Music Theater and Dramatic Underpinnings as per Peter Stones Literary Work - Essay Example

Music Theater and Dramatic Underpinnings as per Peter Stone’s Literary Work Introduction Meaning of musical theatre Musical theatre refers to a form of performance, in which a greater percentage of it comprises of emotional materials and narrative information that is communicated through song. The definition above is true regardless of whether the type of music in question is dramatic, conceptual, comic or even jukebox. During the performance, musical theatre creates a unique framework for vocal significance that would rather be presented in speech format (Auslander, 2007). The actors have an opportunity to expand and extend their voices beyond the dynamic and rhythmic range when singing the pitch. The performance of musical theatre often communicates verbal and semantic information. Moreover, it also contains others forms of communication such as style, vocal range, intonation, genre, vocal register, accent, as well as the choice of the qualities of sound such as tone and timbre. These aspects of musical theatre are used subconsciously in the daily aspects of communication. Most audiences of musical theatre often dredge exploring more meaning out of songs than it might have not been intended before by the composers. However, what matters most at the end of each day in musical theatre is the fact that the choice of composition sounds too good to appeal to its audience. Nonetheless, if the audience does not take much time reading into musical theatre, then they might not be able to uncover the many possibilities that come with interpretation and performance (Jones, 2003). Various stakeholders such as stage managers, designers, performers, and directors need to be empowered towards finding real meaning in musical theatre. Content of musical theatre Musical theatre combines acting, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. These different forms could be used to communicate humor, anger, pathos, and love. The important aspects of entertainment such as music, words, and movement are communicated as a whole element. To some extent, musical theatre seems to overlay the other forms of theatre such as dance and opera (Block, 2009). However, it may be differentiated from the other forms by giving more significance to the music rather than movement, dialogue, and the other elements of theatre. For a long time now, contents of musical theatre have been referred to as musicals to signify the importance given to music. Music has been a major content of musical theatre for a long time now before the introduction of Western forms of musical theatre. Since the introduction of these modern forms, there have been a few established works that have been used to illustrate their importance. Popular works in support of Peter .H. Stone include those of Gilbert and Sullivan, Harrigan and Hart, and George M. Cohan among others (McMillin, 2006). Through such works, it is recognizable that the content in musical theatre is performed around the world, and may be presented in large venues and smaller fringe spaces. Also, there are a number of theatre scenes for musical purposes in United States, Asia, Britain, continental Europe, Canada, Latin America, and Australasia. Peter H. Stone’s contribution to scholarship Stone is considered to be the first dramatist to be crowned with various awards. Some of the awards include the Oscar, the Emmy, and the Tony award and are considered to be the most important awards in America within the performing arts industry. Such achievements make Stone’s contributions very outstanding within the musical theatre industry. Stone served as a very active member of the Dramatists Guild of America and held the office of President for seventeen years from 1981 to 1998. Apart from authoring books on musical theatre, Stone also wrote various original plays as well as screenplays. Through such initiatives, he was considered to be a ‘show doctor’ who was capable of resolving the various shortcomings that affected musical theatre (Auslander, 2007). Regardless of such contributions, Stone’s works have not been put into much attention by scholars in proving their significance to the development of issues affecting the musical theatre. One of the scholarly works done by Stone is a book titled ‘1776’. It is a musical book based on the concept of witnessing the birth of a nation as a nation struggles to craft the important declaration for independence. The book also represents one of the most unconventional records of Broadway hits that blaze across American history. Stone attempts to use 1776 to humanize the pages of history by giving unique characters to the men behind the icons in the book (Block, 2009). Some of the characters highlighted in the book important in musical theatre include fright, pride, irritability, uncertainty, charming, and noble figures. The literary work is a funny, compelling and insightful compilation of drama that seeks to strike a score and balance within legendary books. It is also very flexible and can be performed relatively with the characters as they are written or within the concert version. Stone’s literary work ‘1776’ was also performed on the basis of Broadway’s show in the cinema version. Though adapted, the film represented the musical treatment of the defining history of the nation. Its aim was to inform adherents who were seeking much