MUSC 302: The Broadway Musical

Fall Semester 2019

Murphy 238, MWF, 12:00-12:50 PM

Instructor: Prof. Paul Laird

Office: 334 Murphy
Office Hours: Monday, 11:00-12:00 and Thursday, 11:00-12:00
Phone: 864-9716
Email: plaird@ku.edu

Goals: This course will be a survey of the history of the Broadway musical from its nineteenth-century
beginnings to the present. Emphases will include the genre as a commercial medium, the principal
creators, its music, and major elements and themes of the musical as they relate to the larger society and
such important social issues as racial, sexual, gender, and cultural diversity.

KU Core: This course satisfies Goal 3 and Goal 4, Outcome 1 for the KU Core. For Goal 3, this includes
the arts and humanities portion of the following rubric: “Upon reaching this goal, students will be able to
demonstrate basic competence in the principles, theories, and analytic methods used in each of the
following: arts and humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.” For Goal 4, Outcome 1, the
following rubric describe the course content: “Upon reaching this goal, students will be able to investigate
the diversity of human experience within the United States, considering, for example, age, culture,
disability, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, and social class, and appreciate the
contributions of different social groups.”

Required Text: William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird, eds. The Cambridge Companion to the Musical. 3rd
edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Policies and Procedures: Our look at the Broadway musical will be approached through The Cambridge
Companion to the Musical, recordings, and various projects. I will assign other readings and listening
assignments on various issues and perspectives as the term progresses. We will discuss readings and
listening examples in class. You will aid your performance in class and on exams considerably if you keep
up with the reading and listening assignments.

I expect each of you to be in class each time we meet unless you are ill or have some kind of emergency. I
will circulate an attendance sheet each day and it is your job to sign it. You will receive one point in your
grade for each class that you attend. Please arrive in class on time. Musical examples will be available on
Blackboard, and you need to listen to them.

Disabilities: The Academic Achievement and Access Center (AAAC) coordinates academic
accommodations and services for all eligible KU students with disabilities. If you have a disability for
which you wish to request accommodations and have not contacted the AAAC, please do so as soon as
possible. They are located in 22 Strong Hall and can be reached at 785-864-4064 (V/TTY). Information
about their services can be found at http://www.access.ku.edu. Please contact me privately in regard to your
needs in this course.

Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct by a student shall include, but not be limited to, disruption of
classes; threatening an instructor or fellow student in an academic setting; giving or receiving of
unauthorized aid on examinations or in the preparation of notebooks, themes, reports or other assignments;
knowingly misrepresenting the source of any academic work; unauthorized changing of grades;
unauthorized use of University approvals or forging of signatures; falsification of research results;
plagiarizing of another's work; violation of regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of human and
animal subjects; or otherwise acting dishonestly in research or academics. A number of sanctions may be
imposed on a student for academic misconduct, ranging from admonition to expulsion from the University.
Sanctions may include a reduction of grade for the specific assignment/exam or for the entire course. The
University’s policy regarding academic misconduct, including a complete list of potential sanctions, is
located at http://policy.ku.edu/governance/USRR#art2sect6. To be plain, please understand that if you
plagiarize all or part of one assignment, you will fail that assignment. If you commit the offense again, you
will fail the course.

Concealed Carrying of Weapons

Individuals who choose to carry concealed handguns are solely responsible to do so in a safe and secure
manner in strict conformity with state and federal laws and KU weapons policy. Safety measures
outlined in the KU weapons policy specify that a concealed handgun:
 Must be under the constant control of the carrier.
 Must be out of view, concealed either on the body of the carrier, or backpack, purse, or bag that
remains under the carrier’s custody and control.
 Must be in a holster that covers the trigger area and secures any external hammer in an un-cocked
position.
 Must have the safety on, and have no round in the chamber.

Exams: This class will include one mid-term exam and a final. Exams will include a listening portion taken
in class and take-home short answers and essays. The mid-term listening will be on Friday, October 18 and
the final will be Wednesday, December 18, at 10:30 AM. Take-home exams will be distributed on October
21 (due in class on 10/28) and December 9 (due in electronic submission on 12/18 by 10:30 AM). Essays of
the second exam will include consideration of social justice issues as they have appeared in the history of
the musical theater. We will discuss examinations more as they approach.

Projects:
1. A review of a live musical or video recording of a live musical. (There are a number of the latter
available in the library.) Some local musicals this term include: Rent (Oct. 6) and Jersey Boys (Nov. 2)
at the Lied Center of Kansas; Dear Evan Hansen (Oct. 15-20), The Simon and Garfunkel Story (Oct.
23, and Miss Saigon (Dec. 10-15) in the Kansas City Broadway League Series; A Gentlemen’s Guide
to Love and Murder (Sep. 20-Oct. 6), The Rocky Horror Show (Oct. 18-19), and Matilda (Dec. 6-22) at
Theatre Lawrence; For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf (Oct.
18-Nov.10) at Kansas City Repertory Theatre; and Hello, Dolly! (Sep. 25-29) at the Starlight Theatre;
and other possibilities in northeast Kansas and the Kansas City area. Please clear all other possible
review subjects with me in advance. You are required to write one 500-word review, due by Monday,
December 9. It is much easier to write the review soon after you see the performance. We will discuss
how to write such a review.
2. A major part of this class will be keeping up with the reading and listening so that we can have class
discussions of material. In that spirit, you will write brief journal entries in reaction to a few questions
on each chapter and react to one song per week in the listening. Your journal entries will be written in
Blackboard and graded by the professor on a regular basis, and the total points on your journal entries
will be part of the projects grade for the class.
3. This class is about Broadway musicals, right? Well, let's each write one, or at least the approach to one.
Each student will write a scenario for a show, adapting a particular story or conceiving an original
story. The scenario will present the story in two acts with three to ten scenes in each act, showing how
the story might be adapted into a musical by suggesting where songs and dances might take place and
providing possible titles for songs. You will submit the scenario to me for comments on Friday,
October 4. I will appoint committees who will consider the merits of each scenario in their group and
choose one for “production.” You will have the class period on Friday, October 25 to begin this work.
The committee will confirm where to place songs and dances in that scenario, provide titles and at least
general comments on musical and choreographic style, and work out basic ideas for costuming and
scenery. Each group will present their show to the class during the final exam period. As the only
producers available in the course, we will vote on which musical might deserve additional
consideration, in another time and place.

