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Musical Theatre and Theatre With Music

Content in this section explores the popular art form of musical theatre and theatre works that integrate music in other ways. You’ll find thoughts and conversations from artists, articles about contemporary and historical works, and performance videos. The #MusicalsWeek series is a great place to begin, as is “The Black in Black Musical Theatre” episode of the Daughters of Lorraine podcast.

The Latest

Opening the Channel with Masi Asare
Podcast
Opening the Channel with Masi Asare
by Masi Asare, Leticia Ridley, Jordan Ealey
28 February 2024
Justice for Movie Musicals, or Why the Musical Adaptation of The Color Purple Matters 
Podcast
Justice for Movie Musicals, or Why the Musical Adaptation of The Color Purple Matters 
by Jordan Ealey, Leticia Ridley
14 February 2024
An Art Festival in Rwanda Converses with the Past and Celebrates Our Shared Present
Essay
An Art Festival in Rwanda Converses with the Past and Celebrates Our Shared Present
by Giulianna Marchese
5 October 2023
Tropical angels panel poster.
From West to East, How Musical Theatre has Transformed?
Video

From West to East, How Musical Theatre has Transformed?

A discussion on musical theatre in Taiwan and Korea.

Tuesday 10 November 2020
United States

Musical Theatre Factory presented the panel From West to East, How Musical Theatre has Transformed? livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 10 November 2020 at 3:30 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 5:30 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 6:30 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

Psalm's Salons at Studio
Video

Psalm's Salons at Studio

A virtual dance party with conversation in collaboration with theatre-maker and emcee Psalmayene 24

Thursday 22 October 2020
United States

Studio Theatre presented Psalm's Salons at Studio livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 22 October at 2 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 5 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

three actors onstage
The Black in Black Musical Theatre
Podcast

The Black in Black Musical Theatre

Daughters of Lorraine Podcast Season 2 Episode 2

23 September 2020

In this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss "What is a Black musical?" using James Baldwin's Amen Corner and Angelica Chéri's Gun and Powder.

MUSICAL METAMORPHOSIS (Live-captioned)
Video

MUSICAL METAMORPHOSIS (Live-captioned)

A Songwriter’s Journey into Musicals

Tuesday 25 August 2020
Minneapolis MN United States

Playwrights' Center presented MUSICAL METAMORPHOSIS livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 25 August 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. CDT (Minneapolis, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

text: jeannette, or how to make a musical in a pandemic. six headshots of the event participants.
Arts + Activism: Jeannette and Making Political Musical Theatre
Video

Arts + Activism: Jeannette and Making Political Musical Theatre

with Ari Afsar, Erin Ortman, Martha Nichols, Jen Bender, and Regina Victor

Thursday 6 August 2020
United States

Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented Arts + Activism: Jeannette and Making Political Musical Theatre livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 6 August 2020 at 12 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 2:00 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 3:00 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Group of people posing under the text "Contested Homes: Migrant liberation movement suite"
Contested Homes: a Migrant Liberation Movement Suite
Video

Contested Homes: a Migrant Liberation Movement Suite

A new free jazz opera that combines jazz, hip-hop, spoken word, dance, and visual art animated and illustrated by students and guest artists

Tuesday 30 June 2020
Madison, WI United States

The Afro Yaqui Music Collective, in collaboration with UW-Madison Jazz Studies presented Contested Homes: a Migrant Liberation Movement Suite livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 30 June 2020 at 7:30 p.m. CDT (Madison, UTC -5) / 2:30 p.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC -10) / 4:30 p.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC -8) / 5:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 6:30 pm.m MDT (Denver, UTC -6) / 8:30 p.m. EDT (New York City, UTC -4)

overhead view of a large group both seated, standing, and moving about outside
The Marriage of Music and Story
Essay

The Marriage of Music and Story

Redefining Kenyan Identity Through Musical Theatre

29 June 2020

Karishma Bhagani asks: “How do we, the Kenyan artist community, choose to understand our place in this contemporary, independent nation? And how do we use our art to express the realities of our contemporary experience in Kenya?”

Arturo O’Farrill playing piano.
BronX BandA featuring Arturo O’Farrill
Video

BronX BandA featuring Arturo O’Farrill

Bronx based jazz ensemble collaborates with large scale puppet theater amplifying the sounds and stories of our community

Friday 12 June 2020
Bronx NY, USA

Livestreamed BronX BandA featuring Arturo O’Farrill on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 12 June 2020 at at 11 a.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC-10) / 1 p.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC-8) / 2 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 5 p.m. EDT.

black and red show poster with silhouette of hand
Nosferatu, The Vampyr by M Sloth Levine with original music by Alissa Voth
Video

Nosferatu, The Vampyr by M Sloth Levine with original music by Alissa Voth

A livestreamed reading of a subversion of a tale known all too well, produced by Homesick Play Project and Sparkhaven Theatre

Thursday 30 April 2020
United States

Homesick Play Project and Sparkhaven Theatre presented a performance of Nosferatu, The Vampyr by M Sloth Levine with original music by Alissa Voth livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 30 April 2020 at 3:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 5:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 6:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

actor hugging a child with text Earthrise Kennedy Center
Musical Theatre w/ Lauren, Kait Kerrigan + Brian Lowdermilk
Video

