Dead Reckoning - A Canadian Chamber Musical

Dead Reckoning is a new Canadian musical composed by Scott Christian, with book and lyrics by Lezlie Wade. Part 1 of this major research project describes the four-year creation and development process of the musical, referencing interviews with collaborator Lezlie Wade. Part 2 is based on interviews conducted with twenty-three Canadian musical theatre composers and explores the topics: the composer’s role in the planning phase of a new musical, individual approaches to starting with lyrics or music first, describing the compositional process for musical theatre, and compositional approaches for the history musical. Part 3 comprises an analysis of the score of Dead Reckoning, focusing on the ‘flight’ leitmotif, the opening number, the songs rooted in the Western Art music tradition, the songs which utilize elements of jazz music and other music of the historical period in which the piece is set, and the songs which most reflect a contemporary musical theatre style.