Winter 2007.  Pippin.  Directed by Dominic Missimi.

Music Theatre is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in America.  Northwestern University's Music Theatre Certificate Program combines the extensive resources of the School of Music's voice and opera program and the School of Communication's theatre department in a challenging curriculum that prepares students for careers as music theatre artists.

Admission
The Music Theatre Certificate Program is highly selective.  Only thirty (30) students are admitted each year.  Theatre majors and Voice majors audition in their freshman or sophomore year, performing a vocal selection, a monologue, and a dance audition.  Auditions are held annually in May.

Curriculum
Through the program, theatre majors enroll in School of Music courses, including two years of voice lessons.  Voice majors take theatre courses, including three quarters of acting, in the School of Communication.  All students takes dance classes offered by the theatre department's dance program.

Theatre majors complete all requirements for a degree in theatre, including course work in theatre history, design studies, performance practice, and liberal arts.  To earn a certificate in music theatre, theatre majors must take seven (7) units of credit and three (3) noncredit courses in the following:

• Voice 102 Beginning Voice - 1.5 units
• Music 127 Keyboard Skills - 1 unit
• Voice 202 Intermediate Voice - 1.5 units
• Theatre 352-1,2 Music Theatre Techniques - 2 units
• Theatre 367 History of the Lyric Theatre - 1 unit
• Dance - minimum of three (3) classes, no credit

Voice majors complete all requirements for a degree in music, including basic studies (music theory and history, aural and keyboard skills, and ensembles), voice performance, and liberal arts.  To earn a certificate in music theatre, voice majors must take seven (7) units of credit and three (3) noncredit courses in the following:

• Theatre 243-1,2,3 Acting I: Principles of Characterization - 3 units
• Theatre 352-1,2 Music Theatre Techniques - 2 units
• Theatre 367 History of the Lyric Theatre - 1 unit
• Design, dance or acting elective - 1 unit
• Dance - minimum of three (3) classes, no credit

Successful Alumni
Northwestern graduates are seen frequently on Broadway and in national tours.  Recent Broadway shows featuring Music Theatre alumni include Wicked, Avenue Q, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Mamma Mia, Aida, Ragtime, The Lion King, Titanic, Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, and Miss Saigon.  Among Northwestern's many successful Broadway alumni are Craig Bierko, Brian d'Arcy James, Gregg Edelman, Michael Greif, Sheldon Harnick, Heather Headley, Sherrill Milnes, Megan Mullally, Jason Moore, Denis O'Hare, Charlotte Rae, and Tony Roberts.  Two of the school's most successful alumni are Tony-winning directors Frank Galati and Mary Zimmerman, both current School of Communication faculty members.

Recent Productions
Undergraduates have many opportunities to become involved in music theatre as both producers and performers.  Since the inauguration of the Music Theatre Program, the School of Music and the theatre department of the School of Communication have jointly produced works ranging from classical opera to new musicals, giving students invaluable experience both behind the scenes and in front of the footlights.  The University also supports many student theatre groups, including Arts Alliance and Wave Productions, that produce musicals and revues.  All students are encouraged to audition.

Recent music theatre productions at Northwestern have included A Chorus Line, Falsettos, Falstaff, Footloose, Into the Woods, Kiss me, Kate, La Bohème, Parade, The Pirates of Penzance, Sweeney Todd, Sweet Charity, Titanic, and West Side Story.  The Music Theatre Program also presented the world premieres of A Long Gay Book, written by Tony Award-winning director Frank Galati and Stephen Flaherty, and Irving Berlin's American Vaudeville, developed by director-writer David Bell.  And 2006 marks the 75th anniversary of Northwestern's annual Waa-Mu Show -- the student-written revue hailed by Time magazine as "the greatest college show in America."

American Music Theatre Project
Northwestern has announced the American Music Theatre Project -- an ambitious program to develop and produce new musicals by the field's leading artists in collaboration with Northwestern faculty and students.  To read more about AMTP, please visit www.amtp.northwestern.edu


Fall 2004 Music Theatre production of  Parade.
Directed by Dominic Missimi.  Musical director/conductor: Ryan Nelson.