theatrical
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals.
Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and those of Harrigan and
Hart
Hart often refers to:
* Hart (deer)
Hart may also refer to:
Organizations
* Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer
* Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer
* Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores
* Hart's Reptile Wo ...
in America. These were followed by the numerous
Edwardian musical comedies
Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the Ame ...
and the musical theatre works of American creators like
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer.
Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...
at the turn of the 20th century. The Princess Theatre musicals (1915–1918) were artistic steps forward beyond
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
s and other frothy entertainments of the early 20th century and led to such groundbreaking works as ''
Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
'' (1927), ''
Of Thee I Sing
''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President o ...
'' (1931) and ''
Oklahoma!
''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...
'' (1943). Some of the most famous musicals through the decades that followed include
''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
'' (1956), ''
The Fantasticks
''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...
A Chorus Line
''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante.
Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...
'' (1975), ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'' (1985), ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
'' (1986), ''
Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
Wicked
Wicked may refer to:
Books
* Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe
* '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name
* ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...
'' (2003) and ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
'' (2015).
Musicals are performed around the world. They may be presented in large venues, such as big-budget
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
or West End productions in New York City or London. Alternatively, musicals may be staged in smaller venues, such as fringe theatre, off-Broadway,
off-off-Broadway
Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...
community theatre Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...
productions, or on tour. Musicals are often presented by amateur and school groups in churches, schools and other performance spaces. In addition to the United States and Britain, there are vibrant musical theatre scenes in continental Europe, Asia, Australasia, Canada and Latin America.
Definitions and scope
Book musicals
Since the 20th century, the "book musical" has been defined as a musical play where songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-made story with serious dramatic goals and which is able to evoke genuine emotions other than laughter.Rubin and Solórzano, p. 438 The three main components of a book musical are its ''music'', ''lyrics'' and ''book''. The book or
script
Script may refer to:
Writing systems
* Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire
* Script (styles of handwriting)
** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...
of a musical refers to the story, character development and dramatic structure, including the spoken dialogue and stage directions, but it can also refer to the dialogue and lyrics together, which are sometimes referred to as the '' libretto'' (Italian for "little book"). The music and lyrics together form the '' score'' of a musical and include songs, incidental music and musical scenes, which are "theatrical sequence set to music, often combining song with spoken dialogue." The interpretation of a musical is the responsibility of its creative team, which includes a
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
orchestrator
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...
. A musical's production is also creatively characterized by technical aspects, such as
set design
Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...
,
costume
Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people.
The term also was tradition ...
lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...
and
sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' b ...
. The creative team, designs and interpretations generally change from the original production to succeeding productions. Some production elements, however, may be retained from the original production, for example,
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...
's choreography in ''
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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''.
There is no fixed length for a musical. While it can range from a short one-act entertainment to several
acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
and several hours in length (or even a multi-evening presentation), most musicals range from one and a half to three hours. Musicals are usually presented in two acts, with one short
intermission
An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with an entr'acte ( ...
, and the first act is frequently longer than the second. The first act generally introduces nearly all of the characters and most of the music and often ends with the introduction of a dramatic conflict or plot complication while the second act may introduce a few new songs but usually contains reprises of important musical themes and resolves the conflict or complication. A book musical is usually built around four to six main theme tunes that are reprised later in the show, although it sometimes consists of a series of songs not directly musically related. Spoken dialogue is generally interspersed between musical numbers, although "sung dialogue" or
recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat ...
may be used, especially in so-called "
sung-through
A sung-through (also through-sung) musical, musical film, opera, or other work of performance art is one in which songs entirely or almost entirely replace any spoken dialogue. Conversations, speeches, and musings are communicated musically, for e ...
Falsettos
''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of '' March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and '' Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installments in a trio o ...
'', ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'', ''
Evita Evita may refer to:
Arts
* Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name
* Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron
* Evita (album), ''E ...
'' and ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
''. Several shorter musicals on Broadway and in the West End in the 21st century have been presented in one act.
Moments of greatest dramatic intensity in a book musical are often performed in song. Proverbially, "when the emotion becomes too strong for speech, you sing; when it becomes too strong for song, you dance." In a book musical, a song is ideally crafted to suit the character (or characters) and their situation within the story; although there have been times in the history of the musical (e.g. from the 1890s to the 1920s) when this integration between music and story has been tenuous. As ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' critic
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...
described the ideal of song in theatre when reviewing the 2008 revival of ''
Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
'': "There is no separation at all between song and character, which is what happens in those uncommon moments when musicals reach upward to achieve their ideal reasons to be." Typically, many fewer words are sung in a five-minute song than are spoken in a five-minute block of dialogue. Therefore, there is less time to develop drama in a musical than in a straight play of equivalent length, since a musical usually devotes more time to music than to dialogue. Within the compressed nature of a musical, the writers must develop the characters and the plot.
The material presented in a musical may be original, or it may be adapted from novels (''
Wicked
Wicked may refer to:
Books
* Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe
* '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name
* ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...
''), historical events (''Evita'') or films ('' The Producers'' and ''
Billy Elliot
''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy w ...
''). On the other hand, many successful musical theatre works have been adapted for musical films, such as ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...
'', ''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
'', ''
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
''.
Comparisons with opera
Musical theatre is closely related to the theatrical form of
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
, but the two are usually distinguished by weighing a number of factors. First, musicals generally have a greater focus on spoken dialogue.Cohen and Sherman, p. 233 Some musicals, however, are entirely accompanied and sung-through, while some operas, such as ''
Die Zauberflöte
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...
'', and most operettas, have some unaccompanied dialogue. Second, musicals usually include more dancing as an essential part of the storytelling, particularly by the principal performers as well as the chorus. Third, musicals often use various genres of
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
or at least popular singing and musical styles.
Finally, musicals usually avoid certain operatic conventions. In particular, a musical is almost always performed in the language of its audience. Musicals produced on Broadway or in the West End, for instance, are invariably sung in English, even if they were originally written in another language. While an opera singer is primarily a singer and only secondarily an actor (and rarely needs to dance), a musical theatre performer is often an actor first but must also be a singer and dancer. Someone who is equally accomplished at all three is referred to as a "triple threat". Composers of music for musicals often consider the vocal demands of roles with musical theatre performers in mind. Today, large theatres that stage musicals generally use
microphone
A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...
s and amplification of the actors' singing voices in a way that would generally be disapproved of in an operatic context.
Some works (e.g. by
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim) have been made into both "musical theatre" and "operatic" productions. Similarly, some older operettas or light operas (such as ''
The Pirates of Penzance
''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 187 ...
'' by Gilbert and Sullivan) have been produced in modern adaptations that treat them as musicals. For some works, production styles are almost as important as the work's musical or dramatic content in defining into which art form the piece falls. Sondheim said, "I really think that when something plays Broadway it's a musical, and when it plays in an opera house it's opera. That's it. It's the terrain, the countryside, the expectations of the audience that make it one thing or another." There remains an overlap in form between lighter operatic forms and more musically complex or ambitious musicals. In practice, it is often difficult to distinguish among the various kinds of musical theatre, including "musical play", "musical comedy", "operetta" and "light opera".
Like opera, the singing in musical theatre is generally accompanied by an instrumental ensemble called a pit orchestra, located in a lowered area in front of the stage. While opera typically uses a conventional symphony orchestra, musicals are generally orchestrated for ensembles ranging from 27 players down to only a few players.
Rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and conc ...
s usually employ a small group of mostly
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
instruments, and some musicals may call for only a piano or two instruments. The music in musicals uses a range of "styles and influences including operetta, classical techniques,
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
are appropriate to the setting." Musicals may begin with an overture played by the orchestra that "weav stogether excerpts of the score's famous melodies."
Eastern traditions and other forms
There are various
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
traditions of theatre that include music, such as Chinese opera,
Taiwanese opera
Taiwanese opera () commonly known as Ke-Tse opera or Hokkien opera, is a form of traditional drama originating in Taiwan. Taiwanese opera uses a stylised combination of both the literary and colloquial registers of Taiwanese Hokkien. Its earliest ...
, Japanese
Noh
is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...
Sanskrit drama
The term Indian classical drama refers to the tradition of dramatic literature and performance in ancient India. The roots of drama in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to the Rigveda (1200-1500 BCE), which contains a number of hymns in ...
Parsi theatre
Parsi theatre is a generic term for an influential theatre tradition, staged by Parsis, and theatre companies largely-owned by the Parsi business community, which flourished between 1850 and 1930s. Plays were primarily in the Hindustani language ( ...
and
Yakshagana
Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, ...
