Genre Musical

The musical is a genre of theatre and, secondarily, of cinema. It combines song, dance, acting and music inside a continuous dramatic frame. Musicals have existed since the 1920s (Broadway, New York) and reached their heyday in the late 1940s and 1950s. In later forms, spoken dialogue is sometimes nearly absent. The musical originated as the American answer to the (European) operetta.

People

Musicals work with sharply drawn role types. Every figure is above all a vehicle for desires, conflicts and songs.

the hero / heroine — usually young, with a great dream or longing,
the lover — the partner in the central love duet,
the rival — threatens to drive the lovers apart,
the strict parent or boss figure — embodies the obstacle to the dream,
the best friend — sidekick with the comic number,
the mentor — opens doors or opens eyes,
the antagonist — clearly evil or simply selfish (Velma vs. Roxie, Javert vs. Valjean),
ensemble and chorus — the city, the workers, the gang, the neighbourhood, the on-stage audience.

Typical stylistic features

The features described below apply more to musicals of the 1950s than to modern forms such as Hair (1967), Tommy (1969), Mamma Mia (1999) or the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber (from 1980 onwards).

Musicals tell continuous stories — the dramatic arc follows the typical dramaturgical rules.

Specific stylistic features:

dialogue and musical numbers alternate,
traditionally two acts with an intermission,
varied musical styles, including popular forms of jazz,
the music is catchy, "punchy", popular, easy to sing along to,
ballads (love songs),
rhythm numbers signal drama, drive the action and add tempo,
"comic" song with a relaxing function,
"nice" song to enchant the audience and make a character more sympathetic, foregrounding key traits,
the song (often combined with dance) is the dramatic and aesthetic high point of a scene,
lavish production: gorgeous costumes and stage effects, refined technology, vivid colour, mass dance numbers, large orchestra, spectacular scenes,
fantastical and surreal dream sequences,
usually a happy ending,
lovers sing their feelings to one another in a shared duet,
the action is the obstacle course towards the lovers' shared happiness,
socially aware: different ethnicities, faiths and classes (West Side Story),
frequently literary or historical source material,
usually tragic and/or humorous,
kitsch / cliché-rich (The Sound of Music).

Typical song types

The songs in a classical musical fulfil fixed dramatic functions. Knowing them lets you cite them deliberately in improv:

I-want song — the heroine sings what she lacks and longs for ("Somewhere That's Green", "Part of Your World").
Love duet — the lovers' shared song, revealing their feelings ("Tonight", "All I Ask of You").
Comic song — usually from the sidekick or a minor character; lightens the mood.
Showstopper — the entire ensemble sings and dances; production number with wow-effect.
11 o'clock number — just before the finale, the protagonist gathers the conflict into one big song ("Defying Gravity", "Rose's Turn").
Ensemble finale — all characters on stage; one song summarises the journey.
Reprise — an earlier song returns, often in a changed context — the same lyric now means something else.

Typical conflicts and themes

forbidden or class-crossing love,
the dream of fame / the big break (backstage musical),
tradition versus modernity,
poor versus rich, immigration, the rise from below,
city versus countryside (small-town girl in New York),
rivalry between two figures or two groups (Sharks vs. Jets),
self-discovery — who am I, where do I belong,
a great event (wedding, premiere, prom) as the action's destination.

In improv, draw the conflict from a clear relationship between two characters and establish the status between them cleanly.

Typical locations

New York, London, Paris — the big city,
small town with idyllic local colour,
backstage world: theatre, rehearsal room, dressing room,
ballroom, nightclub, jazz cellar,
café, diner, corner bar,
street, fire escape, backyard,
school, prom, college corridor,
train, port, station — places of departure,
dream landscapes (the heroine's surrealist ballet).

Well-known or representative musicals

West Side Story
Singin' in the Rain
An American in Paris
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music
Mary Poppins
Chicago
Cabaret
Hair
Jesus Christ Superstar
Tommy
Grease
Cats
The Phantom of the Opera
Les Misérables
Mamma Mia
Starlight Express
The Lion King
Wicked
Hamilton

Notable composers and authors

Rodgers & Hammerstein (Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, South Pacific),
Lerner & Loewe (My Fair Lady, Gigi),
Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story),
Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Company),
Andrew Lloyd Webber (Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar),
Schönberg & Boublil (Les Misérables, Miss Saigon),
Kander & Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago),
Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Disney musicals),
Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights, Hamilton),
Jerry Herman (Hello, Dolly!, La Cage aux Folles),
Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht — ancestors via The Threepenny Opera.

Tips for improv theatre

Tip into song when feelings get big. The song isn't ornament; it's where the truth becomes visible.
Clear I-want statement at the start. What does the protagonist long for? That carries the entire story.
Use reprises consciously. A melody planted early can later, with new lyrics, say everything.
Work with the ensemble — showstoppers live off the chorus that joins in without needing individual roles.
Two acts, one intermission. Land a dramatic cliffhanger before the break and come back big.
The duet as climax. When the lovers find each other (or lose each other), let it happen in a shared song.
Dream sequence as escape. A character can dance/sing into a dream that reveals their inner world.
Suggest the set, don't build it. A single chair is café, bed and balcony — the music carries the rest.
Clear character types rather than psychological subtlety — musicals are big, clear and felt. See related genres like Bollywood and romance film.