Preparations - Task 1 - Learning The Craft

[Lex Green]

Reactions to the news that Hogwarts will be doing a school production have been mixed, but generally positive, and so preparations have begun! The staff in charge are yet to make any important decisions, and they want to ensure that all the students who wish to be involved have the knowledge to do so before going any further. For this reason, they have asked that students undertake a small amount of research into a stage production (play or musical, whichever you prefer), and share their findings together, to help build excitement and learn together about what the rest of the process might entail.

Task:
Research a play or musical and share your findings in at least 100 words. You can choose to look at any element of a production - the storyline, performers involved, creative team, etc - but be sure to mention the name of the production you are talking about!

This task is worth 10 beans/sapphires, with an additional 10 bonus beans/sapphires available for completing all Week One (Preparations) tasks by the end of activity (January 31st.)

[Viviana Kingston]

The musical that I researched on was Hamilton. It’s a show following the life story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States. While I’m not too versed in the history behind it, what piqued my interest was a song called ‘Burn’. It’s the fifteenth sing from the Act 2 of the musical which premiered on Broadway in 2015. The music and lyrics were produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The song is performed by actor Phillipa Soo who plays the character Eliza Hamilton, the spouse of Alexander Hamilton. The genre of the song is a power ballad. The musical itself was based on Ron Chernow’s biography of the founding father by the name of ‘Alexander Hamilton’ and based this song on his assumption that (as Ron says in his book and I quote) “Eliza Hamilton was a modest, self-effacing woman who apparently destroyed her own letters and tried to expunge her presence from the history books.” This song is Lin- Manuel’s interpretation that Eliza destroyed some of her correspondence with her husband. In the musical, the song comes after Alexander Hamilton tried to salvage his legacy by admitting to an affair in a public pamphlet. Eliza, hurt and betray, burns the love letters her husband wrote to her in order to take control of the narrative. It’s an absolutely heartbreaking rendition that I belt out from time to time because I feel it’s the perfect example of female rage in historical periods. But how I stumbled upon this was initially through a video of a remix of the song called ‘First Burn’ which is sung by 4 singers that had stunning vocals and portrayed the heavy emotions almost perfectly in my opinion.

[River Fenwick]

"West Side Story" is a phenomenal showing of musical theatre. The production focus in this will be the original Broadway. From the genius lyrics of Stephen Sondheim to Jerome Robbins' concept, the base story of "Romeo and Juliet" was transformed into a whole new production based in 1950s New York City, now known as "West Side Story."

The cast members of the original Broadway production, such as Larry Kert as Tony and Carol Lawrence as Maria, injected the characters with such emotion and depth. The tragic love story turned into a booming success thanks to these performers. It became a classic fast, posing as many first breaks for performers over the years. Grant Gustin (who is my reason for writing about this) even once performed in this during the 2010 US tour!

[Dibyarup James Potter]

The play that I researched is "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child". It is a two-part stage play penned by Jack Thorne based on an original story by Thorne, J.K. Rowling, and John Tiffany. The play premiered in London's West End in 2016, and people loved the storytelling and magical effects, thanks to Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender, and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.

The story is set 19 years after J.K. Rowling's books, focusing on Harry and his son, Albus Severus Potter. It was directed by John Tiffany, and the original cast consisted of Jamie Parker, Noma Dumezweni, and Paul Thornley. The play was successful commercially and critically, grabbing nine Olivier Awards in 2017, showcasing its impact on theatre. The unique format of delivery, as both a script book and a live stage play, allowed the magic of the Wizarding World to enchant Harry Potter fans in a new way.

[Artemisia Thorne]

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast musical is a direct adaptation of their 1991 film.

The Broadway production opened on April 18, 1994, at the Palace Theatre. It ran here for five years before being transferred to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where it ran for a further 7 years. The original cast included Susan Egan as Belle, Terrence Mann as the Beast, and Burke Moses as Gaston. Notable casting in international productions includes Hugh Jackman as Gaston in the original Australian cast in 1995.

The musical features eight of the original songs from the film, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman. Ashman had been reluctant to work on the Beauty and the Beast film as he was already working on Aladdin and wished to focus on that and his health. He died of AIDS at the age of 40 prior to the completion of the film. He was nominated for several awards for the film posthumously, winning four. Alan Menken teamed up with Tim Rice to write a further six songs for the musical adaptation.

The original Broadway production won Best Costume Design at the 1994 Tony Awards, while the West End production won Best New Musical at the 1998 Laurence Olivier Awards.