.Gokulsing, 2004, p. 98. India has, since the 20th century, produced numerous musical films, referred to as "
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
" musicals, and in Japan a series of
2.5D musical
A , also known as an anime musical, is a type of modern Japanese musical theatre production based exclusively on popular Japanese anime, manga, or video games. The term "2.5D musical" was coined to describe stories presented in a two-dimensional ...
s based on popular
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
and manga comics has developed in recent decades.
Shorter or simplified "junior" versions of many musicals are available for schools and youth groups, and very short works created or adapted for performance by children are sometimes called
minimusical Minimusical refers to works of musical theatre where elements of a musical, especially songs and dialogue, are incorporated into a short work for performance. Minimusicals are generally designed to be performed by children or teens in a classroom, ...
s.
History
Early antecedents
The antecedents of musical theatre in Europe can be traced back to the
theatre of ancient Greece
Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...
, where music and dance were included in stage comedies and tragedies during the 5th century BCE. The music from the ancient forms is lost, however, and they had little influence on later development of musical theatre.Kenrick, John "A Capsule History" Musicals101.com, 2003, accessed October 12, 2015 In the 12th and 13th centuries, religious dramas taught the liturgy. Groups of actors would use outdoor
Pageant wagon
A pageant wagon is a movable stage or wagon used to accommodate the mystery and miracle play cycles of the 10th through the 16th century. These religious plays were developed from biblical texts; at the height of their popularity, they were allo ...
s (stages on wheels) to tell each part of the story. Poetic forms sometimes alternated with the prose dialogues, and liturgical chants gave way to new melodies.
The European
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
saw older forms evolve into two antecedents of musical theatre: commedia dell'arte, where raucous clowns improvised familiar stories, and later,
opera buffa
''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...
. In England, Elizabethan and Jacobean plays frequently included music, and short musical plays began to be included in an evenings' dramatic entertainments. Court
masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...
s developed during the
Tudor period
The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...
that involved music, dancing, singing and acting, often with expensive costumes and a complex stage design. These developed into sung plays that are recognizable as English operas, the first usually being thought of as ''
The Siege of Rhodes
''The Siege of Rhodes'' is an opera written to a text by the impresario William Davenant. The score is by five composers, the vocal music by Henry Lawes, Matthew Locke, and Captain Henry Cooke, and the instrumental music by Charles Coleman and G ...
'' (1656).Buelow, p. 328 In France, meanwhile,
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...
turned several of his farcical comedies into musical entertainments with songs (music provided by Jean-Baptiste Lully) and dance in the late 17th century. These influenced a brief period of English operaCarter and Butt 2005, p. 280 by composers such as
John Blow
John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668,Henry Purcell.
From the 18th century, the most popular forms of musical theatre in Britain were
ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of English stage entertainment that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Singspiel'', its dist ...
The Beggar's Opera
''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...
'', that included lyrics written to the tunes of popular songs of the day (often spoofing opera), and later
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
, which developed from commedia dell'arte, and
comic opera
Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
with mostly romantic plot lines, like
Michael Balfe
Michael William Balfe (15 May 1808 – 20 October 1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas, especially ''The Bohemian Girl''.
After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to co ...
's ''
The Bohemian Girl
''The Bohemian Girl'' is an Irish Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La Gitanilla''.
The best-known aria from the piece is " I Dreamt I Dwe ...
'' (1845). Meanwhile, on the continent, singspiel, comédie en vaudeville, opéra comique, zarzuela and other forms of light musical entertainment were emerging. ''The Beggar's Opera'' was the first recorded long-running play of any kind, running for 62 successive performances in 1728. It would take almost a century afterwards before any play broke 100 performances, but the record soon reached 150 in the late 1820s.Gillan, Don "Longest Running Plays in London and New York" Stage Beauty (2007), accessed May 26, 2009 Other musical theatre forms developed in England by the 19th century, such as music hall, melodrama and
burletta
In theater and music history, a burletta (Italian, meaning "little joke", sometimes burla or burlettina) is a brief comic opera. In eighteenth-century Italy, a burletta was the comic intermezzo between the acts of an ''opera seria''. The extended ...
, which were popularized partly because most London theatres were licensed only as music halls and not allowed to present plays without music.
Colonial America did not have a significant theatre presence until 1752, when London entrepreneur William Hallam sent a company of actors to the colonies managed by his brother
Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
.Wilmeth and Miller, p. 182 In New York in the summer of 1753, they performed ballad-operas, such as ''The Beggar's Opera'', and ballad-farces. By the 1840s,
P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...
was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan. Other early musical theatre in America consisted of British forms, such as burletta and pantomime, but what a piece was called did not necessarily define what it was. The 1852 Broadway
extravaganza
An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. It sometimes also ...
''The Magic Deer'' advertised itself as "A Serio Comico Tragico Operatical Historical Extravaganzical Burletical Tale of Enchantment."Kenrick, John "History of Stage Musicals" Musicals101.com, 2003, accessed May 26, 2009 Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown from around 1850, and did not arrive in the Times Square area until the 1920s and 1930s. New York runs lagged far behind those in London, but
Laura Keene
Laura Keene (20 July 1826 – 4 November 1873) was a British stage actress and theatre manager. In her twenty-year career, she became known as the first powerful female manager in New York. She is most famous for being the lead actress in ...
's "musical burletta" '' Seven Sisters'' (1860) shattered previous New York musical theatre record, with a run of 253 performances.
1850s to 1880s
Around 1850, the French composer
Hervé
Hervé is a French language, French masculine given name of Breton language, Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinizati ...
was experimenting with a form of comic musical theatre he called
opérette
This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names.
"Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...
The Musical Times
''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country.
It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...
'', vol. 98, no. 1375 (September 1957), pp. 483–485, accessed 17 August 2010 The best known composers of operetta were
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...
from the 1850s to the 1870s and Johann Strauss II in the 1870s and 1880s. Offenbach's fertile melodies, combined with his librettists' witty satire, formed a model for the musical theatre that followed. Adaptations of the French operettas (played in mostly bad, risqué translations), musical burlesques, music hall, pantomime and burletta dominated the London musical stage into the 1870s.Bond, Jessie Introduction to ''The Life and Reminiscences of Jessie Bond'' , reprinted at ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', accessed March 4, 2011
In America, mid-19th century musical theatre entertainments included crude variety revue, which eventually developed into
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
,
minstrel show
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century.
Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...
s, which soon crossed the Atlantic to Britain, and Victorian burlesque, first popularized in the US by British troupes. A hugely successful musical that premiered in New York in 1866, ''
The Black Crook
''The Black Crook'' is a work of musical theatre first produced in New York City with great success in 1866. Many theatre writers have cautiously identified ''The Black Crook'' as the first popular piece that conforms to the modern notion of a mu ...
'', was an original musical theatre piece that conformed to many of the modern definitions of a musical, including dance and original music that helped to tell the story. The spectacular production, famous for its skimpy costumes, ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, ''The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post'' was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy." Comedians
Edward Harrigan
Edward Harrigan (October 26, 1844June 6, 1911), sometimes called Ned Harrigan, was an Irish-American actor, singer, dancer, playwright, lyricist and theater producer who, together with Tony Hart (as Harrigan & Hart), formed one of the most celebr ...
and
Tony Hart
Norman Antony Hart (15 October 1925 – 18 January 2009),Debrett's People of Today 2008, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2007. known professionally as Tony Hart, was an English artist best known for his work in educating children in art through his role ...
produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 (''The Mulligan Guard Picnic'') and 1885. These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from the everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward towards a more legitimate theatrical form. They starred high quality singers (
Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922), was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for her beauty ...
,
Vivienne Segal
Vivienne Sonia Segal (April 19, 1897 – December 29, 1992) was an American actress and singer.
Early years
Segal was born on April 19, 1897, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the elder daughter of Jewish parents Bernhard Segal, a physician, ...
and
Fay Templeton
Fay Templeton (December 25, 1865 – October 3, 1939) was an American actress, singer, songwriter, and comedian.
Her parents were actors/vaudevillians and she followed in their footsteps, making her Broadway debut in 1900. Templeton excelled ...
) instead of the ladies of questionable repute who had starred in earlier musical forms.
As transportation improved, poverty in London and New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night, the number of patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays ran longer, leading to better profits and improved production values, and men began to bring their families to the theatre. The first musical theatre piece to exceed 500 consecutive performances was the French operetta ''
The Chimes of Normandy
''Les cloches de Corneville'' (''The Bells of Corneville'', sometimes known in English as ''The Chimes of Normandy'') is an opéra-comique in three acts, composed by Robert Planquette to a libretto by Louis Clairville and Charles Gabet.
