PAST ESSAY QUESTIONS

1 Incidental Music and stylised dance discuss the ways in which individual songs and
dance routines play a genuine part in moving forward the action of the musical.
2 What aspects of earlier art forms were rejected as the book musical emerged in the early
20th century. Suggest reasons for this.
3 Burlesque, operetta and variety show were all important influences on the development of
the American musical, but what elements of each could be said to be discernable as the
century progressed.
4 Discuss whether the integration of the performing arts helps to move the plot forward in
the American Musical (Jan 2002)
5 Evaluate the reasons that have contributed to the enduring popularity of the American
Musical (Jan 2002)
6 Analyse the developments that took place in the American Musical during the period 1927
1957 (June 2002)
7 The American Musical has been described as containing a combination of sentiment and
illusion. How far do you agree with this statement? (June 2002)
8 Discuss the combination of musical and dramatic techniques that might be most
appealing to an audience. (Jan 2003)
9 Evaluate how various techniques are used in the American Musical to create an
appropriate mood or atmosphere. (Jan 2003)
10 The primary feature in the American Musical is the individual song. Discuss how far you
agree with this statement. (June 2003)
11 Evaluate the contrasting features of the American Musical that contribute to the success
of the genre. (June 2003)
12 Explore how the plot in the American Musical often highlights the mixing of opposites
such as hope and despair, good and evil. (June 2004)
13 Evaluate how the instrumental and vocal writing contributes to enhancing particular
moments of drama in the American Musical. (June 2004)
14 Evaluate the belief that the American Musical makes everyday characters and situations
compelling and timeless (June 2005)
15 Discuss the importance of the integration of story and song in the American Musical
(June 2005)
16 Essentially an artificial genre which struggles to bring about collaboration between
practitioners in music, drama and dance. What evidence is there to support or contradict
this view. (June 2006))
17 It has been suggested that the 20th century American Musical is the artistic expression of
the American Dream. Analyse the ways the genre reflects this dream in terms of
culture, society and history. (June 2006)
18 In the early 20th century, Jerome Kern insisted that song and book should be joined in a
perfect and indistinguishable partnership. To what extent is this a feature of musicals
written later in the century? (June 2007)
19 The American Musical offers a diverse commentary on Americas view of itself in the 20 th
century, Analyse the evidence for and against this view. (June 2007)
20 Discuss the view that the increasing use of the dramatic structure rather than the music
or dance has determined the development of the Musical.
21 Assess the impact of early twentieth-century dramatic, choreographic and musical
influences upon the American Musical.
22 Cameron Mackintosh has referred to the power of the language of the musical.
Consider the ways in which the three art forms contribute their specific languages to the
American Musical. (June 2008)
23 Discuss the notion that the American Musical conforms to a predictable formula in terms
of the similarity of the subject matter, the narrative and presentational conventions used,
the characters involved and the type of songs featured. (June 2008)
24 Analyse the contrasting uses of music in the American Musical and how the music
integrates with the other art forms.
25 Discuss the ways in which the changing social and cultural attitudes in the twentieth
century are reflected artistically in the evolving style of the American Musical.
26 The history of the genre is bound up with the creation of the book musical, but not limited
by it Discuss the most significant aspects of the pre-book musical, and assess how
effectively these roots were used in later works. (OCR guide)
27 Analyse the integration of music, dance and drama in the American Musical to create
convincing set-piece scenes. (June 2009)
28 The conventions of the American Musical tool half a century to establish and the other
half to dismantle Discuss these conventions and their use across the twentieth century.
(June 2009)
29 Consider the contribution that dance has made to the development of the American
musical and how it integrates with the other art forms. (Feb 2010)
30 Evaluate the major differences of approach to writing musicals in American during the
twentieth century. (Feb 2010)
31 In what ways does the American Musical represent both celebration and criticism of
American society? (June 2010)
32 What evidence is there to support or contradict the view that the Book Musical was at its
peak between 1927 and 1957? (June 2010)
33 To what extent has the development of the American Musical been driven by partnerships
in dance, drama and music? (Feb 2011)
34 Although the later American Musical changed and evolved during the twentieth century, it
is possible to identify the elements of a winning formula. To what extent have particular
conventions remained constant during the period? (Feb 2011)
35 The Golden Age of the American Musical was really a golden age of denial of the reality
of the world, and it was rightly superseded by a more realistic approach from the 1960s.
How far do you agree with this view? (June 2011)
36 Discuss the extent to which dramatic elements are compromised or enhanced by their
integration with dance and music in the American Musical. (June 2011)
37 Something familiar, Something peculiar, Something for everyone. (Sondheim) Analyse
the appeal of the various styles of American Musical across the twentieth century. (Jan
2012)
38 Examine the debt owed by later practitioners to the early pioneers of the American
Musical in the twentieth century. (Jan 2012)
39 Discuss the view that music, dance and drama all compete for the audiences attention in
a musical, but only the best musicals demonstrated effective integration. (June 2012)
40 Everything that happens in life, can happen in a show. (Dietz) Discuss the ways in
which the American Musical of the Twentieth Century reflects what happens in life. (June
2012)