Students taking the Musical Theater History course this past spring learned that understanding America’s past musical theater traditions could translate to improved performances on the stage.
Under the guidance of Mary Jo Lodge, visiting assistant professor of theater, students learned the history of American musical theater and performed a medley of famous musicals such as “Oklahoma”and “Into the Woods”at the Williams Center for the Arts.
“It was the first time I was able to teach a class like this,” Lodge says. “It is unique because while the students are itching to perform, they are also learning the intricacies of the histories of musicals and their influences on American musical theater.”
Lodge also challenged her students to write papers in which they made arguments for which past playwright or performer would best fit a modern television show or movie adapted for a musical.
“Learning the histories and the stories behind certain musicals and then determining how those composers or performers would fit in a modern setting gives the students a better understanding of what they are doing,” Lodge says.
The two-day-per-week class was divided evenly between performance and lecture. While many students preferred performing, they eventually came to appreciate the importance and relevance of musical theater history.
“It did change the way some of them approached the performance aspect,” Lodge says. “Musical theater really is an American invention, and I think they were able to learn more about some of the musicals they grew up on and love.”
Psychology major Jacqueline Macri ’09 (Malvern, Pa.) found the class both rewarding and challenging.
“I’ve had a lot of experience performing in musical theater, but few were the times when I was told to take care of a performance on my own,” she says. “Professor Lodge entrusted us to come up with our own character motivation, blocking, and rehearsal, which I felt was a great challenge.”
For Macri, delving into the historical aspects of American theater was also inspirational.
“Any theatergoer knows that he or she will never be able to see every show that comes to the stage,” she explains. “And Professor Lodge did a great job of bringing as many performances and techniques to us as possible. She also picked a great textbook that answered more than the question of what a musical was all about, but why it came about in the first place.”
Macri believes the lessons she learned in the theater class will stay with her as she continues her education at Lafayette.
“I’ve learned that I can just as easily challenge myself as a professor can challenge me,” she says.
Though Macri is unsure of her plans after Lafayette, she has been revived by Lodge’s teaching style and enthusiasm for theater.
“[Lodge] has a great talent for taking something simple and making it work wonders for the performer,” she says. “My past concern about not having enough theater education to go on in that field has been reduced since [she] joined the faculty.”
Macri is the musical director of Lafayette’s all female a cappella group Cadence, a peer tutor in music theory, and member of guitar ensemble. She also assists with piano and voice lessons.