IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
Songs that make you feel ideas: That is how composer Yip Harberg (“Over the Rainbow,” Finian’s Rainbow) described the marriage of words and music in songs of the American Musical. Nicknamed “the conscience of Broadway,” Harberg echoed the sentiments of many in musical theatre: “Songs are the pulse of a nation’s heart. A fever chart of its health.” This class will chronicle the work of the composers and lyricists who reflected, reinforced, and, at times, raised America’s civic and social conscience. More importantly, we will learn how they did it with optimism, humor, and sentiment. It’s a whirlwind tour of the musical theatre with stops, some surprising, to see and hear the work of artists like Jerry Bock, Stephen Sondheim, Gretchen Cryer, Nancy Ford, Bert Williams, Will Marion Cook, Oscar Hammerstein, Abe Borrows, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Ken Stevens began his theater career in Cincinnati where he co-founded the Showboat Majestic and served as a Rockefeller Fellow at Playhouse in the Park and the University of Cincinnati. In 1972 Ken joined the faculty of Eastern Michigan University (EMU), where he created both the musical theater program and the graduate and undergraduate programs in arts management. He serves on the board of Villa Barr Art Park and Novi and the education program of Michigan Legacy Art Park, a wilderness sculpture park at Crystal Mountain Resort.
