Surname1
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Description
TDHT 114: American Musical Theatre
Final Project, Spring 2021
Due: Monday, June 7 at 6pm (or earlier)
Choose an original source and write a treatment for an adaptation as a stage musical.
Your source may be a play (not another musical, however), novel, short story, biography
(or autobiography), epic poem, non-fiction book, or similar material.
The following sources will not be approved: movies, web or TV series, websites, anime,
blogs, children’s books, young adult novels, or similar material. Since the point of the
project is to learn about the challenges of adaptation, proposals for original musicals will
not be approved.
You must secure (via email) the instructor's approval of the source material prior to
writing the paper; the deadline for approval is Thursday, May 6. No bibliography or
footnotes are necessary unless you are citing other sources, and you may use the first
person. Please adhere to the numbered format below and address all the questions.
We will grade the paper based on creativity, attention to detail, and coherence. We
will not judge the viability of your proposal for production, as that is not the focus of the
paper. We will, however, note any ideas that would be totally unfeasible for a stage
musical.
Jack Viertel’s book, The Secret Life of the American Musical, should be an invaluable aid.
Also helpful are Aaron Frankel’s book, Writing the Broadway Musical, and David
Spencer’s The Musical Theatre Writer’s Survival Guide.
Please submit your paper to Turnitin.com before you submit the hard copy for grading.
Papers should be in Times or similar 12-point font, double-spaced, with standard
margins.
1. Why does this material appeal to you as a source for adaptation? What
about it lends itself to becoming a musical; i.e., what about the material
, Surname2
“sings”? Analyze the themes, characters, emotion, dramatic action, locale,
and atmosphere of the original piece. What is the overall tone of the original
material? How do you hope to capture that in adaptation?
2. Discuss the major changes you would make to the original material to
convert it into a viable musical. It is especially important to discuss changes
in overall tone, themes, characters, emotion, dramatic action, locale, and
atmosphere. Justify your choices and note especially any cuts or additions
you would make to the original (to narrative line, character, location, etc.).
3. What musical style(s) or idiom(s) would you employ, and why? What will it
sound like?
4. What function will dance serve? What style(s) of choreography do you
envision?
5. Create a detailed, scene-by-scene synopsis (in prose narrative, not outline
fashion) of the plot you have conceived, noting act and scene divisions.
Where appropriate, discuss how your story line and character choices
depart from the original. Justify your decisions. Locate the songs and major
dances in the synopsis and discuss the following for each song/dance:
a). The purpose/function of the song/dance
b). The characters involved
c). Song/dance style, mood, and tempo
d). Working title for the song/dance
In order to help you focus the narrative section of your paper, begin each scene’s
description with a one-sentence statement indicating the action of the scene. “Action”
refers to dramatic action and NOT physical activity (although the latter may well echo
the former). For example, you might write, "In this scene, X seduces Y, while A blackmails
B." Note the use of the active verbs "seduces" and "blackmails." This statement for each
scene will allow you to arrive at a better understanding of the dramatic action in that
scene—and the play.
6. What is the working title of the musical? Why did you choose it?
7. Discuss basic stylistic ideas for staging, design, and choreography.
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Description
TDHT 114: American Musical Theatre
Final Project, Spring 2021
Due: Monday, June 7 at 6pm (or earlier)
Choose an original source and write a treatment for an adaptation as a stage musical.
Your source may be a play (not another musical, however), novel, short story, biography
(or autobiography), epic poem, non-fiction book, or similar material.
The following sources will not be approved: movies, web or TV series, websites, anime,
blogs, children’s books, young adult novels, or similar material. Since the point of the
project is to learn about the challenges of adaptation, proposals for original musicals will
not be approved.
You must secure (via email) the instructor's approval of the source material prior to
writing the paper; the deadline for approval is Thursday, May 6. No bibliography or
footnotes are necessary unless you are citing other sources, and you may use the first
person. Please adhere to the numbered format below and address all the questions.
We will grade the paper based on creativity, attention to detail, and coherence. We
will not judge the viability of your proposal for production, as that is not the focus of the
paper. We will, however, note any ideas that would be totally unfeasible for a stage
musical.
Jack Viertel’s book, The Secret Life of the American Musical, should be an invaluable aid.
Also helpful are Aaron Frankel’s book, Writing the Broadway Musical, and David
Spencer’s The Musical Theatre Writer’s Survival Guide.
Please submit your paper to Turnitin.com before you submit the hard copy for grading.
Papers should be in Times or similar 12-point font, double-spaced, with standard
margins.
1. Why does this material appeal to you as a source for adaptation? What
about it lends itself to becoming a musical; i.e., what about the material
, Surname2
“sings”? Analyze the themes, characters, emotion, dramatic action, locale,
and atmosphere of the original piece. What is the overall tone of the original
material? How do you hope to capture that in adaptation?
2. Discuss the major changes you would make to the original material to
convert it into a viable musical. It is especially important to discuss changes
in overall tone, themes, characters, emotion, dramatic action, locale, and
atmosphere. Justify your choices and note especially any cuts or additions
you would make to the original (to narrative line, character, location, etc.).
3. What musical style(s) or idiom(s) would you employ, and why? What will it
sound like?
4. What function will dance serve? What style(s) of choreography do you
envision?
5. Create a detailed, scene-by-scene synopsis (in prose narrative, not outline
fashion) of the plot you have conceived, noting act and scene divisions.
Where appropriate, discuss how your story line and character choices
depart from the original. Justify your decisions. Locate the songs and major
dances in the synopsis and discuss the following for each song/dance:
a). The purpose/function of the song/dance
b). The characters involved
c). Song/dance style, mood, and tempo
d). Working title for the song/dance
In order to help you focus the narrative section of your paper, begin each scene’s
description with a one-sentence statement indicating the action of the scene. “Action”
refers to dramatic action and NOT physical activity (although the latter may well echo
the former). For example, you might write, "In this scene, X seduces Y, while A blackmails
B." Note the use of the active verbs "seduces" and "blackmails." This statement for each
scene will allow you to arrive at a better understanding of the dramatic action in that
scene—and the play.
6. What is the working title of the musical? Why did you choose it?
7. Discuss basic stylistic ideas for staging, design, and choreography.
