Wikipedia:WikiProject Musical Theatre/Article Structure
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Please note that the structure proposed here is not finalized. Please propose additons or modifications on the talk page before adding them just in case the topic has already been discussed. This notice will be reomoved when the structure is finialized. Untill then, do not regard this as the final article structure for Musical Theatre related articles. Thanks!
--The WikiProject Musical Theatre team. |
Below you will find the suggested structure of Articles pertaining to works of Musical Theatre on Wikipeda. Please note that this is the suggested structure and is not written in stone. However, this will become (hopefully) the most widely used structure and should be taken into consideration by all who edit articles about Musical Theatre.
[edit] Introduction & infobox (before TOC)
The Lead section should follow the rules set down at Wikipedia:Lead section. The infobox should be from WikiProject Musical Theatre/Templates. The Infobox should not be {{Infobox Musical}}, or {{Broadway-show}}. Both of these infoboxes are outdated. The lead section need not contain any of the information contained in the infobox (except per WP:LEAD). An exception is made when explanation about the information in the infobox is needed or used. Example:
- The musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is based on the book How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (book) written in 1952 by Shepherd Mead.
The lead section should also include references to any other works based on the musical (i.e. films, television shows). Also note that the awards sections in the infobox should not contain any awards given to actors or actresses within the play. The awards listed should only be about the play as a literary work (i.e. awards about the book, lyrics, or music).
[edit] History
This section answers the following questions:
- How did this musical come to be written and/or produced?
- What is this musical based on? Why?
- Who's idea was it to make this musical?
- Was this musical started in any workshops or previews? What were they like?
[edit] Synopsis
Arguably the most important section in the article. This section should use Spoiler tags to alert readers, especially if the show is still in its original run. Within this section should be a description of the story-line of the musical. The synopsis should be long enough to accurately convey the story-line, but need not be overwhelmingly long or detailed.
[edit] Incorporating musical numbers in narrative
Often the story of a musical is told through the songs within it. Thus in the synopsis it is highly encouraged to incorporate the names of the musical numbers into the prose. The titles of the musical numbers should be bolded to allow for emphasis and easy location when reading. Musical numbers can be incorporated like this in two ways:
- Using the title of the number in a sentence. - ...then, Horace Vandergelder informs his two employees that It Takes a Woman to make a household complete. (From the musical Hello Dolly)
- In parentheses when the song title cannot be incorporated easily. - After the curtain call, the entire cast joins in sending the audience on their way (Goodbye!). (From the musical The Producers)
Note that either method can be used interchangeably. When considering both options, remember to choose the one that sounds the most "encyclopedic". For example, do not include a sentence just to incorporate a song into it if the sentence contains no other useful information. (i.e. Then the cast bids the entire audience Goodbye!)
[edit] Major Roles/Characters
Also, a reader should be able to gain information about the main characters through the synopsis. This is easier to demonstrate through an example:
- It is at this school where Elphaba meets Galinda, a blond, popular girl who does not, at first, take well to Elphaba's strange skin tone. (From the musical Wicked)
Long detailed descriptions of characters are not needed (unless necessary to convey the story-line). Rather at the first mention of an important character, some effort should be made to convey the personality or characteristics of the character.
[edit] Music (optional)
This section is not a listing of musical numbers. Rather it is an analysis of the music within the musical. For example, the music section might contain a sentence like:
- Sondheim gave each of the characters a specific musical theme that is used in each of their solos. These themes are also used throughout the underscoring to indicate to the audience the importance of a scene to each character. Likewise some themes are given to motifs within the musical. The beans themselves have a theme that can be heard when the Baker gives the beans to Jack. This beans theme is the basis of the song Your Fault. (From the musical Into the Woods)
As in the above example, this section could contain analysis of the literal, musical, makeup of the songs. Another example:
- In Nowadays Roxie and Velma sing about the "good things" of life in 1924. These items they talk about as "good" however, are not. The reference booze, cheating, and murdering. This song that is, on surface level, about an amazing life, upon further analysis, is about the corruption present in 1924. Several times throughout the song, the two sing, "In fifty years or so / It's gonna change, you know." Chicago was set in 1924 and premiered in 1975. Through their sarcasm, Roxie and Velma are, in fact, accusing the audience of being everything "bad" depicted in the musical. (From the stage (not film) musical Chicago)
In this above example, the lyrical content of the music is analyzed. These are only two of the many different musical analysis types that could be placed in this section.