Musical Theatre w/ Lauren, Kait Kerrigan + Brian Lowdermilk

with playwright Lauren Gunderson

Friday 10 April 2020
United States

Playwright Lauren Gunderson presented a conversation Musical Theatre w/ Lauren, Kait Kerrigan + Brian Lowdermilk livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 10 April 2020 at 9:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 11:30 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 12:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

four actors onstage
Storytelling as an Act of Survival
Essay

Storytelling as an Act of Survival

The Tradition of Hakawati and its Influence on We Live in Cairo

10 December 2019

Lama El Homaïssi reflects on her experience working with American Repertory Theater on their musical We Live in Cairo, diving into representation in storytelling, the oral Hakawati tradition, and more.

colorful illustrations of folk tale characters with performance information
A performance of :HUMPTY
Video

A performance of :HUMPTY

at The VORTEX in Austin, Texas

Friday 27 September 2019
Austin, Texas

Ethos and The VORTEX presented a performance of :HUMPTY livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 27 September 2019 at 9 p.m. EDT (New York) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 6 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles).

taylor mac in costume on stage
A Conversation with Taylor Mac
Video

A Conversation with Taylor Mac

at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts

Sunday 15 September 2019
Worcester, Massachusetts

Arts Transcending Borders at the College of the Holy Cross presented “A Conversation with Taylor Mac,” moderated by Scott Malia, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Sunday 15 September 2019 at 5 p.m. EDT (New York) / 4 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 2 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles). 

a group posing for a photo
A New Identity for Oklahoma
Essay

A New Identity for Oklahoma

7 August 2019

Tara Brooke Watkins discusses how Oklahoma! has shaped the state’s cultural identity, the Tulsa Race Massacre, and Spinning Plates’s production of the musical with an all-black cast.

two audiences looking on a stage at two tables with food and pots on them
Sympathy for the Incel?
Essay

Sympathy for the Incel?

On Oklahoma! and Jud Fry in the #MeToo Era 

26 June 2019

Catherine M. Young discusses the recent Broadway production of Oklahoma!, which she believes, despite inclusive casting and adventurous aesthetics, asks audiences to pay more attention to white men than anyone else.

suzan lori parks on a striped background
Suzan-Lori Parks and the Band's Mezzanine Performances 
Video

Suzan-Lori Parks and the Band's Mezzanine Performances 

Live at the Public Theater

Sunday 28 April 2019
New York City

The Public Theater presented Suzan-Lori Parks' Mezzanine Performances livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 28 April 2019 at 1:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 3:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4:30 p.m. EDT (New York).

An actor lying on the ground with another actor looking on
“A woman kept alive by the sound of her voice”
Essay

“A woman kept alive by the sound of her voice”

The Femicides of Juárez in Isaac Gómez’s La Ruta

29 January 2019

Trevor Boffone examines Isaac Gómez’s new play La Ruta, which focuses on the feminicides in Mexico, and talks about the growing canon of Latinx theatre that dramatizes and theorizes on gendered violence.

Performer holds a mic for another performer playing a guitar
Filk on Stage
Essay

Filk on Stage

How the Underground Sci-Fi Folk Genre Found a Home Off-Broadway

4 December 2018

Jen Gushue explores the emergence of filk theatre, a niche genre that uses a folk-concert frame as a basis for storytelling.

Eating the Rich
Essay

Eating the Rich

Sweeney Todd’s Vicious Capitalism

18 June 2018

Cassidy Dawn Graves writes about the anti-capitalist narrative present in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and the significance of producing the musical in 2018.

Broadway in a Year of Reckoning
Essay

Broadway in a Year of Reckoning

3 May 2018

New York critic Jonathan Mandell gives us a glimpse at the recently ended Broadway season, and reflects on how these shows have handled the past as a way to adapt to our current sociopolitical moment.

"Positation" in Action
Essay

"Positation" in Action

Director Erin Ortman’s Multi-Year Journey with the Arabian Nights

2 May 2018

Director Erin Ortman loves musical theatre, new plays, theatre families, and William Ball’s idea of “positation” that celebrates the “yes” in artistic collaborations. The development process for One Thousand Nights and One Day produced by Prospect Theater Company in New York City provides a view of Ball’s philosophy in action.

Lost Worlds and “Pansexual Extravaganzas”
Podcast

Lost Worlds and “Pansexual Extravaganzas”

Rediscovering Weimar Operetta with Dr. Kevin Clarke

17 April 2018

Dr. Kevin Clarke of the Operetta Research Center introduces us to Weimar-era operetta, which pushed artistic and social boundaries and is finally enjoying an artistic and scholarly reappraisal after decades of neglect.

Coney Island’s Fantastical History
Essay

Coney Island’s Fantastical History

What Love Never Dies Leaves Out

1 April 2018

Kitty Drexel writes about the failure of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies to accurately represent the performers with disabilities that made New York City's Coney Island famous.

Maybe Tomorrow, The Fish Will Be Gone
Essay

Maybe Tomorrow, The Fish Will Be Gone

22 March 2018

Alison Weller reflects on the process of writing Boundless, a play about a fishing community on Cape Cod that faces climate change every day.

Beyond Demographics
Essay

Beyond Demographics

A Different Approach to Segmenting Audiences

1 November 2017

In a second installment about results of a survey of theatregoers to consider best practices to market lesser-known plays, Meghan Randolph discovers commonly held assumptions about segmenting audiences are wrong.