Episode 110: THE SHAPE OF A MUSICAL

This is the second half of my conversation with Rebecca Applin Warner, who is the author of a new book: The Musical Theatre Composer As Dramatist — A Handbook For Collaboration.

Last time Rebecca shared some of the fascinating concepts and techniques that can be found in her book in regard to breaking down and analyzing the components of a musical, including its principal and supporting themes (both dramatic and musical), as well as what she calls “the shape” of the musical overall, and in its individual segments, including it various “levels of intensification.” And we discussed how all of that can provide invaluable tools to, not just the composer, but to the entire creative team as they develop their musical. If you missed the part one you may want to catch up with that episode before listening to this on.

We start off this episode by exploring what she calls a musical’s “modes of enunciation.” As in the previous episode Rebeca Applin Warner illustrates these concepts using examples from various contemporary musicals such as In The Heights, Matilda and The Last Five Years, and in what could be called the “11 o’clock spot” of her book and this episode, she ties everything together through a case study of the musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.

Whether you are creator of musical theater of just an ardent fan I feel certain that you will find this to be a fascinating conversation. 

Rebeca Applin Warner is an award-winning composer with extensive experience both writing musicals and teaching in a variety of degree programs in Musical Theatre and Performing Arts.She has an undergraduate degree in Music from the University of Cambridge, a masters in Composition for the Screen from the Royal college of Music and a PhD in musical theater analysis. Her previous publications include chapters in The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical Theatre and in Reframing the Musical, alongside publication in the Studies in Musical Theatre Journal.

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