| Description |
In musical theater, music and language form a hybrid art within musical theater to create new ethical, social, and political possibilities. Both Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd utilize varied techniques and genres of music and text, and create heightened social awareness through these tools. To study how this consciousness forms I use the two works' scores, live performances, sound recordings, librettos, and published commentaries. The study analyzes the specific musical and textual materials that Sondheim used to create each work. By sequentially analyzing the two plays, the study reveals how Sondheim questions old regimes and conceives new principles through the integration of musical and literary vocabulary. Antithetical situations challenge social truths. Sweeney Todd questions modem morality through a Victorian setting. Into the Woods challenges the individualistic fairy tale against a more realistic social world. Sondheim juxtaposes earlier musical and literary genres with contemporary issues to both contrast and highlight audience expectation. Through Sondheim's form, he achieves heightened social awareness. |
