Music 324 History of Musical Theater Show Questionnaire Guidelines
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You will satisfy a portion of the activity unit for this course by watching two musicals in their entirety. There are a couple of live local productions that will be presented during the quarter, and I will give you information about those shows in class. Of course you could watch a show in some other city if you are out of town at some point in the quarter. However, you can satisfy this requirement by watching videos of musicals as well.

There are many ways to watch taped productions. You could watch a television or cable broadcast (AMC offers a lot of musicals). You could watch one of the handful of videos in the Music Department office. You could watch one of the handful of videos in Kennedy Library. You can rent a video (or DVD) at a local store. You can borrow a video from a theater-buff friend.

Can you watch the shows you've chosen for your paper? Yes--and I'd recommend that you do so! Be aware, however, that many film versions of shows are very different from the stage productions. Sometimes the plot is changed completely. If you aren't sure what to watch, feel free to ask me for suggestions.

No matter whether you watch a live or taped show, you need to attach some sort of proof that you saw the show. If it is a live show, you could staple the ticket onto your questionnaire. If you rent a video, include a copy of your rental slip. If you watch a friend's video, or a video at school, photocopy the videocassette case. Or be inventive!

Please read the questionnaire before watching the show so that you are aware of some of the questions you'll need to answer. When you are ready to fill out the questionnaire, please answer each question completely– one-word answers are not sufficient. Please use complete sentences, and, of course, write legibly. If your grammar is so poor that it interferes with my comprehension, I will return the questionnaire to you for a "re-do."

In order to prod you along on this assignment, there will be two "due dates" for the questionnaires:

Questionnaire No. 1: due January 28

Questionnaire No. 2: due March 11

I am not planning to return the questionnaires, since you may be giving me ideas for future listening assignments, but if you do want your questionnaire back after I've read it, put "Please Return" on the top.

These are the questions you'll be answering:

1) Why did you choose this show?

2) What was the general "mood" of the show?

3) What do you feel was the peak point, dramatically, of the show? Why?

4) What do you feel was the peak point, musically, of the show? How was this achieved?

5) With which character do you identify the most? Why?

6) With which character do you identify the least? Can you say what makes the character unsympathetic to you?

7) Choose a song from the show and describe what you can remember about it. What makes it memorable?

8) After watching the whole show, what recommendations would you make for future listening assignments? If I cover only one song from this musical, what one should it be? Please explain your reasoning.

9) Would you recommend this show to a friend who liked musical theater? Why or why not?

10) Would you recommend this show to a friend who did not like musical theater? Why or why not?

11) Other comments?

Don't forget to attach your "proof" of attendance (unless you've turned in a proctor card)!

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