The ...
'' in 1878. English
comic opera
Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
adopted many of the successful ideas of European operetta, none more successfully than the series of more than a dozen long-running Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas, including ''
H.M.S. Pinafore
''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...
'' (1878) and ''
The Mikado
''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
'' (1885). These were sensations on both sides of the Atlantic and in Australia and helped to raise the standard for what was considered a successful show.Kenrick, John "G&S in the USA" at the musicals101 website ''The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film'' (2008). Retrieved on 4 May 2012. These shows were designed for family audiences, a marked contrast from the risqué burlesques, bawdy music hall shows and French operettas that sometimes drew a crowd seeking less wholesome entertainment. Only a few 19th-century musical pieces exceeded the run of ''The Mikado'', such as ''
Dorothy
Dorothy may refer to:
*Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name.
Arts and entertainment
Characters
*Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum
* Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...
'', which opened in 1886 and set a new record with a run of 931 performances. Gilbert and Sullivan's influence on later musical theatre was profound, creating examples of how to "integrate" musicals so that the lyrics and dialogue advanced a coherent story.Jones, 2003 pp. 10–11 /ref> Their works were admired and copied by early authors and composers of musicals in Britain and America.
1890s to the new century
''
A Trip to Chinatown
''A Trip to Chinatown'' is a musical comedy in three acts by Charles H. Hoyt with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Hoyt. In addition to the Gaunt and Hoyt score, many songs were interpolated into the score at one time or another during the ru ...
'' (1891) was Broadway's long-run champion (until ''
Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
'' in 1919), running for 657 performances, but New York runs continued to be relatively short, with a few exceptions, compared with London runs, until the 1920s. Gilbert and Sullivan were widely pirated and also were imitated in New York by productions such as
Reginald De Koven
Henry Louis Reginald De Koven (April 3, 1859January 16, 1920) was an American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas.
Biography
De Koven was born in Middletown, Connecticut, and moved to Europe in 1870, where he receive ...
's ''
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...
'' (1891) and
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...
's ''
El Capitan
El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about from base to summit along its talles ...
'' (1896). ''A Trip to Coontown'' (1898) was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans on Broadway (largely inspired by the routines of the
minstrel show
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century.
Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...
s), followed by
ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
-tinged shows. Hundreds of musical comedies were staged on Broadway in the 1890s and early 20th century, composed of songs written in New York's
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...
, including those by
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer.
Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...
, who worked to create an American style distinct from the Gilbert and Sullivan works. The most successful New York shows were often followed by extensive national tours.
Meanwhile, musicals took over the London stage in the
Gay Nineties
The Gay Nineties is an American nostalgic term and a periodization of the history of the United States referring to the decade of the 1890s. It is known in the United Kingdom as the Naughty Nineties, and refers there to the decade of supposedly ...
, led by producer
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond.
Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...
, who perceived that audiences wanted a new alternative to the Savoy-style comic operas and their intellectual, political, absurdist satire. He experimented with a modern-dress, family-friendly musical theatre style, with breezy, popular songs, snappy, romantic banter, and stylish spectacle at the Gaiety and his other theatres. These drew on the traditions of comic opera and used elements of burlesque and of the Harrigan and Hart pieces. He replaced the bawdy women of burlesque with his "respectable" corps of
Gaiety Girls
Gaiety Girls were the chorus girls in Edwardian musical comedies, beginning in the 1890s at the Gaiety Theatre, London, in the shows produced by George Edwardes. The popularity of this genre of musical theatre depended, in part, on the beautifu ...
to complete the musical and visual fun. The success of the first of these, '' In Town'' (1892) and ''
A Gaiety Girl
''A Gaiety Girl'' is an English musical comedy in two acts by a team of musical comedy neophytes: Owen Hall (book, on an outline by James T. Tanner), Harry Greenbank (lyrics) and Sidney Jones (music). It opened at Prince of Wales Theatre in ...
'' (1893) set the style for the next three decades. The plots were generally light, romantic "poor maiden loves aristocrat and wins him against all odds" shows, with music by
Ivan Caryll
Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later ...
Lionel Monckton
Lionel John Alexander Monckton (18 December 1861 – 15 February 1924) was an English composer of musical theatre. He became Britain's most popular composer of Edwardian musical comedy in the early years of the 20th century.
Life and career
...
. These shows were immediately widely copied in America, and
Edwardian musical comedy
Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...
swept away the earlier musical forms of comic opera and operetta. ''
The Geisha
''The Geisha, a story of a tea house'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James ...
'' (1896) was one of the most successful in the 1890s, running for more than two years and achieving great international success.
'' The Belle of New York'' (1898) became the first American musical to run for over a year in London. The British musical comedy ''
Florodora
''Florodora'' is an Edwardian musical comedy. After its long run in London, it became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Leslie S ...
'' (1899) was a popular success on both sides of the Atlantic, as was '' A Chinese Honeymoon'' (1901), which ran for a record-setting 1,074 performances in London and 376 in New York. After the turn of the 20th century,
Seymour Hicks
Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 – 6 April 1949), better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his career, for writing, starring in and p ...
joined forces with Edwardes and American producer
Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...
to create another decade of popular shows. Other enduring Edwardian musical comedy hits included '' The Arcadians'' (1909) and ''
The Quaker Girl
''The Quaker Girl'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in three acts with a book by James T. Tanner, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and music by Lionel Monckton. In its story, ''The Quaker Girl'' contrasts dour Quaker morality with Pa ...
'' (1910).
Early 20th century
Virtually eliminated from the English-speaking stage by competition from the ubiquitous Edwardian musical comedies, operettas returned to London and Broadway in 1907 with ''
The Merry Widow
''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...
'', and adaptations of continental operettas became direct competitors with musicals.
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe'').
Life a ...
and Oscar Straus composed new operettas that were popular in English until World War I. In America,
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is bes ...
Mlle. Modiste
''Mlle. Modiste'' is an operetta in two acts composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Henry Blossom. It concerns hat shop girl Fifi, who longs to be an opera singer, but who is such a good hat seller that her employer, Mme. Cecil, discourage ...
'' (1905), ''
The Red Mill
''The Red Mill'' is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. The farcical story concerns two American vaudevillians who wreak havoc at an inn in Holland, interfering with two marriages; but all ends well. The musica ...
'' (1906) and '' Naughty Marietta'' (1910).
In the 1910s, the team of
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
,
Guy Bolton
Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred ...
and
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...
, following in the footsteps of Gilbert and Sullivan, created the " Princess Theatre shows" and paved the way for Kern's later work by showing that a musical could combine light, popular entertainment with continuity between its story and songs. Historian
Gerald Bordman
Gerald Martin Bordman (September 18, 1931 – May 9, 2011) was an American theatre historian, best known for authoring the reference volume ''The American Musical Theatre'', first published in 1978.Simonson, Robert (12 May 2011)Gerald Bordman, Th ...
wrote:
The theatre-going public needed escapist entertainment during the dark times of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and they flocked to the theatre. The 1919 hit musical ''
Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
The Maid of the Mountains
''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham and ...
'' (1,352 performances) and especially ''
Chu Chin Chow
''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of '' Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. Gänzl, Kurt"''Chu Chin Chow'' Musical Tal ...
''. Its run of 2,238 performances was more than twice as long as any previous musical, setting a record that stood for nearly forty years."Salad Days History, Story, Roles and Musical Numbers" guidetomusicaltheatre.com, accessed March 16, 2012 Revues like ''
The Bing Boys Are Here
''The Bing Boys Are Here'', styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included ''The Bing ...
'' in Britain, and those of Florenz Ziegfeld and his imitators in America, were also extraordinarily popular.
The musicals of the
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the ...
, borrowing from vaudeville, music hall and other light entertainments, tended to emphasize big dance routines and popular songs at the expense of plot. Typical of the decade were lighthearted productions like ''
Sally
Sally may refer to:
People
*Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name
Military
* Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port
*Sally, the Allied reporting na ...
No, No, Nanette
''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves t ...
Funny Face
''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny ...
''. Despite forgettable stories, these musicals featured stars such as
Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller (born Mary Ellen Reynolds; September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, and the combination of these ...
and
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
and produced dozens of enduring popular songs by Kern,
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart' ...
. Popular music was dominated by musical theatre standards, such as "
Fascinating Rhythm
"Fascinating Rhythm" is a popular song written by George Gershwin in 1924 with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
It was first introduced by Cliff Edwards, Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire in the Broadway musical '' Lady Be Good.'' The Astaires also recorded ...
