What is a musical? Book, score and team
- Book: the spoken script and story.
- Score: all the music. Lyrics are the words of the songs.
- Composer writes the music; lyricist writes the lyrics; book writer writes the script; choreographer makes the dances; orchestrator chooses which instruments play what.
- The pit orchestra or band plays below the stage. Singers often use radio microphones today.
Before the main show comes an overture (a medley of tunes); the second act may start with an entr'acte.
Song types and what they do
- Opening number: sets the place, mood and main people.
- "I want" song: the main character tells us their dream. This drives the plot.
- Duet / love song: two characters share feelings, often joining in harmony.
- Ensemble / chorus number: many voices, big dance, often an act finale.
- Comedy (patter) song: fast, clever words for laughs.
- Showstopper / 11 o'clock number: a big emotional peak late in the show.
- Reprise: an earlier song returns with new words or mood.
- Underscore: music under speech; recitative-style lines move the plot quickly.
Musical tools
Leitmotif: a short tune tied to a character or idea. Key change (often up a step) lifts the energy. Contrapuntal ensemble: several characters sing different tunes at once (the "quodlibet"). Belt (strong chest voice) vs legit (classical tone) singing.
Key composers and their styles
- Kurt Weill (1900–1950): began in Germany writing sharp, cabaret-style songs with jazzy dance rhythms and bitter harmony to make the audience think; later wrote Broadway shows.
- Richard Rodgers (1902–1979): with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II he made the integrated musical, where every song grows from the story. Warm, memorable melodies, often in waltz time.
- Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021): complex lyrics and harmony, many characters singing at once, repeating accompaniment patterns, dark or ironic stories.
- Claude-Michel Schönberg (b. 1944): sung-through mega-musicals with big ballads, recurring themes (leitmotifs) and huge ensemble finales.
- Jason Robert Brown (b. 1970): pop-rock driven piano writing, syncopated rhythms, story songs for small casts and unusual timelines.
Opera and musical theatre: combined arts
Both mix music, drama, words, design and sometimes dance, so they are combined (synthetic) arts.
- Opera (from about 1600): usually sung all through, classically trained voices without microphones, orchestra, arias (solo songs) and recitative (speech-like singing).
- Operetta: lighter, with spoken dialogue — a bridge to the musical.
- Musical: mixes speech and song, uses popular styles (jazz, rock, pop), amplified voices.
Some works sit in between: sung-through musicals behave like opera; some operas use popular styles.
Key formulas and definitions
- Key term: book = script; score = music; lyrics = song words
- Key term: 'I want' song — the hero's goal
- Key term: reprise — a song returns with new meaning
- Key term: leitmotif — tune linked to a character or idea
- Key term: sung-through — almost no spoken dialogue
- Key term: integrated musical — songs move the story
Worked examples
1. A girl alone on stage sings that she wants to leave her small town and see the world. Which song type?
An 'I want' song: it sets the main character's goal.
2. Five characters each sing their own tune at the same time before the interval. Name the device and its effect.
A contrapuntal ensemble (quodlibet) as an act finale; it shows all the conflicts at once and builds tension.
3. A cheerful early love song returns in Act 2, slow and in a minor key, after a break-up. What is this?
A reprise; the changed tempo and key show how the situation and feelings have changed.
4. A show has no spoken dialogue and uses repeating themes for each character. What kind of musical?
A sung-through musical using leitmotifs (like Schönberg's style).
5. Give two differences between opera and a musical.
Opera is usually sung throughout with unamplified classical voices; a musical mixes speech and song and uses popular styles with microphones.
Common mistakes
- Thinking characters sing for no reason. Each song should show feeling or move the story.
- Mixing up book and lyrics: the book is the spoken script; lyrics are the sung words.
- Calling every repeat a reprise. A reprise brings back a song with a changed meaning or context.
- Saying opera and musicals are the same. They overlap but differ in singing style, speech and music style.