UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Musical Theater

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    THE PROM: AN EXPLORATION OF THE MUSICAL THEATRE DESIGN PROCESS
    (2024) Henrriquez, Christian Douglas; Chandrashaker, Amith; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis outlines the lighting design process for The Prom, performed at the University of Maryland’s School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies in September 2023. It outlines the process from initial thoughts, collaborating with the creative team, budgeting, creating technical paperwork, cueing, and technical rehearsals, culminating with the opening night. The paper contains documents and images detailing the process with an evaluation and reflection.
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    THE PROM: A SCENIC DESIGN
    (2024) Roak, Brandon; Kachman, Misha; Conway, Daniel; Theatre; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this thesis is to provide a record for the scenic design process for The Prom, a musical by Matthew Sklar, Chad Beguelin, and Bob Martin, produced at the University of Maryland – College Park by the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. This thesis contains documentation for the scenic design and production process for this performance. These documents serve as the foundation of this scenic design. Each element was used to communicate design ideas and technical specifications to the director, other designers, and craftspeople involved in this production. Included are research images, photographs of ¼” scale models, drafting plates, paint elevations, a properties list and a properties book detailing furniture and hand props, along with a final reflection of the scenic design and production process.
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    A Blue Tin Pan: Musical, Cultural, and Personal Contexts of Jazz in the Music of Harold Arlen
    (2020) England, Sarah Jean; Warfield, Patrick R; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This dissertation explores the compositions of songwriter Harold Arlen, viewing them as musical portraits of the immigrant experience and the racial politics of the United States in the early part of the twentieth century. This approach reveals how Arlen’s upbringing in a racially diverse neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, where Jewish American immigrants and African Americans formed the core of the community, as well as his early years playing in jazz bands and his tenure at the Cotton Club, left a permanent and indelible mark on his compositional style. I trace the influence of African American popular music on his compositional approach, structure, and style. In doing so, this dissertation adds a more nuanced view to narratives about Jewish American songwriters’ use of jazz and blues in Tin Pan Alley song by demonstrating their specific application in the works of one composer. In addition to musical function, the personal and cultural implication of jazz elements in Arlen’s music are also explored.
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    "The Biggest Con in History": American Myth-Making in the Stage and Screen Adaptations of Anastasia
    (2018) Weyman, Jennifer Elizabeth; Haldey, Olga; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The story of Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova has been engrained in the American imagination for nearly a century. This tale has often been told on stage and screen, depicting Anastasia and her most famous impersonator: Anna Anderson. The adaptation of Anna and Anastasia’s tale that has made the most lasting impact is the 1951 French play, Anastasia, by Marcelle Maurette, and its 1954 English translation by Guy Bolton. Four more adaptations have followed that progenitor play: the 1956 film, Anastasia; the 1965 operetta, Anya; the 1997 animated film, Anastasia; and the 2017 musical, Anastasia. These five artistic adaptations evolved from one another, navigating their own history alongside changing American values. This thesis situates each production within American sociopolitics of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, revealing how each production is far more indicative of American ideals than Russian history, particularly with regards to immigration, foreign policy, and feminism.