Miss Saigon since its premiere in 1989. The musical tale of a white American GI falling in love with a Vietnamese bargirl during the Vietnam War is praised for its diverse cast and showing the Vietnamese side of the war. Miss Saigon is also criticized for its stereotypical depiction of Asian women as prostitutes and Asian men as cold and treacherous. Both sides are passionate, and there is no clear consensus or majority opinion. What, then, is the value of Miss Saigon? Should it be banned or still performed? I analyze the different positions of the protesters, and compare their opinions to Miss Saigon supporters. The debate reaches beyond Miss Saigon to comment on what quality representation in media means and whether quality representation for one group is outweighed by controversial representation of another. Ultimately, I decide that the show is still worth performing if the actors and production team are willing to contend with the issues of race and representation raised by the protesters

Bat Boy Playbill

Providence College Department of Theatre, Dance & Film Angell Blackfriars Theatre Smith Center for the Arts Bat Boy THE MUSICAL Directed by Jimmy Calitri Musical Direction by Lila Kane Music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe Story and book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming Scenic Design Trevor Elliot Costume Design Maxine Wheelock Lighting Design Steven McLellan Sound Design Gabriel Luxton & Stuart Holland Choreographer Jennifer Hopkins Fight Choreographer Jim Beauregard Hair, Make-up, Prosthetics and Wigs Michael Dates Voice and Dialect Coach Megan Changhttps://digitalcommons.providence.edu/bat_boy_pubs/1000/thumbnail.jp

Into The Woods Playbill

Providence College Department of Theatre, Dance & Film Into the WoodsMusic and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by James Lapine April 7-9 & 21-23, 2017 Angell Blackfriars Theatre, Smith Center for the ArtsDirected by Jimmy Calitri Music Director: Lila Kane Lighting Design: Amy Parise Choreographer: Katrina Z Pavao Wig & Make-Up Design: Michael Dates Scenic Design: Trevor Elliott Vocal and Dialect Coach: Megan Chang Costume Design: David Costa-Cabral Assistant Director:Gaby DeParis The Cast Narrator: Jonathan Coppe Cinderella: Jennifer Dorn Cinderella’s Prince: Daniel Carroll Jack: Bryan Sabbag Jack’s Mom: Catherine Capolongo Baker: Teddy Kiritsy Baker’s Wife: Courteney Olenzak Cinderella’s Stepmother: Brittany Price Florinda: Aisling Sheahan Lucinda: Emily Clark Little Red Ridinghood: Elizabeth Jancsy Witch: Joey Macari Mysterious Man: Thomas Edwards Wolf 1: Michael Izzo Cinderella’s Father/Wolf 2: William Oser Cinderella’s Mother/Granny/Giant: Deirdre Lahiff Rapunzel: Gabriella Sanchez Rapunzel’s Prince: Steven Sawan Steward: Anne Rodriguez Milky White: Diane LaMattina Dancing Spirit of Cinderella’s Mother: Amanda Piechota Sleeping Beauty/Ensemble: Emily Smith Snow White/Ensemble: Caprial Harris Jasmine/Ensemble: Edy Macera Aladdin: Daniel Munoz Cinderella’s Understudy: Aisling Sheahan Baker/Princes’ Understudy: Thomas Edwards Jack’s Understudy: William Oser Rapunzel’s Understudy: Deidre Lahiff Baker’s Wife’s Understudy: Anne Rodriguez Little Red’s Understudy: Caprial Harris Witch/Florinda’s Understudy: Edy Macerahttps://digitalcommons.providence.edu/woods_pubs/1000/thumbnail.jp

Soloists of ALEA III: Works of Leonard Bernstein, November 22, 1991

This is the concert program of the Soloists of ALEA III: Works of Leonard Bernstein performance on Friday, November 22, 1991 at 8:00 p.m., at the Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Avenue. Works performed were the following by Leonard Bernstein: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Touches, Two Love Songs, Afterthough, Silhouette, Fanfare for Bima, and A Medley of Bernstein's Musical Theater Works: "A Little Bit in Love" from "Wonderful Town," "Who am I" from "Peter Pan," and Selections from "West Side Story." Digitization for Boston University Concert Programs was supported by the Boston University Humanities Library Endowed Fund

The Fall Fringe Festival: Bluebeard's Castle

This is the concert program of the Fall Fringe Festival performance of Bluebeard's Castle by Bela Bartok, with libretto by Bela Balazs, running Friday and Saturday, October 22 and 23, 1999 at 6:45 p.m. and Sunday, October 24 at 3:00 p.m. and 6:45 p.m., at Studio 210, The Boston University Theater, 264 Huntington Avenue. Digitization for Boston University Concert Programs was supported by the Boston University Humanities Library Endowed Fund

Towards a theory of experimental music theatre: 'showing doing', 'non-matrixed performance' and 'metaxis'

Although recent years have seen the emergence of sustained research on experimental music theater, most of this is of a largely descriptive nature. To address the shortcomings of such approaches, this essay outlines a theory of experimental music theater based on a clear definition and a number of constitutive features. A number of theoretical terms from the fields of performance theory and theater practice are introduced, namely “showing doing” (Richard Schechner), “non-matrixed performance” and “non-matrixed representation” (Michael Kirby), and “metaxis” (Augusto Boal). The analytical effectiveness of this theoretical framework is demonstrated by discussion of case studies drawn both from the “classics” of experimental music theater (John Cage, Mauricio Kagel) and from recent work (Christopher Fox, David Bithell, Trond Reinholdtsen)

\u3cem\u3eHarry Potter\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eHamilton\u3c/em\u3e from the Stage to the Page

In this article originally published in Public Books, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner offers commentary on the two best-selling plays on record, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Hamilton. Specifically, Pollack-Pelzner examines how the Anglo-American world’s favorite orphans play at home, adopted, as it were, from the stage to the page