[Hiya Debnath]

I researched a tragedy play named "Othello", written by William Shakespeare. It has five acts. The title of the play is also the name of the main character, "Othello". Othello is a heroic black general in the service of Venice, who appoints someone called Cassio instead of Iago as his chief lieutenant. Iago is jealous of both Cassio and of Othello's success, and plots revenge. He keeps feeding Othello lies about Othello's wife, Desdemona, and makes Othello suspect a love affair between Desdemona and Cassio. He does this with aid from his own wife, Emilia, and another person called Roderigo. Falling victim to Iago's plans, Othello eavesdrops on Cassio's conversation with Iago about Bianca, Cassio's mistress, and falsely believes that the conversation is about his wife, Desdemona, just what Iago wanted him to think. Iago also makes use of a handkerchief to falsely lead Othello to believe that there was an affair going on between the two and that Desdemona had given the handkerchief to Cassio as a love token. Believing these minor proofs, and insecure about his "blackness", Othello kills Desdemona thinking that she had been cheating on him. Later, he learns from Emilia that Desdemona was blameless and kills himself out of remorse and guilt. This play is about the folly of impulsiveness, believing without confirming, and falling prey to other people's bad intentions due to being gullible. It upholds the importance of trust and the need to communicate in marital relationships, and also the need to confirm anything said by a third party, especially those who may have a vested interest. Insecurity and jealousy can get the best of someone, leading to self-destruction in the end. While jealousy is a human emotion, it can also lead a person to malice and evil acts, as was in the case of Iago. I really enjoyed this Shakespearean play very much. William Shakespeare is one of my favorite authors and playwrights.

[Aquaria Sandalwood]

The production I chose to research is the stage production of The Lion King. This has been on Broadway since 1997, and features music by Elton John. If you are thinking about the Disney film, The Lion King, this musical is very much the same story, although there are some differences between the film and the stage production. For example, Rafiki’s gender was changed in the stage production and is cast as female, because it was observed that there were no leading female roles in the film and they wanted to change that. There are also a few additional scenes, some of which include Mufasa, so we get a bit more of his backstory in the stage production.

[Katherine Laurier]

Cats is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber which tells the story of the Jellices, a tribe of cats, making the "Jellicle choice" or which cat among them would ascend to the Heaviside Layer and have a new life. It is based on the poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, most of the lyrics in the songs taken from here. The Broadway production ran for 18 years with approximately 7,500 performances, and the production in London ran for a long 21 years and there were about 9,000 performances, making Cats the longest-running musical in these districts for many years, which is incredibly impressive. Today, Cats maintains its title as 5th longest-running Broadway show and the 7th longest-running West End show. It is a worldwide sensation, the musical having been translated into different languages and performed in different places around the globe.

The wonderful set, staging, choreography, and costumes made the musical an immersive, memorable experience for watchers. It is composed of 2 acts, with the actors dressed up as cats through furry head accessories or wigs, cat costumes, arm and leg warmers, cat tails, and makeup. There is no dialogue and is only composed of music. Throughout the show, the set remains the same as a junkyard with oversized props. Until today, Cats is one of the most famous and highly enjoyed musicals.

[Elena Galatas]

Choosing just one production to do some more in-depth research on was very difficult for me. I am a massive theatre nerd, so it's hard to select just one though I finally settled on Wicked. I could go into extensive detail about the show, but I will try to limit myself to just a few facts about the creation of the show and what the show is about.

Wicked first saw the stage on May 28, 2003 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco; this performance was the pre-Broadway version, and it had a few minor differences from the show we have all come to know and love over the years; certain songs had some bits cut out from them, some costumes were different colors, and while a majority of the original Broadway cast remained the same, a few of the stand-ins had to perform for some of the actors for characters such as The Wizard, Dr. Dillamond, and Boq. After the pre-Broadway run in San Francisco closed on June 29, the show made it's shift to New York City and debuted at the Gershwin Theatre in the Big Apple with previews starting on October 8, 2003. The show is currently still playing at the Gershwin, and last year marked its 20th year anniversary. The show is the fourth longest running Broadway show, coming after Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, and The Lion King; interestingly enough, though, it is the only show in the top 5 that is still running in the same theatre that it debuted in.

The show is based off a novel called "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" which was written in 1995 by Gregory Maguire. Stephen Schwartz composed the music and lyrics for the show, and the book was written by Winnie Holzman. Interestingly enough, Macguire had given the rights to a live-action feature film to Universal Pictures, but in 1998 Schwartz convinced the author to give him the rights to a stage production as well. After Maguire gave him the rights to the show, Schwartz made what he calls an "impassioned plea" to Marc Platt who was the producer of the live-action film at Universal and explained his vision for his own production; after this plea from Schwartz, Platt actually signed on to the musical as a joint producer with Universal and David Stone.

