Ru
EnV. Breitburg
The architectonics of musical: from Jack Viertel’s theory to Kim Breitburg’s practice (article 2)
This article explores current problems in the theoretical study of the genre’s compositional and dramaturgic aspects of musicals. It is noted that foreign specialists – musicologists and theatre scholars – have fruitfully utilized a functional approach to such research over the past decades. This approach is supported by the theoretical concept outlined by American researcher J. Viertel in his book The secret life of the American Musical (2016). Drawing on numerous “classic” examples of the genre staged by Broadway theaters from the 1940s to the 2010s, the author seeks to identify and establish a “universal” structural and compositional framework for the “ideal musical”, one that is inherently determined by its dramatic specificity and conducive to the most successful stage “biography” of any given project. As noted in the article, the factual validity and unquestionable productivity of this theory can be “verified”, on the one hand, by examples from the aforementioned Broadway productions, and on the other, by similar references to the works of renowned Russian composer Kim Breitburg. Particular attention is given to the musicals “Blue Cameo”, “Dubrovsky”, “Leonardo”, “Casanova”, and “Jane Eyre”, staged between 2009 and 2014 and performed before the publication of J. Viertel’s book, indicating a completely independent interpretation of the genre positioned in the work of our compatriot. Functional models of three key structural elements of the “ideal musical” – “production numbers”, “songs for the stars” and “support numbers” (“tent poles”) – are presented as the main points for a comparative analysis of the relevant theoretical positions (J. Viertel) and “artistic intentions” (K. Breitburg).
Key words
composition and dramaturgy of musical, J. Viertel’s functional theory, “production numbers”, “songs for the stars”, “tent poles”, musical-theatrical works by K. Breitburg.
For citation
Breitburg V. The architectonics of musical: from Jack Viertel’s theory to Kim Breitburg’s practice (article 2). In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2026. No. 3. Pp. 20–37.
