The Broadway Musical Study Option looks at various aspects of the stage musical including form, theatrical stage craft, re-occurring fable structures and cultural themes. The course also examines the source material for musicals such as novels, plays, film or, indeed, original ideas. In addition The Broadway Musical option discusses the work of the two leading exponents of musical theatre both sides of the Atlantic, namely Sondheim and Lloyd Webber. The basic aim of the course is to introduce students (who do not necessarily have a background in musical theory or notation) to an understanding of the nature and main cultural themes of popular musical theatre.

In looking at the form of musical theatre Steve examines the tradition of "musical comedy" and asks to what extent this is a useful term to use when discussing contemporary musical theatre. The course goes on to examine the various sub-genres of the musical such as the showbiz biog, the backstage show, Off-Broadway, the rock show, the compilation show and so on. The course also traces the development of the musical theatre form mainly covering the origins of the "book show" to the more recent emergence of the "sung-through show" and the cultural differences between the British musicals (meaning in this context musicals about the British) and the American musical (or musicals about Americans).

Many musicals seem to revolve around a series of stories developed from traditional fables, such as Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Faust. This section of the course looks at why fairy stories and fables are so often used as basic story structures for the plots of musical theatre shows. Is the musical perhaps fulfilling an adult need for fairy stories? The Cinderella story, for example, is the basis for Me and My Girl, Annie, Half a Sixpence and many more. The course also looks at why so many musicals have a traditional "transformation scene", as in the classic Fairy Godmother scene in the Cinderella story when she transforms Cinderella’s clothes from rags to ball gown. A variation on this transformation scene is found in the song "The Lady’s Paying" in Sunset Boulevard where Joe Gillis is taken to the tailors to be fitted out by the rich and doting Norma Desmond. The basic point about transformation scenes is that in musical theatre the personal journey made by a character in a show — the so-called "character arc" — is massive. It rarely goes from "A to B" it’s more likely to be from "A to Z" — and then back again! And this "transformation" is usually presented in a very visual way.

The course begins with a talk on Gypsy, setting out some of the themes to be discussed on the course, such as the culture of the American Dream, the musical in the Great Depression and the crisis of the middle aged woman. Gypsy is also one of the best examples of a well-crafted book show and is also one of the quintessential showbiz biog musicals.

Before the course begins each student is allocated a writer or writing partnership, (e.g. Frank Loesser or Kander and Ebb) and a selection of musicals on a reoccurring theme or with a similar structure (e.g. ‘Prostitution’: Sweet Charity, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and New Girl in Town or ‘Dream Shows’: Lady in the Dark, DuBarry was a Lady and A Connecticut Yankee). The student then has to make a presentation on one show in each section. The final assessment is based on these presentations and two essays.