The novel itself can honestly be characterized as "a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil"; it is an adaptation of the 1939 film "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (which itself is an adaptation of L Frank Baum's 1900 novel of the same name), but it provides it a different take on the story of the "Wicked" witch. The novel and corresponding musical takes its audience through events prior to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" as well as telling us the famous story from the point of view of the Wicked witch, whose name is Elphaba.

The story centers on Elphaba Thropp, presenting the future "Wicked Witch of the West" as a misunderstood, intelligent, and impassioned girl with emerald-green skin. Because of her skin color (and sharp teeth in the novel), she's spent her entire life more or less hidden away because everyone is afraid of her; she's the shame of her family, especially after her mother passes away after giving birth to his sister, Nessarose. We are also introduced to Galinda Upland, the beautiful, blonde, social climbing girl who grows up to become Glinda the Good Witch. The show recounts the lives of Elphaba and Galinda (who eventually changes her name to Glinda in honor of one of her professors', Dr. Dillamond, inability to pronounce her name correctly) while at Shiz University and then spans the events after Dorothy's arrival in Oz from Elphaba's point of view.

The show (and novel) is designed to set audiences thinking about what it really means to be "wicked"; it presents the question of "are good intentions with bad results the same as bad intentions with bad results". With the help of Platt and Holzman, Schwartz was able to create his own adaptation of the novel instead of a strict book-to-stage version of the novel. In the years since the show first debuted, it has become wildly popular. After 21 years of waiting, one of the things I'm most excited for in 2024 is the fact that they are making a live-action version of the musical that's hitting the silver screen in November. I love a vast majority of Broadway shows, but I have to admit that Wicked remains in my top 3 of favorites and has been there since I first saw it.

Edit: I tried not to write a lot and ended up writing soooo much. >.>

[Evony Senoj]

"Wicked" is a musical play that is a fun twist on the "Wizard of Oz" story. The story centers on two girls who become witches in the Land of Oz. One girl, Elphaba, has green skin and is very smart and kind, but people are afraid of her and call her wicked. The other girl, Glinda, is very pretty and popular, and people love her and call her good. The play shows how they meet, become friends, and then enemies, because they are manipulated by a "powerful wizard" who rules Oz. (Throughout the story, Dorothy comes and has her adventure, entwined with the story of the witches). It's an excellent play, and I highly recommend it!

[Adeline Morior]

Beetlejuice the musical on Broadway. Yes it is based on the 1988 film. The story is about a couple that died and tried to haunt the new residence of their former home by calling the help of a cunning and devious bio-exorcist named Betelgeuse (pronounced and sometimes spelled Beetlejuice), who is a demon summoned by living people saying his name three times.

The musical was directed by Alex Timbers and produced by Warner Bros. In 2017 the musical comedian Eddie Perfect would write the music and lyrics and Scott Brown and Anthony King would be writing the book of the musical. The plot consists of two acts progressing the story and drama.

The show was featured in Washington DC in 2018 as a pre-Broadway, and then on Broadway in 2019 to 2023. It also had a U.S tour in 2022. The musical was also played in South Korea in 2021, Brazil 2023-2024 and is planning a Swedish production in 2024 and Australian production in 2025.

I myself didn’t watch this but the movie was one of my favorites growing up and I think a musical would be amazing to see in person. Just my two cents.

[Scarlet Robloutain]

I decided to take a go at "Phantom of the Opera" which is a classic musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Set in a Victorian opera house, the story follows a masked, mysterious figure known as The Phantom and his obsession with the young singer Christina.

The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of the masked man Phantom and his mysterious obsession with a young soprano. Over the course of the musical, we see the Phantom's obsession grow from a fascination with the girl's voice to a twisted obsession with her beauty and talent. The Phantom is a mysterious figure who is never unmasked, but we soon learn he is a handsome and brilliant man with a disfigured face. His obsession and infatuation with Christina begin as simply an admiration for her singing talent, but as time goes on, the Phantom begins to desire more from her as he slowly attempts to make her his own.

[Janne Halla]

Les Miserables is a musical based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel. The particular iteration of the musical is the 1995 Les Miserables: The Dream Cast in Concert, which was produced to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the West End production of the musical.

I think this production is different from the others in many ways, but I quite like what they did with the encore. For the encore, they invited seventeen international actors for Jean Valjean in their countries to sing Do You Hear the People Sing? in their own languages. When the song ends, they're joined by the whole cast into a wonderful chorus of One Day More.

Naturally, they also received a standing ovation and there's quite a bang for the end, with balloons, streamers and sparklers. Quite a powerful end to the show!