- Title Pages
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on References
- Introduction
- 1 Textual Shakespeare
- 2 Shakespeare and Poetry
- 3 Shakespeare and The Novel
- 4 Shakespeare and Translation
- 5 Shakespeare Anthologized
- 6 Shakespeare and Biography
- 7 Shakespeare and Early Modern Music
- 8 Shakespeare and Opera
- 9 Shakespeare and Classical Music
- 10 Shakespeare and Musical Theatre
- 11 Shakespeare, Ballet and Dance
- 12 Shakespeare and Popular Music
- 13 Shakespeare and Drama
- 14 Shakespeare and The Renaissance Stage
- 15 Shakespeare and The Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Stage
- 16 Shakespeare and The Victorian Stage
- 17 Shakespeare and The Modern Stage
- 18 Shakespeare and Contemporary Performance Spaces
- 19 Shakespeare for Children
- 20 Shakespeare and Teenagers
- 21 Shakespeare and The Comic Book
- 22 Shakespeare, Portraiture, Painting and Prints
- 23 Shakespeare, Sculpture and The Material Arts
- 24 Shakespeare Exhibition and Festival Culture
- 25 Shakespeare and Silent Film
- 26 Shakespeare on Film, 1930–90
- 27 Shakespeare on Film, 1990–2010
- 28 Shakespeare on Television
- 29 Shakespeare and Radio
- 30 Shakespeare on The Internet and in Digital Media
- Notes on Contributors
- Index
Shakespeare and Musical Theatre
Shakespeare and Musical Theatre
- Chapter:
- (p.185) 10 Shakespeare and Musical Theatre
- Source:
- The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts
- Author(s):
Fran Teague
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
This chapter concentrates on one narrow branch of musical theatre — the Broadway musical. It addresses what a musical is and why musicals have an especial affinity for Shakespeare. It describes The Boys from Syracuse, Kiss Me, Kate and West Side Story. Yet these three do not stand alone: The Shakespeare Music Catalogue offers many other instances of generative Shakespeare texts and their musical theatre derivatives, and that catalogue is by no means complete. Shakespeare became a mainstay of American theatre in the twenty-five years leading up to the American Revolution, as an increased concern with England sparked interest in his plays. A musical that attends to Shakespeare is likely to attend to gender, class and race as well, but not in any solemn or profound way. The jokes are suggestive or vulgar, the music and dancing energetic and the principal barrier to success is too much respect for the original work.
Keywords: Shakespeare, musical theatre, Broadway musical, The Boys from Syracuse, West Side Story, The Shakespeare Music Catalogue
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- Title Pages
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on References
- Introduction
- 1 Textual Shakespeare
- 2 Shakespeare and Poetry
- 3 Shakespeare and The Novel
- 4 Shakespeare and Translation
- 5 Shakespeare Anthologized
- 6 Shakespeare and Biography
- 7 Shakespeare and Early Modern Music
- 8 Shakespeare and Opera
- 9 Shakespeare and Classical Music
- 10 Shakespeare and Musical Theatre
- 11 Shakespeare, Ballet and Dance
- 12 Shakespeare and Popular Music
- 13 Shakespeare and Drama
- 14 Shakespeare and The Renaissance Stage
- 15 Shakespeare and The Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Stage
- 16 Shakespeare and The Victorian Stage
- 17 Shakespeare and The Modern Stage
- 18 Shakespeare and Contemporary Performance Spaces
- 19 Shakespeare for Children
- 20 Shakespeare and Teenagers
- 21 Shakespeare and The Comic Book
- 22 Shakespeare, Portraiture, Painting and Prints
- 23 Shakespeare, Sculpture and The Material Arts
- 24 Shakespeare Exhibition and Festival Culture
- 25 Shakespeare and Silent Film
- 26 Shakespeare on Film, 1930–90
- 27 Shakespeare on Film, 1990–2010
- 28 Shakespeare on Television
- 29 Shakespeare and Radio
- 30 Shakespeare on The Internet and in Digital Media
- Notes on Contributors
- Index