KALC Theatre - The History of Musical Theatre Abridged

AIM: SWBAT have a better grasp on the creative process and understand the catalogue of
musical theatre.

The Project: There is a gap currently between what exists in the realm of musical theatre, and
what you currently know. So many shows exist out there that it becomes hard to keep track, and
at times, it can be overwhelming. You are going to take a deep dive into a show and collect
information on it ranging from facts and figures to opinions and interpretations of the work itself.
You are going to get into pairs and be assigned a musical by Mr. Condakes. The show you are
assigned is what you will be presenting to the class in the form of a powerpoint presentation.
The expectations are to not only research the show (see below for what kind of research), but
also to watch the show (find a recording on YouTube, see Mr. Condakes if you need help with
that one) to inform what your interpretation/opinion will be.

Student outputs: One 5 minute powerpoint presentation on one musical. The powerpoint should
include the following:
● Name of the musical
● Date of first and last performance of original broadway production
● Brief biologies of writing team (composer, lyricist, book writer)
● Seed of the story - students should be able to answer the question: where did this story
come from? A movie? A book? An idea? A previous play?
● Synopsis of the show
● Number of revivals (if any) including the years they were revived on broadway
● Number of performances of original broadway production
● Critical reception
● Original take on the work (5 original costume designs and one set design) PER
PERSON - THIS IS SPECIFIC TO THEATRE PRODUCTION
● A review of the work in the style of a newspaper PER PERSON - THIS IS SPECIFIC TO
MUSICAL THEATRE.

The opinion/interpretation is the part of the project that needs to be done on an individual basis.
This needs to be justified demonstrating a deeper understanding of the material (all of your
choices need to have a “why” behind them.)

Grading: This will be graded as a MAJOR SUMMATIVE. Failure to complete the assignment on
the due date will result in losing 10% of the grade the students would have originally had per
day that the assignment is late.

Due Date: Theatre Production’s powerpoints are due at the end of class on February 13th. We
will begin presentations after February break.
Musical Theatre’s powerpoints are due February 28th.