independence, and were also excited about the electrifying drama that accompanied the Declaration of Independence. An additional act of drama also involves the numerous obstacles that came before the attainment of independence. One of the treasures in the world that inspired the literary works by Stone on musical drama was coined by Thomas Jefferson. Most of the songs in the book are not very effective. Some of the lines used are over the top and overplay some element of humor portrayed in Stone’s original piece of musical theatre (Jones, 2003). Nonetheless, there is a common agreement that the lyrics have much appeal in the nature in which they are composed.Other musical literary works by Stone done on the Broadway musicals include Titanic, Sugar, My One and Only, and The Will Rogers Follies.Such extra works have elevated Mr. Stone to be an important fixture within the theatre community. Thus, he was a respected craftsman much sought after by many people as a librettist. Structures used by Stone to give meaning and purpose to musical theatre The common structure used by Stone is the dramatic song. The inclusion of dramatic songs in Stone’s works heightens the level of emotion, evokes the atmosphere and the mood of his works, and reinforces the dramatic action that can never be explained by words alone. These reinforcements are important in musical theatre and encompass a greater percentage of the works depending on how they function in Broadway musicals. As Stone’s successful career demonstrates, the key in song composition in musical drama depends on the integration of the key. Songs function dramatically in a number of ways in his works (McMillin, 2006). However, the primary function of songs is to define the characters used in the musical drama. Stone uses the best type of songs for his characters to describe the dramatic situations that follow them. Most of these songs can never be appreciated much if they are taken out of the context they are used within Stone’s literary works. Surprisingly, most of the Broadway songs are now considered to be famous since Stone did not tie them closely to the characters involved or the musical situation that is closely tied to it. Some of the songs used in the musical works may become very popular, but are certainly not very effective in their musical numbers. Also, the best dramatic songs composed by Stone are not easily sung by anyone, meaning that they are never interchangeable. Although these songs have pleasant lyrics and tunes, they function less as compared to the dramatic song since they are never written for the characters who eventually sing them in specific situations. Common types of songs used in Stone’s literary works include comment songs, musical metaphors, cameo songs, and parodies. Comment songs allow characters to move to one side and sing about certain events on stage that are not within the dramatic scene setup (McMillin, 2006). Musical metaphors make use of the unique qualities that encompass musical theatre in order to depict a certain theatrical issue in a presentational and non-literally manner. For instance, in ‘1776’ by Peter Stone, John and Abigail are involved in musical metaphors by singing to each other. Through such songs, we realize that the two characters were separated by distance and could only correspond through available means such as letter. Thus, the duet allows the two characters to converse in a manner that is immediate and personal. Peter Stone also uses Cameo songs to feature the minor characters in his literary works, in order to make them memorable. Cameo uses this technique to feature characters that could easily be forgotten in musical theatre. A good example in ‘1776’ is the soldier who takes the time to sing on the death of his friends (Auslander, 2007). Before the performance of the song, the soldier only appears to deliver a few messages send by the General Washington. Lastly, Stone also uses Parodies to evoke certain moods in his literary works. These types of songs rely much on the familiarity of the audience rather than the musical performance thereafter. Film techniques and Stone’s stage works Peter Stone’s stage works employ a number of film techniques that describe the way meaning is developed. Some of the techniques used include camera shots, camera angles, lighting, and camera movement among others. Stone uses camera shots to demonstrate the different aspects that make up the setting, characters, and themes of a film (Block, 2009). These camera shots are quite influential in shaping the literary works of musical theatre that are presented by Stone. Apart from camera shots, Stone also uses camera angles to demonstrate the different aspects that encompass themes, setting, and characters. He uses different camera angles in order to enable the audience understand the relationship that exists between the characters of literary works. An additional film technique used involves camera movements. Stone uses camera movements to shape the meaning of the different works that he adds to musical theatre. Even though these camera movements are visible and applied in real life musical theatre, Stone describes scenes differently to control the type of shot to be taken precisely (Jones, 2003). Common forms of camera movements may include crane shots, tracking shots, and panning among others. The lighting technique is also an important aspect in shaping the meaning of theatrical works. The