Simons Institute Special Lecture - An Introduction to the Broadway Musical

Not only is musical theater a quintessential, indigenous, uniquely American art form that predates jazz—it also has a long history of commenting on American cultural identity and social themes. (Nine musicals have won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.) Using lots of video clips and commentary, I will outline the history and evolution of the Broadway musical from Show Boat (1927) to Hamilton (2015) and beyond: what it is (and isn’t), where it came from, why it arose here instead of somewhere else, who and what influenced it, and how to experience it inexpensively in the Bay Area.

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Armando Fox (he/él/il/lui; PhD Berkeley 2000, MS University of Illinois 1992, BS MIT 1990; armandofox.com) is a Professor of Computer Science, Faculty Advisor for Digital Learning Strategy, and EECS/CoE/Campus Equity Advisor at UC Berkeley.  His teaching and research in CS Education and Software Engineering have resulted in numerous awards, including the 2015 ACM Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award, Scientific American "Top 50" researcher, and others. Outside of Berkeley, he has served as Music Director for over 30 musicals in the Bay Area and elsewhere, several of which have won or been nominated for awards, and has served on the Boards or Advisory Boards of several local theaters.  He is classically trained (piano and other instruments) since age 5.  Fox is the author of the best book on music direction written by a computer scientist (pianoconductor.com) and co-author of the best book on software engineering written by a music director (www.saasbook.info).  He grew up in New York City and is bicultural (Cuban-American) and multilingual.  And he doesn't take himself terribly seriously.