Default Broadway shows don’t just happen. They are conceived, written, work-shopped, and continually changed in the process of getting to the stage. In this class, we will explore how musicals are constructed from the ground up. Beginning with the earliest and ending with the latest Broadway shows, we will examine from “Curtain Up!” through “Love Songs” and “I Want Songs” to the “Eleven- O-Clock Number” and the “Curtain Call” – seeing what works, what gets rejected and re-imagined and how the final version makes it to the stage. What are the characteristics of the successes and the flops? What choices were made and how did they affect the shape of the final product? We study the American Musical through the eyes of its creators: The writers, composers, lyricists, producers, directors and audiences.