Rock in the Musical Theatre A Guide for Singers

Today's musical theatre world rocks. Now that rock 'n' roll music and its offshoots, including pop, hard rock, rap, r&b, funk, folk, and world-pop music, are the standard language of musical theatre, theatre singers need a source of information on these styles, their origins, and their performance practices. Rock in the Musical Theatre: A Guide for Singers fills this need. Today's musical theatre training programs are now including rock music in their coursework and rock songs and musicals in their repertoires. This is a text for those trainees, courses, and productions. It will also be of great value to working professionals, teachers, music directors, and coaches less familiar with rock styles, or who want to improve their rock-related skills. The author, an experienced music director, vocal coach, and university professor, and an acknowledged expert on rock music in the theatre, examines the many aspects of performing rock music in the theatre and offers practical advice through a combination of aesthetic and theoretical study, extensive discussions of musical, vocal, and acting techniques, and chronicles of coaching sessions. The book also includes advice from working actors, casting directors, and music directors who specialize in rock music for the stage.

Joseph Church is best known for his work as music director and supervisor of two groundbreaking Broadway musicals, The Who's Tommy and The Lion King. He has worked on countless other productions as music director, conductor, keyboardist, and/or arranger, on and Off-Broadway, nationwide, and worldwide, among them, In The Heights, Sister Act, Les Miserables, Little Shop Of Horrors, Randy Newman's Faust, and Radio City's Christmas Spectacular. Also an active composer, he has written for film, television, the concert stage, and over thirty plays and musicals. He is the author of Music Direction for the Stage: A View from the Podium (OUP, 2015).

Foreword by Alex Lacamoire
Author's Note and Acknowledgements

Introduction

PART 1: HISTORY, AESTHETICS, AND LITERATURE
Chapter 1: Background and Rock Aesthetics
Chapter 2: Popular Song vs. Theatre Song

PART 2: THEORY AND TECHNIQUE
Chapter 3: Active Values in Rock Theatre Songs
Chapter 4: Musical Values in Rock Theatre Songs
Chapter 5: Singing Rock: Vocal Production and Vocalism
Chapter 6: Rock Songs: A Selective, Annotated Survey

PART 3: PROCESS: COACHING SESSIONS
Little Shop of Horrors: "Suddenly, Seymour"
Rent: "Take Me or Leave Me"
School of Rock: "When I Climb to the Top of Mount Rock"
Dreamgirls: "I Am Changing"
The Lion King: "Endless Night"
Beautiful: "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"
Kinky Boots: "The History of Wrong Guys"
Tommy: "Pinball Wizard" and Spring Awakening: "The Bitch of Living"
Bare: A Pop Opera: "Plain Jane Fat Ass" and "All Grown Up"

Appendix: Rock Songs for Musical Theatre Singers
Bibliography and Suggested Additional Reading
Index