Part four in my series exploring the different modalities of some of the most popular college musical theater programs brings us to the University of Arizona. I will never forget the thrill of seeing Danny Gurwin opposite Sutton Foster on Broadway in “Little Women,” so it was a treat to have the opportunity to speak with the assistant professor who now heads the university’s burgeoning musical theater department at Arizona.
When and why did the demand for a musical theater degree develop?The necessity for a musical theater BFA degree became urgent within the last 30 years or so as young musical theater actors found themselves entering a marketplace feeling under prepared. Before the MT degree, a student would simply study theater arts or pursue the finest acting training they could, [with] theater programs typically producing only one musical if that.
If we use Broadway as a business model, the majority of commercial endeavors are musicals and actors were feeling ill-equipped to meet Broadway’s specific demands. Coupled with the reinvigoration of movie musicals and the popularity of television shows like “Glee” and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” this specialized training finds
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