Great Collaborators: The Music and Lyrics of Broadway’s Famous Songwriting Teams

Some of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time were written by songwriting teams. From Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein or Rodgers and Lorenz Hart to Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe, John Kander and Fred Ebb, and Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, these writers collaborated almost exclusively with one another and created new kinds of storytelling for stage and screen. Their signature styles are unmistakable and have earned them their places in the history of Broadway. In this course we focus on studying and performing songs from shows written by these duos. In addition to preparing a song both vocally and dramatically, each student gives a final presentation including biographical information about the writers, as well as sharing research on their method of collaboration.