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
s, series of sketches and songs with little or no connection between them. The best-known of these were the annual ''
Ziegfeld Follies
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...
'', spectacular song-and-dance revues on Broadway featuring extravagant sets, elaborate costumes and beautiful chorus girls. These spectacles also raised production values, and mounting a musical generally became more expensive. ''
Shuffle Along
''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-Americ ...
'' (1921), an all-
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
show was a hit on Broadway. A new generation of composers of operettas also emerged in the 1920s, such as
Sigmund Romberg
Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928).
E ...
, to create a series of popular Broadway hits.
In London, writer-stars such as Ivor Novello and Noël Coward became popular, but the primacy of British musical theatre from the 19th century through 1920 was gradually replaced by American innovation, especially after World War I, as Kern and other
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...
composers began to bring new musical styles such as
ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
to the theatres, and the
Shubert Brothers
The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...
took control of the Broadway theatres. Musical theatre writer Andrew Lamb notes, "The operatic and theatrical styles of nineteenth-century social structures were replaced by a musical style more aptly suited to twentieth-century society and its vernacular idiom. It was from America that the more direct style emerged, and in America that it was able to flourish in a developing society less hidebound by nineteenth-century tradition." In France, ''comédie musicale'' was written between in the early decades of the century for such stars as
Yvonne Printemps
Yvonne Printemps (; born Yvonne Wigniolle; 25 July 1894 – 19 January 1977) was a French singer and actress who achieved stardom on stage and screen in France and internationally.
Printemps went on the stage in Paris at the age of 12, and ...
.
''Show Boat'' and the Great Depression
Progressing far beyond the comparatively frivolous musicals and sentimental operettas of the decade, Broadway's ''
Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
'' (1927), represented an even more complete integration of book and score than the Princess Theatre musicals, with dramatic themes told through the music, dialogue, setting and movement. This was accomplished by combining the lyricism of Kern's music with the skillful libretto of Oscar Hammerstein II. One historian wrote, "Here we come to a completely new genre – the musical play as distinguished from musical comedy. Now ... everything else was subservient to that play. Now ... came complete integration of song, humor and production numbers into a single and inextricable artistic entity."Lubbock (2002)
As the Great Depression set in during the post-Broadway national tour of ''Show Boat'', the public turned back to mostly light, escapist song-and-dance entertainment. Audiences on both sides of the Atlantic had little money to spend on entertainment, and only a few stage shows anywhere exceeded a run of 500 performances during the decade. The revue ''
The Band Wagon
''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, ...
'' (1931) starred dancing partners Fred Astaire and his sister
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
, while Porter's ''
Anything Goes
''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...
'' (1934) confirmed
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary '' Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...
's position as the First Lady of musical theatre, a title she maintained for many years. Coward and Novello continued to deliver old fashioned, sentimental musicals, such as ''
The Dancing Years
''The Dancing Years'' is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall. The story takes place in Vienna, from 1911 until 1938. It follows the life of a penniless Jewish composer and his love for two women of di ...
'', while Rodgers and Hart returned from Hollywood to create a series of successful Broadway shows, including ''
On Your Toes
''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939.
While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dolan ...
'' (1936, with Ray Bolger, the first Broadway musical to make dramatic use of classical dance), ''
Babes in Arms
''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a wor ...
'' (1937) and ''
The Boys from Syracuse
''The Boys from Syracuse'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play ''The Comedy of Errors'', as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporar ...
'' (1938). Porter added ''
Du Barry Was a Lady
''Du Barry Was a Lady'' is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and the book by Herbert Fields and Buddy DeSylva.
'' (1939). The longest-running piece of musical theatre of the 1930s was '' Hellzapoppin'' (1938), a revue with audience participation, which played for 1,404 performances, setting a new Broadway record.
Still, a few creative teams began to build on ''Show Boat''s innovations. ''
Of Thee I Sing
''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President o ...
'' (1931), a political satire by the Gershwins, was the first musical awarded the Pulitzer Prize. ''
As Thousands Cheer
''As Thousands Cheer'' is a revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, first performed in 1933. The revue contained satirical sketches and witty or poignant musical numbers, several of which became standards, includin ...
'' (1933), a revue by
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
and
Moss Hart
Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director.
Early years
Hart was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother ...
in which each song or sketch was based on a newspaper headline, marked the first Broadway show in which an African-American,
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...
, starred alongside white actors. Waters' numbers included "
Supper Time
"Supper Time" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical '' As Thousands Cheer'', where it was introduced by Ethel Waters. The song is about racial violence inspired by a newspaper headline about a lynching.
History
Berlin ...
", a woman's lament for her husband who has been lynched. The Gershwins' ''
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', it ...
'' (1935) featured an all African-American cast and blended operatic, folk and jazz idioms. ''
The Cradle Will Rock
''The Cradle Will Rock'' is a 1937 play in music by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles and produced by John Houseman. A Brechtian allegory of corruption and corporate greed, it ...
'' (1937), directed by
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
, was a highly political pro-
union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
piece that, despite the controversy surrounding it, ran for 108 performances. Rodgers and Hart's ''
I'd Rather Be Right
''I'd Rather Be Right'' is a 1937 musical with a book by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. The story is a Depression-era political satire set in New York City about Washington politics an ...
'' (1937) was a political satire with
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer.
Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...
as President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
Knickerbocker Holiday
''Knickerbocker Holiday'' is a 1938 musical written by Kurt Weill (music) and Maxwell Anderson (book and lyrics); based loosely on Washington Irving's ''Knickerbocker's History of New York'' about life in 17th-century New Netherland (old New ...
'' depicted New York City's early history while good-naturedly satirizing Roosevelt's good intentions.
The motion picture mounted a challenge to the stage. Silent films had presented only limited competition, but by the end of the 1920s, films like ''
The Jazz Singer
''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...
'' could be presented with synchronized sound. "Talkie" films at low prices effectively killed off
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
by the early 1930s. Despite the economic woes of the 1930s and the competition from film, the musical survived. In fact, it continued to evolve thematically beyond the gags and showgirls musicals of the ''Gay Nineties'' and ''Roaring Twenties'' and the sentimental romance of operetta, adding technical expertise and the fast-paced staging and naturalistic dialogue style led by director
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades.
Early years
Abbott was born in Forestville, New Yo ...
.
The Golden Age (1940s to 1960s)
1940s
The 1940s would begin with more hits from Porter,
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
, Rodgers and Hart, Weill and Gershwin, some with runs over 500 performances as the economy rebounded, but artistic change was in the air.
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
's ''
Oklahoma!
''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...
'' (1943) completed the revolution begun by ''
Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
'', by tightly integrating all the aspects of musical theatre, with a cohesive plot, songs that furthered the action of the story, and featured dream ballets and other dances that advanced the plot and developed the characters, rather than using dance as an excuse to parade scantily clad women across the stage. Rodgers and Hammerstein hired ballet choreographer Agnes de Mille, who used everyday motions to help the characters express their ideas. It defied musical conventions by raising its first act curtain not on a bevy of chorus girls, but rather on a woman churning butter, with an off-stage voice singing the opening lines of ''
Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'
"Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" is the opening song from the musical ''Oklahoma!'', which premiered on Broadway in 1943. It was written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The leading male character in ''Oklah ...
'' unaccompanied. It drew rave reviews, set off a box-office frenzy and received a Pulitzer Prize.
Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...
wrote in ''The New York Times'' that the show's opening number changed the history of musical theater: "After a verse like that, sung to a buoyant melody, the banalities of the old musical stage became intolerable."Gordon, John Steele ''Oklahoma'!' . Retrieved June 13, 2010 It was the first "blockbuster" Broadway show, running a total of 2,212 performances, and was made into a hit film. It remains one of the most frequently produced of the team's projects. William A. Everett and
Paul R. Laird
Paul Robert Laird (born October 26, 1958) is an American musicologist at the University of Kansas born in Louisville, Kentucky.
Education
Raised in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, Laird graduated in 1976 from Bridgewater-Raritan High School E ...
wrote that this was a "show, that, like ''Show Boat'', became a milestone, so that later historians writing about important moments in twentieth-century theatre would begin to identify eras according to their relationship to ''Oklahoma!''".
"After ''Oklahoma!'', Rodgers and Hammerstein were the most important contributors to the musical-play form... The examples they set in creating vital plays, often rich with social thought, provided the necessary encouragement for other gifted writers to create musical plays of their own". The two collaborators created an extraordinary collection of some of musical theatre's best loved and most enduring classics, including '' Carousel'' (1945), '' South Pacific'' (1949), ''
The King and I
''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...
'' (1951) and ''
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...