Grading: 225 points for each exam (= 450 points), 100 points for the review, 150 points for the scenario
and committee work, 150 points total for journals, and 100 points for class participation and attendance.
This makes a total of 950 points for the class.
Grade ranges:
883-950 – A 665-692 – C-
855-882 – A- 636-664 – D+
826-854 – B+ 598-635 – D
788-825 – B 570-597 – D-
760-787 – B- 569 and below – F
731-759 – C+
693-730 – C

Lecture Notes: For most classes, I will project lecture notes through PowerPoint. These lecture notes will
be available the night before each class on Blackboard, the KU course web site. You may print the notes
before you come to class.

Schedule:

Here are the reading assignments in The Cambridge Companion to the Musical (CCM) and compact discs
in the library from each of these shows. Links to these discs for audio streaming will be posted on
Blackboard. Piano/vocal scores for most of these musicals are available in the music library if you wish to
listen with the music in front of you.

Dates Essay in CCM or Topic Recordings

8/26-28 Laird, pp. 1-18 Class Introduction and Creating a Musical: Wicked; COM DIS
8129
8/30-9/4 Preston, pp. 21-50 COM DIS 2228
9/2 NO CLASS – LABOR DAY
9/6 Krasner, pp. 79-98 George M, COM DIS 6256; The Merry Widow, COM DIS 325
9/9 Everett, pp. 99-116 The Student Prince, COM DIS 6257
Our Guest Lecturer: Prof. William Everett of UMKC
9/11 Koegel, pp. 51-78 Discussion
9/13-16 Graziano, pp. 117-31 Show Boat, COM DIS 550; Porgy and Bess, COM DIS 43
9/18-20 Block, pp. 132-55 Girl Crazy, COM DIS 3538; Anything Goes, COM DIS 5453
9/23 Snelson, pp. 159-84 Songs written by and sung by Noël Coward, COM DIS 3695;
The Boy Friend, COM DIS 6259
9/25-10/2 Sears, pp. 185-202 Rodgers and Hammerstein: Oklahoma!, COM DIS 5952;
Carousel, COM DIS 5951; South Pacific, COM DIS
6258; The King and I, COM DIS 5949; The Sound of
Music, COM DIS 6254
10/4-16 Riis, Sears, pp. 203-29 Successors of Rodgers and Hammerstein: My Fair Lady,
COM DIS 6215; Gypsy, COM DIS 6216; Fiddler on
the Roof, COM DIS 5104; Man of La Mancha, COM
DIS 6217; Cabaret, COM DIS 5071
10/14 NO CLASS – FALL BREAK
10/18 MIDTERM LISTENING IN CLASS
10/18-21 mcclung, Laird, pp. 230-43 Weill and Bernstein: The Threepenny Opera, COM DIS
6542; On the Town, COM DIS 1248
10/21 MIDTERM TAKE-HOME EXAM DISTRIBUTED
10/23-28 Lovensheimer, pp. 247-63 Sondheim: A Little Night Music, COM DIS 6218; Into the
Woods, COM DIS 2998
10/25 COMMITTEE DISCUSSION OF SCENARIOS
10/28 MIDTERM TAKE-HOME EXAM DUE IN CLASS
10/30-11/6 Laird, pp. 264-80 Director/Choreographer: West Side Story, COM DIS 598; A
Chorus Line, COM DIS 6255
11/8-11 Warfield, pp. 281-300 Rock Musical: Hair, COM DIS 6260; Rent, COM DIS 3421
11/13-15Everett, Prece, pp. 301-22 Megamusical: Les Misérables, COM DIS 6321; Phantom of
the Opera, COM DIS 6322
11/18 Wood, pp. 383-405 Film Musical: 42nd Street, DVD 00053
11/20-12/6 Lundskaer-Nielsen, pp. 323-38 Discussion of Recent Musicals and Trends
Sebesta and MacDonald, 339-55 Elisabeth; Spring Awakening, COM DIS 8580;
Coleman, pp. 356-80 Hamilton, COM DIS 12417; among others
Sternfeld, pp. 325-339
11/27-29NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING BREAK
12/9-11 Other Musicals of Stephen Schwartz, besides Wicked
12/11 FINAL TAKE-HOME EXAM DISTRIBUTED
12/18, 10:30-1:00 PM FINAL LISTENING SECTION AND GROUP PRESENTATIONS
(REMAINDER OF FINAL WILL BE TAKE-HOME)