Fred & Ginger, Jazz Hands & More! TCM To Pay Tribute To Musicals In June Programming Special “Mad About Musicals!”

Fred & Ginger, Jazz Hands & More!

TCM To Pay Tribute To Musicals In June Programming Special
“Mad About Musicals!”

Network To Also Offer Free Interactive Online Course About the History of the Musical Genre

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will pay homage to the glittering world of Hollywood musicals with Mad About Musicals!, a special month of programming celebrating timeless movie musicals such as The Wizard of Oz, Singin’ in the Rain and Cabaret. TCM is once again partnering with Ball State University and Canvas to offer a free online multimedia course tied to this programming special about the history of the musical genre and its evolution with cultural and technological shifts. Enrollment is open until June 17 and fans can sign up for the course at musicals.tcm.com.

Movie musicals have been a part of pop culture since films began to talk. Mad About Musicals! will feature more than 90 musicals every Tuesday and Thursday in June, including:

• The ‘20s – fans discover the development of the genre with the dawn of sound technology in films such as The Broadway Melody (1929) and The Love Parade (1929)
• The ‘30s –  Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the most-loved musical couple of the 1930s, shine in Top Hat (1935) and the technicolor dream Wizard of Oz (1939) is released
• The ‘40s – with films like Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) and On the Town (1949), this decade proved to be a love letter to the musical genre
• The ‘50s – the Hollywood musical hit its sparkling peak with Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
• The ‘60s – the decade of the Academy Award®-winning musical with My Fair Lady (1964) and Oliver (1968) winning for Best Picture and Barbra Streisand winning Best Actress for Funny Girl (1968)
• The ’70s – marking the age of musicals based on stage hits with films like Cabaret (1972) and Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

The network’s fourth annual Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) will run concurrently with TCM’s programming and lead participants through the history of the musical. More than 44,000 participants enrolled in TCM’s past three successful MOOCs, all of which generated industry-leading completion rates and very high satisfaction rates, while acting as an on-ramp for new audiences to the TCM brand. The free, month-long multimedia course exploring the musical’s place in cinematic history, features:

• Course lessons with movie clips from Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, former Actor’s Equity performer, successful Hollywood Foley artist (Die Hard, Edward Scissorhands) and Endowed Chair of Telecommunications at Ball State University
• Interviews with guests such as Academy Award-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom, discussing sound in the Hollywood musical, and film scholar Richard Edwards examining the connection between musicals and melodrama
• Fun and challenging online games to test expertise and create friendly competition
• Ongoing social conversation with fellow participants on TCM message boards and on social media with #TCMusicals
• On-air film introductions from Dr. Ament alongside TCM Host Ben Mankiewicz during the first week of June

“At TCM we are constantly looking for ways to create immersive experiences so our fans can engage with us on a deeper level, and our annual online courses tied to an on-air programming special have proved to do just that,” said Jennifer Dorian, General Manager of TCM & FilmStruck and EVP of 360 Brand Strategy for Turner. “This fan experience we create with our partners at Ball State University and Canvas helps take our mission of context and curation to the next level.”

Canvas, the online educational platform for this year’s MOOC, will utilize Arc, a hands-on video platform that turns content into collaboration. It empowers learners to collaborate with peers and interact with content by allowing them to comment and offer feedback within the video timeline.

For more course information and programming details, see musicals.tcm.com.