'' (1959). Some of these musicals treat more serious subject matter than most earlier shows: the villain in ''Oklahoma!'' is a suspected murderer and psychopath with a fondness for lewd post cards; ''Carousel'' deals with spousal abuse, thievery, suicide and the afterlife; ''South Pacific'' explores miscegenation even more thoroughly than ''Show Boat''; and the hero of ''The King and I'' dies onstage.
The show's creativity stimulated Rodgers and Hammerstein's contemporaries and ushered in the "Golden Age" of American musical theatre. Americana was displayed on Broadway during the "Golden Age", as the wartime cycle of shows began to arrive. An example of this is '' On the Town'' (1944), written by
Betty Comden
Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned ...
and
Adolph Green
Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Ar ...
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television.
Among his nu ...
. The story is set during wartime and concerns three sailors who are on a 24-hour shore leave in New York City, during which each falls in love. The show also gives the impression of a country with an uncertain future, as the sailors and their women also have.
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
used sharpshooter
Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...
E. Y. Harburg
Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...
and
Fred Saidy
Fred Saidy (February 11, 1907 – May 14, 1982) was an American playwright and screenwriter.
Biography
Born in Los Angeles, California, Saidy began his writing career in 1943 with the screenplay for the Red Skelton comedy '' I Dood It''. The ...
combined political satire with Irish whimsy for their fantasy '' Finian's Rainbow'' (1947, 725 performances); and Cole Porter found inspiration in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
The Taming of the Shrew
''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...
'' for ''
Kiss Me, Kate
''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-stag ...
'' (1948, 1,077 performances). The American musicals overwhelmed the old-fashioned British Coward/Novello-style shows, one of the last big successes of which was Novello's '' Perchance to Dream'' (1945, 1,021 performances). The formula for the Golden Age musicals reflected one or more of four widely held perceptions of the "American dream": That stability and worth derives from a love relationship sanctioned and restricted by Protestant ideals of marriage; that a married couple should make a moral home with children away from the city in a suburb or small town; that the woman's function was as homemaker and mother; and that Americans incorporate an independent and pioneering spirit or that their success is self-made.
1950s
The 1950s were crucial to the development of the American musical.
Damon Runyon
Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer.
He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To N ...
's eclectic characters were at the core of
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...
's and
Abe Burrows
Abe Burrows (born Abram Solman Borowitz; December 18, 1910 – May 17, 1985) was an American humorist, author, and director for radio and the stage. He won a Tony Award and was selected for two Pulitzer Prizes, only one of which was awarded.
Ear ...
' ''
Guys and Dolls
''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...
'', (1950, 1,200 performances); and the
Gold Rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...
Lerner and Loewe
Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loe ...
from collaborating again, this time on ''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...
'' (1956), an adaptation of
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's ''
Pygmalion
Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to:
Mythology
* Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue
Stage
* ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau
* ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
'' starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, which at 2,717 performances held the long-run record for many years. Popular Hollywood films were made of all of these musicals. Two hits by British creators in this decade were '' The Boy Friend'' (1954), which ran for 2,078 performances in London and marked Andrews' American debut, and ''
Salad Days
"Salad days" is a Shakespearean idiom referring to a period of carefree innocence, idealism, and pleasure associated with youth. The modern use, chiefly in the United States, describes a heyday, when a person is/was at the peak of their abilitie ...
'' (1954), with a run of 2,283 performances.
Another record was set by ''
The Threepenny Opera
''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...
'', which ran for 2,707 performances, becoming the longest-running off-Broadway musical until ''
The Fantasticks
''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...
''. The production also broke ground by showing that musicals could be profitable off-Broadway in a small-scale, small orchestra format. This was confirmed in 1959 when a revival of
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...
and
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
's ''
Leave It to Jane
''Leave It to Jane'' is a musical in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, based on the 1904 play '' The College Widow'', by George Ade. The story concerns the football rivalry between Atwater ...
'' ran for more than two years. The 1959–1960 off-Broadway season included a dozen musicals and revues including ''
Little Mary Sunshine
''Little Mary Sunshine'' is a musical that parodies old-fashioned operettas and musicals. The book, music, and lyrics are by Rick Besoyan. The original Off-Broadway production premiered November 18, 1959 at the Orpheum Theatre in New York Cit ...
'', ''The Fantasticks'' and ''
Ernest in Love
''Ernest in Love'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Anne Croswell and music by Lee Pockriss. It is based on ''The Importance of Being Earnest'', Oscar Wilde's classic 1895 comedy of manners.
Background
The two-act musical is an expanded ver ...
'', a musical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's 1895 hit ''
The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
''.
''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...
'' (1957) transported ''Romeo and Juliet'' to modern day New York City and converted the feuding Montague and Capulet families into opposing ethnic gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. The book was adapted by
Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, theatre director, film producer and screenwriter.
After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S. Army during World War II ...
, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by newcomer Stephen Sondheim. It was embraced by the critics, but failed to be a popular choice for the "blue-haired matinee ladies", who preferred the small town River City, Iowa of
Meredith Willson
Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 19 ...
's ''
The Music Man
''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...
'' (1957) to the alleys of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's Upper West Side. Apparently
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
voters were of a similar mind, since they favored the former over the latter. ''West Side Story'' had a respectable run of 732 performances (1,040 in the West End), while ''The Music Man'' ran nearly twice as long, with 1,375 performances. However, the 1961 film of ''West Side Story'' was extremely successful. Laurents and Sondheim teamed up again for ''
Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
'' (1959, 702 performances), with Jule Styne providing the music for a backstage story about the most driven stage mother of all-time, stripper Gypsy Rose Lee's mother Rose. The original production ran for 702 performances, and was given four subsequent revivals, with
Angela Lansbury
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
,
Tyne Daly
Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work, a Tony Award and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee.
Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York, ...
,
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...
and
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of F ...
later tackling the role made famous by Ethel Merman.
Although directors and choreographers have had a major influence on musical theatre style since at least the 19th century, George Abbott and his collaborators and successors took a central role in integrating movement and dance fully into musical theatre productions in the Golden Age.Kenrick, John "Dance in Stage Musicals – Part III" Musicals101.com, 2003, accessed August 14, 2012 Abbott introduced ballet as a story-telling device in ''On Your Toes'' in 1936, which was followed by Agnes de Mille's ballet and choreography in ''Oklahoma!''. After Abbott collaborated with Jerome Robbins in ''On the Town'' and other shows, Robbins combined the roles of director and choreographer, emphasizing the story-telling power of dance in ''West Side Story'', '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (1962) and '' Fiddler on the Roof'' (1964).
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...
choreographed for Abbott in ''
The Pajama Game
''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell.
The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his ...
'' (1956) and ''
Damn Yankees
''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., dur ...
'' (1957), injecting playful sexuality into those hits. He was later the director-choreographer for ''Sweet Charity'' (1968), ''Pippin'' (1972) and ''Chicago'' (1975). Other notable director-choreographers have included
Gower Champion
Gower Carlyle Champion (June 22, 1919 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer.
Early years
Champion was born on June 22, 1919, in Geneva, Illinois, as the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Car ...
,
Tommy Tune
Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...
Gillian Lynne
Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne (née Pyrke; 20 February 1926 – 1 July 2018) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-runnin ...
and Susan Stroman. Prominent directors have included
Hal Prince
Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre.
One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...
, who also got his start with Abbott, and
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...
.
During the Golden Age, automotive companies and other large corporations began to hire Broadway talent to write corporate musicals, private shows only seen by their employees or customers. The 1950s ended with
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
's last hit, ''The Sound of Music'', which also became another hit for Mary Martin. It ran for 1,443 performances and shared the Tony Award for Best Musical. Together with its extremely successful 1965 film version, it has become one of the most popular musicals in history.
1960s
In 1960, ''The Fantasticks'' was first produced off-Broadway. This intimate allegorical show would quietly run for over 40 years at the Sullivan Street Theatre in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, becoming by far the longest-running musical in history. Its authors produced other innovative works in the 1960s, such as '' Celebration'' and ''
I Do! I Do!
''I Do! I Do!'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt which is based on the Jan de Hartog play ''The Fourposter''. The two-character story spans 50 years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the ups and down ...
'', the first two-character Broadway musical. The 1960s would see a number of blockbusters, like '' Fiddler on the Roof'' (1964; 3,242 performances), '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1964; 2,844 performances), '' Funny Girl'' (1964; 1,348 performances) and '' Man of La Mancha'' (1965; 2,328 performances), and some more risqué pieces like ''
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...
'', before ending with the emergence of the
rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and conc ...
