ABSTRACT
The staging of musicals offers a number of unique challenges and rewards for the director. Musicals are the direct theatrical descendants of opera and operetta and have retained much of their form from these early roots. Auditions and casting decisions for a musical are far more complex and time-consuming than for most straight plays. In addition to the collaboration with the scenic, lighting, costume, and sound designers, the director of a musical also collaborates with other artists in the areas of music and choreography. The analysis portion of the director's preparation for a musical is like that of a straight play but with an added focus on the music that both accompanies the songs and dances and underscores the scenes. The piano-conductor score is used by the rehearsal accompanist, the music director while working with the cast, and the conductor.
