Question

Writing a paper about musical theatre. How it began, how it shaped theatre and and how it influenced that time when it began as well as how it influenced still shapes the theatre today.

Answer 1

Musical theatre started in theatres of ancient Greeks who started using music in their comedy/tragedy performances as early as 5^th century B.C.E. Sophocles and Aeschylus composed their own music for their plays. In 12^th and 13^th century religious dramas such as ‘The Play of Herod, were set to church chants. By Renaissance these forms had evolved in to an Italian tradition called- Commedia Dell’arte where raucous made their way through known stories. A famous French writer, director and actor- Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known as Moliere turned several of his comedies in to musical entertainments with songs in late 1600s.

By 1700s two forms of musical theatre were popular in Britain, France and Germany- Ballad Operas that included lyrics written in the tunes of popular songs of the day and comic operas with original scores and romantic plot lines. The Opera Buffa, a form of comic opera emerged in Nepales in mid 18^th century. Beside these sources music theatre traces its descent to Vaudeville, British music hall, melodrama and burlesque.

These musical theatres became favourite family time for people and they started attracting more and more people. These performances started having themes related to society issues, challenging church rules etc. Many theatres faced police trials for showing conflicting content, however theatrical music kept people entertained and influenced. People developed new viewpoint about government, started questioning church rules and this paved way to betterment of society.

Musical theatre still influences society. Other than being a method of entertainment they often tackle difficult issues like political expression. Many people find themselves sitting on seats in such theatres and seeing a new story unfold in front of their eyes. For some its just escape rom their daily lives but for others it is also a representation of culture and values