. Two men had considerable impact on musical theatre history beginning in this decade: Stephen Sondheim and
Jerry Herman
Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre.
One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist ...
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...
by
Burt Shevelove
Burt Shevelove (September 19, 1915 – April 8, 1982) was an American musical theater playwright, lyricist, librettist, and director.
Biography
Born in Newark, New Jersey, he graduated from Brown University and Yale (Master's degree). At ...
and
Larry Gelbart
Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...
, starring Zero Mostel. Sondheim moved the musical beyond its concentration on the romantic plots typical of earlier eras; his work tended to be darker, exploring the grittier sides of life both present and past. Other early Sondheim works include ''
Anyone Can Whistle
''Anyone Can Whistle'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Described as "a satire on conformity and the insanity of the so-called sane," the show tells a story of an economically depressed town w ...
'' (1964, which ran only nine performances, despite having stars
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...
and
Angela Lansbury
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
Follies
''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.
The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...
'' (1971) and ''
A Little Night Music
''A Little Night Music'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a ...
'' (1973). Later, Sondheim found inspiration in unlikely sources: the opening of Japan to Western trade for ''
Pacific Overtures
''Pacific Overtures'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weidman, with "additional material by" Hugh Wheeler.
Set in 19th-century Japan, it tells the story of the country's westernization starting in 185 ...
'' (1976), a legendary murderous barber seeking revenge in the Industrial Age of London for ''
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Stre ...
'' (1979), the paintings of
Georges Seurat
Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...
Into the Woods
''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...
'' (1987), and a collection of presidential assassins in ''
Assassins
An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder.
Assassin may also refer to:
Origin of term
* Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins
Animals and insects
* Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...
'' (1990).
While some critics have argued that some of Sondheim's musicals lack commercial appeal, others have praised their lyrical sophistication and musical complexity, as well as the interplay of lyrics and music in his shows. Some of Sondheim's notable innovations include a show presented in reverse ('' Merrily We Roll Along'') and the above-mentioned ''Anyone Can Whistle'', in which the first act ends with the cast informing the audience that they are mad.
Jerry Herman played a significant role in American musical theatre, beginning with his first Broadway production, '' Milk and Honey'' (1961, 563 performances), about the founding of the state of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, and continuing with the blockbuster hits '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1964, 2,844 performances), ''
Mame
MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...
'' (1966, 1,508 performances), and '' La Cage aux Folles'' (1983, 1,761 performances). Even his less successful shows like ''
Dear World
''Dear World'' is a musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. With its opening, Herman became the first composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broa ...
'' (1969) and ''
Mack and Mabel
''Mack and Mabel'' (often stylized as Mack & Mabel) is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The plot involves the tumultuous romantic relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Norman ...
'' (1974) have had memorable scores (''Mack and Mabel'' was later reworked into a London hit). Writing both words and music, many of Herman's
show tune
A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context.
T ...
s have become popular standards, including " Hello, Dolly!", "We Need a Little Christmas", "I Am What I Am", "Mame", "The Best of Times", "Before the Parade Passes By", "Put On Your Sunday Clothes", "It Only Takes a Moment", "Bosom Buddies" and "I Won't Send Roses", recorded by such artists as Louis Armstrong,
Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gormé ( ; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who had hits on the pop and Latin pop charts. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on albums and telev ...
,
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...
,
Petula Clark
Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades.
Clark's professional career began during the ...
and Bernadette Peters. Herman's songbook has been the subject of two popular musical revues, ''
Jerry's Girls
''Jerry's Girls'' is a musical revue based on the songs of composer/ lyricist Jerry Herman.
Production history
Created by Herman and Larry Alford in 1981, the show originated as a modest presentation at Onstage, a nightclub located in the Theate ...
'' (Broadway, 1985) and ''
Showtune
A show tune is a popular song, song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a Standard (music), standard, more or less detached in most people's minds ...
'' (off-Broadway, 2003).
The musical started to diverge from the relatively narrow confines of the 1950s.
Rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
would be used in several Broadway musicals, beginning with '' Hair'', which featured not only rock music but also nudity and controversial opinions about the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, race relations and other social issues.
Social themes
After ''Show Boat'' and ''
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', it ...
'', and as the struggle in America and elsewhere for minorities'
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
Yip Harburg
Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...
and others were emboldened to write more musicals and operas that aimed to normalize societal toleration of minorities and urged racial harmony. Early Golden Age works that focused on racial tolerance included '' Finian's Rainbow'' and '' South Pacific''. Towards the end of the Golden Age, several shows tackled Jewish subjects and issues, such as '' Fiddler on the Roof'', '' Milk and Honey'', ''
Blitz!
''Blitz!'' is a musical by Lionel Bart. The musical, described by Steven Suskin as "massive", was set in the East End of London during the Blitz (the aerial bombings during World War II). The story drew on Bart's childhood memories of London's Je ...
'' and later ''Rags (musical), Rags''. The original concept that became ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...
'' was set in the Lower East Side during Easter-Passover celebrations; the rival gangs were to be Jewish and Italian-American, Italian Catholic Church, Catholic. The creative team later decided that the Polish (white) vs. Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican conflict was fresher.
Tolerance as an important theme in musicals has continued in recent decades. The final expression of ''West Side Story'' left a message of racial tolerance. By the end of the 1960s, musicals became racially integrated, with black and white cast members even covering each other's roles, as they did in ''Hair''. Homosexuality has also been explored in musicals, starting with ''Hair'', and even more overtly in '' La Cage aux Folles'', ''
Falsettos
''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of '' March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and '' Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installments in a trio o ...
'', ''
Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
'', ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical), Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' and other shows in recent decades. ''Parade (musical), Parade'' is a sensitive exploration of both anti-Semitism and historical American racism, and ''Ragtime (musical), Ragtime'' similarly explores the experience of immigrants and minorities in America.
1970s to present
1970s
After the success of ''Hair'',
rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and conc ...
s flourished in the 1970s, with '' Jesus Christ Superstar'', ''Godspell'', ''The Rocky Horror Show'', ''Evita'' and ''Two Gentlemen of Verona (musical), Two Gentlemen of Verona''. Some of those began as "concept albums" which were then adapted to the stage, most notably ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' and ''Evita''. Others had no dialogue or were otherwise reminiscent of opera, with dramatic, emotional themes; these sometimes started as concept albums and were referred to as rock operas. Shows like ''Raisin (musical), Raisin'', ''Dreamgirls (musical), Dreamgirls'', ''Purlie'' and ''The Wiz'' brought a significant African-American influence to Broadway. More varied musical genres and styles were incorporated into musicals both on and especially off-Broadway. At the same time, Stephen Sondheim found success with some of his musicals, as mentioned above.
In 1975, the dance musical ''
A Chorus Line
''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante.
Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...
'' emerged from recorded group therapy-style sessions Michael Bennett conducted with "gypsies" – those who sing and dance in support of the leading players – from the Broadway community. From hundreds of hours of tapes, James Kirkwood Jr. and Nick Dante fashioned a book about an audition for a musical, incorporating many real-life stories from the sessions; some who attended the sessions eventually played variations of themselves or each other in the show. With music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, ''A Chorus Line'' first opened at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in lower Manhattan. What initially had been planned as a limited engagement eventually moved to the Shubert Theatre (Broadway), Shubert Theatre on Broadway for a run of 6,137 performances, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history up to that time. The show swept the Tony Awards and won the Pulitzer Prize, and its hit song, ''What I Did for Love (A Chorus Line), What I Did for Love'', became a standard.
Broadway audiences welcomed musicals that varied from the golden age style and substance. John Kander and Fred Ebb explored the rise of Nazism in Germany in ''
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...
'', and murder and the media in Prohibition-era ''
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
'', which relied on old
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
techniques. ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'', by Stephen Schwartz (composer), Stephen Schwartz, was set in the days of Charlemagne. Federico Fellini's autobiographical film ''8½'' became Maury Yeston's ''Nine (musical), Nine''. At the end of the decade, ''Evita'' and ''Sweeney Todd'' were precursors of the darker, big budget musicals of the 1980s that depended on dramatic stories, sweeping scores and spectacular effects. At the same time, old-fashioned values were still embraced in such hits as ''Annie (musical), Annie'', ''42nd Street (musical), 42nd Street'', ''My One and Only (musical), My One and Only'', and popular revivals of ''No, No, Nanette'' and ''Irene''. Although many film versions of musicals were made in the 1970s, few were critical or box office successes, with the notable exceptions of ''Fiddler on the Roof (film), Fiddler on the Roof'', ''Cabaret (1972 film), Cabaret'' and ''Grease (film), Grease''.
