While watching a Biopic about Rodgers and Hammerstein, the narrator commented how this duo was the first to break some hard fast rules of Broadway Theater. For years, the first rule on Broadway was that the show had to begin with a big chorus number. But when they mounted "Oklahoma," a big chorus number at the start did not serve the plot.
Instead, the show opens with Aunt Eller sitting alone on stage churning butter. As the lights come up slowly, the voice of the cowboy Curly is heard singing "O What a Beautiful Mornin'." It's a quiet, but appropriate beginning to a ground breaking Broadway Musical.
Another rule Rodgers and Hammerstein broke was by staying true to the setting of the story. There were no tap dancing songs with the chorus girls showing a lot of "leg." The play was about simple frontier folk, farmers and cowhands, out on the Oklahoma prairie. A high kicking chorus line would have been 'way out of the realm of believability.
In fact, each song grew out of the situation or dialogue in a seamless fashion that moved the plot along and developed the characters or their relationships. None of the songs in that show were included just to give the ensemble something to do.
Instead, the show opens with Aunt Eller sitting alone on stage churning butter. As the lights come up slowly, the voice of the cowboy Curly is heard singing "O What a Beautiful Mornin'." It's a quiet, but appropriate beginning to a ground breaking Broadway Musical.
Another rule Rodgers and Hammerstein broke was by staying true to the setting of the story. There were no tap dancing songs with the chorus girls showing a lot of "leg." The play was about simple frontier folk, farmers and cowhands, out on the Oklahoma prairie. A high kicking chorus line would have been 'way out of the realm of believability.
In fact, each song grew out of the situation or dialogue in a seamless fashion that moved the plot along and developed the characters or their relationships. None of the songs in that show were included just to give the ensemble something to do.
Succeeding shows on Broadway took clues from this "new' way of writing shows. The best shows, even Children's Theater shows, follow this format. While there is nothing wrong with beginning a show with a big chorus number, theatrical shows are best when the songs all have a purpose --- to develop characters, or their relationships, or move the plot along.
In Children's Theater, long "tour de force' solo songs for the lead characters are not common. For good reason. Rarely are such young children developed enough to be able to put over a showstopper solo song. So, most songs in a Children's Theater show written for young actors may have a few sections for a solo or two, but will necessarily be sung by the ensemble.
While writing "The Frog Prince," I knew the children who would be in the show several months before the Camp started.
Because I knew their talents and abilities, I felt confident that I could write a few solo songs that they could pull off rather well. (And they did!)
"To Be a Princess" and "A Promise Is a Promise" are two of those songs.
While writing "No Time for Monkey Business," I also had the luxury of knowing a few of the actors who would be in the show before camp started. So I felt confident I could write songs tailored for them, too.
That's why the Fox, the Zebra, the Hyena, the Fancy Bird, the Rhino, and the Monkey all got their own solo songs with support from the ensemble.
Probably the closest to a tour de force song I ever wrote for a Children's Theater show is "As the French Say" from The Country Mouse and the City Mouse.
This song is for the two lead character girls plus the City Mouse's French Maid.
Not only do these young actors need to sing well, they should be also able to do the Can Can! Wow!
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