How to make
a musical
HOW TO MAKE A MUSICAL is a fun, irreverent look at how musicals work. It takes a “typical” day in the life of Chris, a high school student, and contrasts each episode in his quest to win Jessica, the girl of his dreams, by presenting scenes both as how they would be in “reality,” and how they would be played in a musical. The point of How to Make a Musical is to take subjects that are amusing and entertaining to student audiences and show how these events are treated in musical theatre form. It gives audiences a greater awareness of how entertainment uses structure and form to gain their involvement. At the same time, it shows how theatre focuses and transforms the raw material of daily life into entertainment and even art. It is a great way of getting students involved in musical theatre while also teaching them the nuts and bolts of how a musical is put together. It is the perfect outreach production for a musical theatre company, illustrating the art form in a way students can relate to and enjoy. HTMAM was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant. CLICK HERE FOR PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE
Marc Jacobs- book, Marion Adler- lyrics
Show Essentials
No set necessary. 6 actors. Musical Soundtrack provided. Performance video available
​
“The Professor” enters to instruct the audience in “How to Make a Musical.” He asks for a “volunteer” from the audience. A young man (Chris) steps onto the stage. The Professor asks the young man to tell him the first few things he did that day. They are fairly simple: got up, washed, dressed, and caught the bus. Now the professor will demonstrate what that morning would be like if that young man was in a musical. The young man suddenly launches into the up-beat opening song detailing the same events but with considerably more theatrical flair in the song “When I Woke up Today.”The following songs illustrate a day in the life of the 5 students at this school while illustrating the following musical theatre conventions: The Opening number, the I Want Song, The Comic Secondary couple song, Love Duet, Dance Sequence, The Ballad, The Plot Device, the 11 o’clock Number, and the finale all in 45 minutes.