1980s
The 1980s saw the influence of European "megamusicals" on Broadway, in the West End and elsewhere. These typically feature a pop-influenced score, large casts and spectacular sets and special effects – a falling chandelier (in ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
''); a helicopter landing on stage (in ''Miss Saigon'') – and big budgets. Some were based on novels or other works of literature. The British team of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and producer Cameron Mackintosh started the megamusical phenomenon with their 1981 musical ''Cats (musical), Cats'', based on the poems of T. S. Eliot, which overtook ''A Chorus Line'' to become the longest-running Broadway show. Lloyd Webber followed up with ''Starlight Express'' (1984), performed on roller skates; ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (1986; also with Mackintosh), derived from the The Phantom of the Opera, novel of the same name; and ''Sunset Boulevard (musical), Sunset Boulevard'' (1993), from the 1950 Sunset Boulevard (film), film of the same name. ''Phantom'' would surpass ''Cats'' to become the longest-running show in Broadway history, a record it still holds.Everett and Laird, pp. 250–256Allain and Harvie, pp. 206–207 The French team of Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil wrote ''Les Misérables'', based on the Les Misérables, novel of the same name, whose 1985 London production was produced by Mackintosh and became, and still is, the Long-running musical theatre productions, longest-running musical in West End and Broadway history. The team produced another hit with ''Miss Saigon'' (1989), which was inspired by the Puccini opera ''Madama Butterfly''.
The megamusicals' huge budgets redefined expectations for financial success on Broadway and in the West End. In earlier years, it was possible for a show to be considered a hit after a run of several hundred performances, but with multimillion-dollar production costs, a show must run for years simply to turn a profit. Megamusicals were also reproduced in productions around the world, multiplying their profit potential while expanding the global audience for musical theatre.
1990s
In the 1990s, a new generation of theatrical composers emerged, including Jason Robert Brown and Michael John LaChiusa, who began with productions off-Broadway. The most conspicuous success of these artists was Jonathan Larson's show ''
Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
'' (1996), a rock musical (based on the opera ''La bohème'') about a struggling community of artists in Manhattan. While the cost of tickets to Broadway and West End musicals was escalating beyond the budget of many theatregoers, ''Rent'' was marketed to increase the popularity of musicals among a younger audience. It featured a young cast and a heavily rock-influenced score; the musical became a hit. Its young fans, many of them students, calling themselves RENTheads], camped out at the Nederlander Theatre in hopes of winning the lottery for $20 front row tickets, and some saw the show dozens of times. Other shows on Broadway followed ''Rents lead by offering heavily discounted day-of-performance or standing-room tickets, although often the discounts are offered only to students.
The 1990s also saw the influence of large corporations on the production of musicals. The most important has been Disney Theatrical Productions, which began adapting some of The Walt Disney Company, Disney's animated film musicals for the stage, starting with ''Beauty and the Beast (musical), Beauty and the Beast'' (1994), ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' (1997) and ''Aida (musical), Aida'' (2000), the latter two with music by Elton John. ''The Lion King'' is the List of highest-grossing musicals, highest-grossing musical in Broadway history. ''The Who's Tommy'' (1993), a theatrical adaptation of the rock opera ''Tommy (The Who album), Tommy'', achieved a healthy run of 899 performances but was criticized for sanitizing the story and "musical theatre-izing" the rock music.
Despite the growing number of large-scale musicals in the 1980s and 1990s, a number of lower-budget, smaller-scale musicals managed to find critical and financial success, such as ''Falsettoland'' and ''Little Shop of Horrors (musical), Little Shop of Horrors'', ''Bat Boy: The Musical'' and ''Blood Brothers (musical), Blood Brothers''. The topics of these pieces vary widely, and the music ranges from rock to pop, but they often are produced off-Broadway, or for smaller London theatres, and some of these stagings have been regarded as imaginative and innovative.
2000s–present
= Trends
=
In the new century, familiarity has been embraced by producers and investors anxious to guarantee that they recoup their considerable investments. Some took (usually modest-budget) chances on new and creative material, such as ''Urinetown'' (2001), ''Avenue Q'' (2003), ''The Light in the Piazza (musical), The Light in the Piazza'' (2005), ''Spring Awakening (musical), Spring Awakening'' (2006), ''In the Heights'' (2008), ''Next to Normal'' (2009), ''American Idiot (musical), American Idiot'' (2010) and ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' (2011). ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
'' (2015), transformed "under-dramatized American history" into an unusual hip-hop inflected hit. In 2011, Sondheim argued that of all forms of "contemporary pop music", rapping, rap was "the closest to traditional musical theatre" and was "one pathway to the future."
However, most major-market 21st-century productions have taken a safe route, with revivals of familiar fare, such as '' Fiddler on the Roof'', ''
A Chorus Line
''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante.
Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...
'', '' South Pacific'', ''Gypsy'', ''Hair'', ''West Side Story'' and ''Grease (musical), Grease'', or with adaptations of other proven material, such as literature (''The Scarlet Pimpernel'', ''
Wicked
Wicked may refer to:
Books
* Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe
* '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name
* ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...
'' and ''Fun Home (musical), Fun Home''), hoping that the shows would have a built-in audience as a result. This trend is especially persistent with film adaptations, including ('' The Producers'', ''Spamalot'', ''Hairspray (musical), Hairspray'', ''Legally Blonde (musical), Legally Blonde'', ''The Color Purple (musical), The Color Purple'', ''Xanadu (musical), Xanadu'', ''
Billy Elliot
''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy w ...
'', ''Shrek (musical), Shrek'', ''Waitress (musical), Waitress'' and ''Groundhog Day (musical), Groundhog Day''). Some critics have argued that the reuse of film plots, especially those from Disney (such as ''Mary Poppins (musical), Mary Poppins'' and ''The Little Mermaid (musical), The Little Mermaid''), equate the Broadway and West End musical to a tourist attraction, rather than a creative outlet.
Today, it is less likely that a sole producer, such as David Merrick or Cameron Mackintosh, backs a production. Corporate sponsors dominate Broadway, and often alliances are formed to stage musicals, which require an investment of $10 million or more. In 2002, the credits for ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' listed ten producers, and among those names were entities composed of several individuals. Typically, off-Broadway and regional theatres tend to produce smaller and therefore less expensive musicals, and development of new musicals has increasingly taken place outside of New York and London or in smaller venues. For example, ''Spring Awakening'', ''Fun Home'' and ''Hamilton'' were developed off-Broadway before being launched on Broadway.
Several musicals returned to the spectacle format that was so successful in the 1980s, recalling
extravaganza
An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. It sometimes also ...
s that have been presented at times, throughout theatre history, since the ancient Romans staged mock sea battles. Examples include the musical adaptations of ''Lord of the Rings (musical), Lord of the Rings'' (2007), ''Gone with the Wind (musical), Gone with the Wind'' (2008) and ''Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' (2011). These musicals involved songwriters with little theatrical experience, and the expensive productions generally lost money. Conversely, ''The Drowsy Chaperone'', ''Avenue Q'', ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'', ''Xanadu'' and ''Fun Home'', among others, have been presented in smaller-scale productions, mostly uninterrupted by an intermission, with short running times, and enjoyed financial success. In 2013, ''Time'' magazine reported that a trend off-Broadway has been "immersive" theatre, citing shows such as ''Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'' (2012) and ''Here Lies Love'' (2013) in which the staging takes place around and within the audience. The shows set a joint record, each receiving 11 nominations for Lucille Lortel Awards, and feature contemporary scores.
In 2013, Cyndi Lauper was the "first female composer to win the [Tony for] Best Score without a male collaborator" for writing the music and lyrics for ''Kinky Boots (musical), Kinky Boots''. In 2015, for the first time, an Women in music, all-female writing team, Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, won the Tony Award for Best Original Score (and Tony Award for Best Book, Best Book for Kron) for ''Fun Home'', although work by male songwriters continues to be produced more often.
= Jukebox musicals
=
Another trend has been to create a minimal plot to fit a collection of songs that have already been hits. Following the earlier success of ''Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story'', these have included ''Movin' Out (musical), Movin' Out'' (2002, based on the tunes of Billy Joel), ''Jersey Boys'' (2006, The Four Seasons (band), The Four Seasons), ''Rock of Ages (musical), Rock of Ages'' (2009, featuring classic rock of the 1980s) and many others. This style is often referred to as the "jukebox musical".Kaye, Kimberly "Broadway.com at 10: The 10 Biggest Broadway Trends of the Decade" Broadway.com, May 10, 2010, accessed August 14, 2012 Similar but more plot-driven musicals have been built around the canon of a particular pop group including ''Mamma Mia! (musical), Mamma Mia!'' (1999, based on the songs of ABBA), ''Our House (musical), Our House'' (2002, based on the songs of Madness (band), Madness) and ''We Will Rock You (musical), We Will Rock You'' (2002, based on the songs of Queen (band), Queen).
