For Frederick Miller, the history of musical theatre is personal. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Miller found his passion for musicals with his family and on stage in middle school. He went on to participate in high school productions at his alma mater Cumberland Valley High School before pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Comparative Literature at Penn State. Now, in the third year of a PhD program at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Theatre Arts, Miller has launched a Musical Theatre podcast which chronicles the lesser-known histories of some popular shows.
“I was always in a show at some point. Looking back, I think, how did I do that? Because I also worked a part-time job, took all the AP classes, and all the things that high school theatre kids tend to do…”
With the support of a Humanities Engage Fellowship, Miller spent his summer developing “The High School Musical Podcast” (Spotify and Apple Podcasts). New episodes air each Monday with a companion conversation “After the Bell” airing on the following Friday. Miller produces these podcasts under the handle The MT Dramaturg (Instagram)…but what is a dramaturg?
“I never really knew what a dramaturg was…the only thing I knew about dramaturgy was from the TV show “Smash”, rest in peace.”
For those who are unfamiliar, “Smash” portrays a dramaturg almost as a villain whose presence creates some antagonism with writers about the theft of ideas. Miller soon learned that a dramaturg is an essential and critical role in the theatrical production process. As he expanded his repertoire of musical theatre history, he returned to Cumberland Valley High School to serve as a dramaturg for their productions. He facilitated difficult conversations with student-actors on themes of gender, sexuality, and race. He provided research memos on the historical context of their productions and annotated scripts with helpful cues for staging and presentation.
This context forms the basis of Miller’s podcast as he unpacks the history of ten recently popular musicals for high school production, cataloged by the Educational Theatre Association. Listeners can expect to learn about the background of these shows, how they came to be, and the global historical context of their production (which ultimately informs how they are presented and received). Miller encountered an unexpected theme while creating this series: the musicals he explores all faced some skepticism about their success, and yet they became hits. Recent episodes cover “Shrek the Musical,” “Into the Woods,” and “Oklahoma!”. Special guests for the companion conversations will include mentors and collaborators, like Becki Toth, Teaching Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre at Pitt.
Ultimately, Miller cites the importance of mentors in helping him to forge this path. From his tutelage under Jennifer Anderson Schramm at Cumberland Valley High School to his work with Phillip Fazio on “Caroline, or Change,” the relationships he has made have made the difference in how he approaches this work. Mentors encouraged Miller to think critically, and their willingness to collaborate has stewarded a curiosity that helped him bring this theatre kid dream into a reality.