Theatre Chapter 12 Glossary

burlesque

A form of musical entertainment that features bawdy songs, dancing women, and sometimes striptease. Begun in the 1840s as a parody of opera and the upper class.

dance musical

A musical that features the work of a director-choreographer such as Tommy Tune, Michael Bennett, or Bob Fosse.

operatic musical

A musical that is mostly singing, with less spoken dialogue and usually a darker, more dramatic tone than an operetta has. Examples are Les Misérables and Evita.

book musical

A musical with a particularly well-developed story and characters, such as Fiddler on the Roof.

vaudeville

A popular form of stage entertainment from the 1880s to the 1930s, descended from burlesque. Programs included slapstick comedy routines, song-and-dance numbers, magic acts, juggling, and acrobatic performances.

revue

A program of satirical sketches, singing, and dancing about a particular theme; also called a "musical review."

variety show

A program of unrelated singing, dancing, and comedy numbers. Compare to revue

comedy number

A song in a musical that provides comic relief.

comic opera

A style of opera, including operetta, that developed out of intermezzi, or comic interludes performed during the intermissions of operas. Popularized by the work of Gilbert and Sullivan.

opera

A type of drama introduced at the end of the sixteenth century that is entirely sung.

musical comedy

A type of musical characterized by a lighthearted, fast-moving comic story, whose dialogue is interspersed with popular music.

musical

A type of theatre that features song and dance interspersed with spoken text. The genre includes not only modern musicals with popular songs and impressive spectacle (e.g., Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera) but also the masques, operas, burlesques, minstrel shows, variety shows, and music hall reviews of earlier periods. Compare straight plays.

overture

At the beginning of a musical; a medley of the songs played by the orchestra as a preview

ballad opera

Comic opera that mixed popular songs of the day with spoken dialogue; brought from England to the colonies during the colonial period.

librettist

For a musical, the person who writes the book, or the spoken lines of dialogue and plot

lyricist

For a musical, the person who writes the lyrics

composer

For a musical, the person who writes the music.

book

For a musical, the spoken lines of dialogue and the plot; written by the librettist. Compare lyrics and music

lyric

For a musical, the sung words; the writer is called a lyricist. See also book and music.

music

In a musical script, the orchestrated melodies, which are written by the composer. See also book and lyrics.

showstopper

In a musical, a big production number which receives so much applause that it stops the show

reprise

In a musical, the repetition of a song, sometimes with new lyrics, in a later scene. The new meaning or subtext makes a dramatic point.

straight play

In contrast to a musical, the category of plays without music.

operetta

Like an opera, a drama set to music, but with a frivolous, comic theme, some spoken dialogue, a melodramatic story, and usually a little dancing. Also called "light opera." Popularized by Gilbert and Sullivan

minstrel show

Stage entertainment consisting of songs, dances, and comic scenes performed by white actors in blackface makeup; originated in the nineteenth century

ballad

a love song

rock musical

musical that uses rock and roll music, psychedelic rock, or contemporary pop and rock.