[edit] List of Musical Numbers
Only include a list of musical numbers if the numbers are not listed in the synopsis (as stated above). This is not the preferable method but will be tolorated in the case of stubs, musical revues (where there really isn't a plot) and in other special cases.
[edit] Dramatics (optional)
Like the music section, this section would contain analysis of the acting style or conventions used in the musical. Example:
- The script itself sets down no definitions for setting or character names. Although the characters can be inferred to be characters from the bible (i.e. Jesus, Judas), in the script the lines are listed with the names of the people who originally played them. The original production made the company a troupe of clowns who follow Jesus in an abandoned playground; subsequent productions have been set in museums, classrooms, on top of buildings, or in an abandoned theater. Since the setting is never explicitly stated in the text, directors love using this show as a chance to show off their creative abilities. This show can occur, literally, anywhere. (From the musical Godspell, some text taken from wikipedia article Godspell)
Again, this is only one of the many possible analysis strategies that could be included in this section.
[edit] Other elements as required (e.g., Book, Design etc)
Like the two sections above, this section could contain information about significant production specific topics:
- The puppets in Avenue Q
- The costumes in The Lion King (musical)
- The Audrey II puppets in Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
[edit] Productions
This section should contain information about the different productions of a show. The following could be included for each production:
- Name of theatre
- Location of theatre (Broadway, West End)
- Opening/Closing Dates
- Famous or Featured Cast members
This section absolutely not the place for amateur performances. Only professional performances (i.e. Broadway, West End, Touring) and Previews / Workshops should be included here. Also, the entire cast for each production should not be listed. They would simply take up too much space. Only Notable and Featured (i.e. "name above the title") actors should be listed. Also, whenever possible this should not take the form of a list. This will discourage the addtion of amature productions and lists are not preferable anyway.
[edit] Adaptations and/or Versions (optional)
If the musical was turned into a TV show or film, that should be listed here. Please note that movie musicals based on stage musicals should have their own article and it should be summarized and referenced here.
Also, if the show was presented in one form orignally and then edited (cut, new numbers added, etc.) for another production, that could be noted under here. For instance, Chicago originally opened in one version and then, for the more successful revival, changes had been made, and these should be described.
[edit] Response
This section does not need all the below sub-headings. Not all musicals have enough information in the sub-headings below to warrant the inclusion of all four. If, for example, only one sub-heading below applies to a musical, do not use the "Response" heading, and instead use the appropriate sub-heading below as a first level heading.
[edit] Awards (optional)
This section should contain a list of awards and what they were for. Unlike the awards section of the infobox, production specific awards (i.e. those given to actors/actresses in this musical) can be listed here. If this list becomes too long, it may be shortned to the more notable awards. Also, if the only awards that belong in this section are also listed in the infobox, this section need not exist.
[edit] Critical reception (optional)
This section would be where to write if the initial production of a musical was a "flop" or a "hit" and why. It should include references and/or quotes to theatre critics or theatre periodicals within the section. This is not your opinion of how well the musical did. Rather, this is how the professionals felt this musical did. Any statement that can be considered a violation of WP:NPOV and is uncited will be considered original research and will be swiftly removed.
[edit] Box office and business (optional)
If the amount of money made by this musical is notable or the producer(s) is(are) notable because of this production, that should be noted here.
[edit] Cultural impact (optional)
For musicals that had a profound impact outside of the Musical Theatre world, that can be described here.
