The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical
Title | The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical PDF eBook |
Author | Dominic Broomfield-McHugh |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 665 |
Release | 2022-09-16 |
Genre | Performing Arts |
ISBN | 019750342X |
Since the release of Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! in 2001, the film musical has returned to popularity as one of the most important cinematic genres, a box office hit that appeals to audiences of all ages. Yet the history of the musical on film goes back over seven decades earlier than that, stretching from early examples like The Jazz Singer (1927), the first ever film with synchronized sound, through the Astaire-Rogers musicals of the 1930s, the MGM and Warner Brothers extravaganzas of the 1940s and '50s, and the roadshow era of the 1960s. The genre's renaissance with La La Land (2016) and The Greatest Showman (2017) proves that it remains as appealing as ever, capable of both high critical acclaim and widespread box office success. The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical, curated by editor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh, reflects and expands on current scholarship on the film musical in a handbook that mixes new discoveries through archival research with new perspectives on familiar titles. It addresses issues such as why audiences accept people bursting into song in musicals; how technology affects the way numbers are staged; and how writers have adapted their material to suit certain stars. It also looks at critical issues such as racism and sexism, and assesses the role and nature of the film musical in the twenty-first century. A remarkable survey at the cutting edge of the field, The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical will be a resource for students and scholars alike for years to come.
The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical
Title | The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical PDF eBook |
Author | Dominic McHugh |
Publisher | |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 2022 |
Genre | Musical films |
ISBN | 9780197503430 |
From the birth of the sound film, the musical has been one of Hollywood's most important genres. Until the late 1960s it was almost consistently popular, and while the period from 1970 to 2000 saw a drastic reduction in the number of musicals being made, in the new millennium it enjoyed a renaissance that has continued to this day. The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical brings together scholars from a range of disciplines to interrogate key themes of the musical, including race, gender, and sexuality; stars and stardom; production histories; formal conventions; and technology.
The Oxford Handbook of Musical Theatre Screen Adaptations
Title | The Oxford Handbook of Musical Theatre Screen Adaptations PDF eBook |
Author | Dominic McHugh |
Publisher | Oxford Handbooks |
Pages | 690 |
Release | 2019 |
Genre | Music |
ISBN | 0190469994 |
Hollywood's conversion to sound in the 1920s created an early peak in the film musical, following the immense success of The Jazz Singer. The opportunity to synchronize moving pictures with a soundtrack suited the musical in particular, since the heightened experience of song and dance drew attention to the novelty of the technological development. Until the near-collapse of the genre in the 1960s, the film musical enjoyed around thirty years of development, as landmarks such as The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St Louis, Singin' in the Rain, and Gigi showed the exciting possibilities of putting musicals on the silver screen. The Oxford Handbook of Musical Theatre Screen Adaptations traces how the genre of the stage-to-screen musical has evolved, starting with screen adaptations of operettas such as The Desert Song and Rio Rita, and looks at how the Hollywood studios in the 1930s exploited the publication of sheet music as part of their income. Numerous chapters examine specific screen adaptations in depth, including not only favorites such as Annie and Kiss Me, Kate but also some of the lesser-known titles like Li'l Abner and Roberta and problematic adaptations such as Carousel and Paint Your Wagon. Together, the chapters incite lively debates about the process of adapting Broadway for the big screen and provide models for future studies.
The Oxford Handbook of The American Musical
Title | The Oxford Handbook of The American Musical PDF eBook |
Author | Raymond Knapp |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 481 |
Release | 2013-03 |
Genre | Drama |
ISBN | 019998736X |
This text presents keywords and critical terms that deepen analysis and interpretation of the musical. Taking into account issues of composition, performance, and reception, the book's contributors bring a range of practical and theoretical perspectives to bear on their considerations of American musicals.
Identities and Audiences in the Musical
Title | Identities and Audiences in the Musical PDF eBook |
Author | Raymond Knapp |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 265 |
Release | 2018-09-04 |
Genre | Music |
ISBN | 0190877804 |
Issues of identity have always been central to the American musical in all its guises. Who appears in musicals, who or what they are meant to represent, and how, over time, those representations have been understood and interpreted, provide the very basis for our engagement with the genre. In this third volume of the reissued Oxford Handbook of the American Musical, chapters focus on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, regional vs. national identity, and the cultural and class significance of the musical itself. As important as the question of who appears in musicals are the questions of who watches and listens to them, and of how specific cultures of reception attend differently to the musical. Chapters thus address cultural codes inherent to the genre, in particular those found in traditional school theater programs.
The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical
Title | The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical PDF eBook |
Author | Robert Gordon |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 777 |
Release | 2016 |
Genre | Music |
ISBN | 0199988749 |
The first comprehensive academic survey of British musical theatre from its origins, The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical offers both a historical account of musical theatre from 1728 and a range of in-depth critical analyses of key works and productions that illustrate its aesthetic values and sociocultural meanings.
Media and Performance in the Musical
Title | Media and Performance in the Musical PDF eBook |
Author | Raymond Knapp |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 337 |
Release | 2018-09-04 |
Genre | Music |
ISBN | 0190877839 |
For the past several years, the American musical has continued to thrive by reflecting and shaping cultural values and social norms, and even commenting on politics, whether directly and on a national scale (Hamilton) or somewhat more obliquely and on a more intimate scale (Fun Home). New stage musicals, such as Come from Away and The Band's Visit, open on Broadway every season, challenging conventions of form and content, and revivals offer audiences a different perspective on extant shows (Carousel; My Fair Lady). Television musicals broadcast live hearken back to 1950s television's affection for musical theatre and aim to attract new audiences through the accessibility of television. Film musicals, including Les Misérables and Into the Woods, capitalize on the medium's technical capabilities of perspective and point of view, as well as visual spectacle. Television has embraced the genre anew, and with unexpected gusto, not only devising musical episodes for countless dramatic and comedy series, but also generating musical series such as Galavant and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. And animated musicals, such as Disney's Moana, hail child and adult audiences with their dual messages, vibrant visual vocabulary, and hummable music. The chapters gathered in this book, Volume II of the reissued Oxford Handbook, explore the American musical from the various media in which musicals have been created to the different components of a musical and the people who do the work to bring a musical to life.