Courses

Prerequisites: reading ability of music and some theoretical knowledge is required. Musical theater is one of Americas most vital and important art form. Several of its major creators studied at Columbia, including Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, John Kander, and Fred Ebb. This course will present a historical survey of American musical theater from its origins in late nineteenth-century; through the musicals of figures like Kern, Gershwin, and Rodgers - Hammerstein; through Sondheim and the megamusical of Lloyd Webber. Focus will be on selected shows, through which broader cultural and musical trends will be examined.