[edit] Recordings
This should be a short list of recordings compleatly about this musical (i.e. not "this song was included on so-and-so's greatest hits CD). Also, a track listing of any sort should not be listed as it should be unnecessary (all the songs should be listed somewhere above here).
[edit] Trivia (optional)
Trivia relating to the musical itself can be listed in bullet points here. Some editors prefer to put notable information in other sections and believe that Trivia sections should be omitted, as they may invite non-notable information to be added.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Links to any other helpful sites about this musical.
Also should include Template:Ibdb title if applicable.
[edit] Categories
The heading "categories" is not needed and should not be added. Simply paste the category at the bottom of the article.
To determine what Categories this musical belongs in, follow these steps:
- Determine the first verified year "YYYY" the musical was produced, and copy the text [[Category:YYYY musicals]]
- Look at the nationalities of the musical's composers and book authors. If they're all from the same country, place the article in that country category found under Category:Musicals by nationality. For example, if the musical's creators were all American, then you would paste the text [[Category:American musicals]] Here is a list of the music by nationality catagories:
-
- [[Category:American musicals]]
- [[Category:Argentine musicals]]
- [[Category:Australian musicals]]
- [[Category:Austrian musicals]]
- [[Category:British musicals]]
- [[Category:Canadian musicals]]
- [[Category:French musicals]]
- [[Category:German musicals]]
- [[Category:Indian musicals]]
- [[Category:Japanese musicals]]
- [[Category:Latvian musicals]]
- [[Category:Russian musicals]]
- [[Category:Saint Kitts and Nevis musicals]]
- [[Category:Scottish musicals]]
- [[Category:Singaporean musicals]]
- [[Category:South African musicals]]
- [[Category:South Korean musicals]]
- [[Category:Swedish musicals]]
- If the the musical ever appeared on Broadway, paste the text [[Category:Broadway musicals]]. If the article says it was an Off-Broadway production and never played Broadway, paste the text [[Category:Off-Broadway musicals]] A musical normally (but not always) should not appear in both these categories simultaneously.
- If the musical ever appeared in London's West End, paste the text [[Category:London West End musicals]]
- If the musical was made into a musical film, paste the text [[Category:Musical films]] If the musical is a stage production adaptation of what was originally a film, paste the text [[Category:Musicals based on films]] If the musical was adapted for a musical on television, paste the text [[Category:Musical television specials]]
- Lastly, if the musical doesn't clearly fit into ANY of those subcategories, place in in the overall category [[Category:Musicals]]. Only articles which do not fit in any subcategory should appear here (which means that most of the articles still in this category are probably stubs that need additional information or which haven't yet been sub-categorized).
[edit] Notes about Incorporation
Because many articles about productions were written before this structure, the following guidelines will be followed when using this structure on already created articles. When creating a new article, the above structure should be used.
[edit] Conflicts
It is important to understand that, this is the preferred structure of articles pertaining to Musical Theatre productions not the only. In the case of a conflict, this structure shall have precedence over an article's former structure. This applies to all possible formatting conflicts (i.e. infoboxes, heading names, and so on). This also applies to anything specified as "not to be included" (amateur productions, track listings). Finally, if an article has two forms of the same information (i.e. a list of Musical Numbers and the Musical Numbers listed in prose) the item that is more preferable will be kept (in this case, the Musical Numbers in prose).
[edit] Retention of Information
In "changing over" any part of an article, it is important that absolutely no valuable information is lost. All edits to Wikipedia are important (WP:GF) and no information should be left out just because there is a new format. If that means you have to place a message on the talk page saying "I could not find a place to incorporate the following information" then do that. However, whenever information might be lost, please try to incorporate it back into the article. This includes text, images, and information in infoboxes.
[edit] Final Note
This Article Structure is put in place to assist in the addition of information to Wikipedia. This system was not intended to justify the removal of information or to control in the case of editing conflicts.
Happy Editing, --The WikiProject Musical Theatre team