technicians’ in-charge of lighting depends upon the exposition of the author in a piece of literary work to determine how to create lighting that suits the mood of the different scenes. In Stone’s literary works, the lighting portrayed through description suits the characters involved in their frames. Lighting is portrayed well in still images, films, and visual texts. Conclusion Sustained study of Stone’s work in today’s writings Even though the prominence of the literary works done by Peter Stone and other writers within the musical theatre industry has diminished, it has influenced the contemporary understanding of performative and literary texts. The theories covered by these authors are no longer a set of single theories but a combination of ideas that are drawn away from the text in order to consider the response of the same by the audience. The study of performance within musical theatre assumes stable meaning and considers how this meaning could change the audience. Through such works, the idea of developing a piece of text that is timeless and universal is very challenging and implies the decision to put some of the core questions into consideration. In contemporary works, the previous works done by Stone allow us to learn and establish certain truths that are important in musical theory. Through such works, the repeated narrative works of theatre, the general historiography, and the illustrations used to illustrate the different aspects of musical theatre become fixed when studied in the contemporary society. Stone’s works were so strong that most people consider them to be quite unchallengeable (McMillin, 2006). These works can continuously be repeated in order to provide a reliable citation that collaborates with their account of usage. The general trend that encompasses the different horizons of expectations stabilizes the identity of musical theatre and affects the respective audience on how they visualize the whole issue. The thinking of the audience concerning the assumptions on musical theatre is influenced by the preferences that make up theatre practices developed by previous scholars such as Peter Stone. Previous literary works also guide the contemporary society in thinking how the contents of musical theatre should be structured. Critical issues may include how to structure musical theatre, basic elements to include, as well as the type of music that is to be in cooperated to create a unique mood. The music could be Western, pop-based, or diatonic among other types that are used by other scholars (Block, 2009). Nonetheless, the judgement on whether to adopt the values outlined by Stone is based on the audience’s decision to evaluate the success of the techniques employed by an author. Such assumptions and limited choices often leave most contemporary theatrical lovers with no choice but to adapt musical theatre practices that have good values. It was very unusual for Stone to write the music and lyrics for his characters in his theatrical works. In his musical works, Stone creates unique patterns that resist the emotional depth, just like the lyrics in order to allow them to bounce. He repeats an infectious syncopated rhythm on a monotonic melody that moves chromatically on the first beat that is made on every bar. The music created coincides much with the significant rhyme that is to be achieved. Thus, Peter Stone makes it fun and simple, but not simplistic in achieving meaning. Recommendation Musical authors spend a considerable amount of time worrying whether their literary works on musical theatre are and will remain relevant in society. Most discussions on cultural relevance begin from the thought by many people that some authors are never relevant in the issues they address. The first suitable recommendation in making musical creativity texts relevant is by providing them with a reasonable degree of freedom in order to make effective use of the available materials. Developing a more flexible approach to the little exceptions encourages musical creativity and enhances a more flexible system that explores the exceptions available. Lastly, there is no problem when authors of musical theater make innovative pieces that seem to span a different era. The world provides everyone with adequate opportunity to handle all forms of creativity and art. However, it is critical for the author to relate the other major issues in musical theatre in defining what to over and influence the audience positively. One major critical issue to consider is the question on whether certain musical works appeal to the young or general audience. Such relationships can pop-up when unexpected and could run the adaptability of a piece of work. At times, when zoomed out, most music sounds are thought to sound like a real conversation without any genres and styles that refer to the same era. References Auslander, P. (2007). Theory for Performance: a students guide. Abindgon; New York: Routledge. Block, G. (2009). Enchanted evenings: The Broadway musical from Show boat to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jones, J. (2003). Our musicals, ourselves: A social history of the American musical theater. Hanover: Brandeis University Press: University Press of New England. McMillin, S. (2006). The musical as drama: : a study of the principles and conventions behind musical shows from Kern to Sondheim. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Read More