Scenography in Musical Theatre answers the questions: What are the ways that scenography acts as a mode of storytelling within the genre of musical theatre?; Who are the major designers that have shaped the way in which audiences expect musicals to look and sound?; and what have innovations in design technology and practice enabled composers and lyricists to do with musical theatre that were not possible before?
This introductory text describes and analyses, within the context of the theatrical event, the theories, strategies, and tools of creative design for the purposes of performance. Aimed at a reader with little knowledge of theatre design, this book demonstrates the dynamics of good design through the works of influential designers who have collaborated on the seminal repertoire of the Anglo-American musical theatre since 1960. Through detailed historical analysis readers learn to recognize the importance of play analysis in theatre design. They also discover how to identify the fundamentals of design process, and recognize the role of individual design areas such as scenery, costumes, lighting, sound and projection in visualizing the work of composers, lyricists, and bookwriters. Published as part of the Topics in Musical Theatre series, this foundational book opens the readers' eyes to the processes that underlie musical theatrical design and provides them with an appreciation of the designer's role in the production of musical theatre for Broadway and the West End.