Hip-Hop culture's explosive arrival on the art scene of New York in the
boroughs of Queens and the Bronx in the 1970s began to influence all
aspects of musical theater from singing to scenic design. Hip-Hop in
Musical Theatre takes an intersectional standpoint to explore Hip-Hop's
influence on musical theater practice and aesthetics by giving the
reader a comprehensive map of musical theater productions that have been
impacted by Hip-Hop music and culture.
Offering insightful briefs on musical theater productions that contain
aesthetic, musical and embodied references to the global phenomenon of
Hip-hop culture, this volume takes the reader through a virtual tour of
Hip-Hop's influence on American musical theater. From early traces of
hip-hop's rap scene in the 1970s that appeared in musicals such as Micki
Grant's Tony Award nominated Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope (1971) and
Broadway smash hits such as The Wiz (1974) to international
juggernauts such as Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton (2015), this
introductory book decodes the sights and sounds of Hip-Hop culture
within the socio-cultural context in which the musicals are produced.
Published in the Topics in Musical Theatre series this volume presents
fact-filled and insightful summaries of musicals that give the reader a
snapshot of the musical and narrative content while highlighting which
aspect of the music and culture of Hip-Hop informs acting, dancing,
singing, design, and music in the selected musical while offering
insightful analysis on the ways that hip-hop styles and politics have
changed the shape of musical theater practice.