= Film and TV musicals
=
Live-action film musicals were nearly dead in the 1980s and early 1990s, with exceptions of ''Victor/Victoria'', ''Little Shop of Horrors (film), Little Shop of Horrors'' and Evita (1996 film), the 1996 film of ''Evita''.Kenrick, John "The 1980s" History of Musical Film, musicals101.com, accessed July 11, 2014; and Kenrick, John History of Musical Film, musicals101.com, accessed July 11, 2014 In the new century, Baz Luhrmann began a revival of the film musical with ''Moulin Rouge!'' (2001). This was followed by ''
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
'' (2002); ''The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film), Phantom of the Opera'' (2004); ''Rent (film), Rent'' (2005); ''Dreamgirls (film), Dreamgirls'' (2006); ''Hairspray (2007 film), Hairspray'', ''Enchanted (film), Enchanted'' and ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007 film), Sweeney Todd'' (all in 2007); ''Mamma Mia! (film), Mamma Mia!'' (2008); ''Nine (2009 live-action film), Nine'' (2009); ''Les Misérables (2012 film), Les Misérables'' and ''Pitch Perfect'' (both in 2012), ''Into the Woods (film), Into The Woods'', ''The Last Five Years (film), The Last Five Years'' (2014), ''La La Land'' (2016), ''The Greatest Showman'' (2017), ''A Star Is Born (2018 film), A Star Is Born'' and ''Mary Poppins Returns'' (both 2018), ''Rocketman (film), Rocketman'' (2019) and ''In the Heights (film), In the Heights'' and Steven Spielberg's version of ''West Side Story (2021 film), West Side Story'' (both in 2021), among others. Dr. Seuss's ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (film), How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' (2000) and ''The Cat in the Hat (film), The Cat in the Hat'' (2003), turned children's books into live-action film musicals. After the immense success of Disney and other houses with animated film musicals beginning with ''The Little Mermaid (1989 film), The Little Mermaid'' in 1989 and running throughout the 1990s (including some more adult-themed films, like ''South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'' (1999)), fewer animated film musicals were released in the first decade of the 21st century. The genre made a comeback beginning in 2010 with ''Tangled'' (2010), ''Rio (2011 film), Rio'' (2011) and ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'' (2013). In Asia, India continues to produce numerous "Bollywood" film musicals, and Japan produces "Anime" and "Manga" film musicals.
Made for Television film, TV musical films were popular in the 1990s, such as ''Gypsy (1993 film), Gypsy'' (1993), ''Cinderella (1997 film), Cinderella'' (1997) and ''Annie (1999 film), Annie'' (1999). Several made for TV musicals in the first decade of the 21st century were adaptations of the stage version, such as ''South Pacific (2001 film), South Pacific'' (2001), ''The Music Man (2003 film), The Music Man'' (2003) and ''Once Upon a Mattress'' (2005), and a televised version of the stage musical ''Legally Blonde (musical), Legally Blonde'' in 2007. Additionally, several musicals were filmed on stage and broadcast on Public Television, for example ''Contact (musical), Contact'' in 2002 and ''
Kiss Me, Kate
''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-stag ...
'' and ''Oklahoma!'' in 2003. The made-for-TV musical ''High School Musical'' (2006), and its several sequels, enjoyed particular success and were adapted for stage musicals and other media.
In 2013, NBC began a series of live television broadcasts of musicals with ''The Sound of Music Live!'' Although the production received mixed reviews, it was a ratings success. Further broadcasts have included ''Peter Pan Live!'' (NBC 2014), ''The Wiz Live!'' (NBC 2015), a UK broadcast, ''The Sound of Music Live (2015), The Sound of Music Live'' (ITV (TV network), ITV 2015) ''Grease: Live'' (Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox 2016), ''Hairspray Live!'' (NBC, 2016), ''A Christmas Story Live!'' (Fox, 2017), and ''Rent: Live'' (Fox 2019).
Some television shows have set episodes as a musical. Examples include episodes of ''Ally McBeal'', ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' ("The Bitter Suite" and "Lyre, Lyre, Heart's On Fire"), ''Psych'' ("Psych: The Musical"), ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' ("Once More, with Feeling (Buffy episode), Once More, with Feeling"), ''That's So Raven'', ''Daria'', ''Dexter's Laboratory'', ''The Powerpuff Girls'', ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'', ''Once Upon a Time (TV series), Once Upon a Time'', ''Oz (TV series), Oz'', ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'' (one episode was written by the creators of ''Avenue Q''), ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' (List of Batman: The Brave and the Bold episodes, "Mayhem of the Music Meister") and ''That '70s Show'' (the 100th episode, "That '70s Musical"). Others have included scenes where characters suddenly begin singing and dancing in a musical-theatre style during an episode, such as in several episodes of ''The Simpsons'', ''30 Rock'', ''Hannah Montana'', ''South Park'', ''Bob's Burgers'' and ''Family Guy''. Television series that have extensively used the musical format have included ''Cop Rock'', ''Flight of the Conchords (TV series), Flight of the Conchords'', ''Glee (TV series), Glee'', ''Smash (TV series), Smash'' and ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend''.
There have also been musicals made for the internet, including ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog,'' about a low-rent super-villain played by Neil Patrick Harris. It was written during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, WGA writer's strike. Since 2006, reality TV shows have been used to help market musical revivals by holding a talent competition to cast (usually female) leads. Examples of these are ''How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?'', ''Grease: You're the One That I Want!,'' ''Any Dream Will Do (TV series), Any Dream Will Do,'' ''Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods,'' ''I'd Do Anything (2008 TV series), I'd Do Anything'' and ''Over the Rainbow (2010 TV series), Over the Rainbow.'' In 2021, ''Schmigadoon!'' was a parody of, and homage to, Golden Age musicals of the 1940s and 1950s.
=2020–2021 theatre shutdown
=
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts, closure of theatres and theatre festivals around the world in early 2020, including all Broadway and West End theatres. Many performing arts institutions attempted to adapt, or reduce their losses, by offering new (or expanded) digital services. In particular this resulted in the online streaming of previously recorded performances of many companies, as well as bespoke crowdsourcing projects. For example, The Sydney Theatre Company commissioned actors to film themselves at home discussing, then performing, a monologue from one of the characters they had previously played on stage. The casts of musicals, such as ''Hamilton'' and ''Mamma Mia!'' united on Zoom calls to entertain individuals and the public. Some performances were streamed live, or presented outdoors or in other "socially distanced" ways, sometimes allowing audience members to interact with the cast. Radio theatre festivals were broadcast. Virtual, and even crowd-sourced musicals were created, such as ''Ratatouille the Musical''. Filmed versions of major musicals, like ''Hamilton (2020 film), Hamilton'', were released on streaming platforms. Andrew Lloyd Webber released recordings of his musicals on YouTube.
Due to the closures and loss of ticket sales, many theatre companies were placed in financial peril. Some governments offered emergency aid to the arts. Some musical theatre markets began to reopen in fits and starts by early 2021, with West End theatres postponing their reopening from June to July, and Broadway starting in September. Throughout 2021, however, spikes in the pandemic have caused some closures even after markets reopened.
International musicals
The U.S. and Britain were the most active sources of book musicals from the 19th century through much of the 20th century (although Europe produced various forms of popular light opera and operetta, for example Spanish Zarzuela, during that period and even earlier). However, the light musical stage in other countries has become more active in recent decades.
Musicals from other English-speaking countries (notably Australia and Canada) often do well locally and occasionally even reach Broadway or the West End (e.g., ''The Boy from Oz'' and ''The Drowsy Chaperone''). South Africa has an active musical theatre scene, with revues like ''African Footprint'' and ''Umoja'' and book musicals, such as ''Kat and the Kings'' and ''Sarafina! (musical), Sarafina!'' touring internationally. Locally, musicals like ''Vere'', ''Love and Green Onions'', ''Over the Rainbow: the all-new all-gay... extravaganza'' and ''Bangbroek Mountain'' and ''In Briefs – a queer little Musical'' have been produced successfully.
Successful musicals from continental Europe include shows from (among other countries) Germany (''Elixier'' and ''Ludwig II (musical), Ludwig II''), Austria (''Tanz der Vampire'', ''Elisabeth (musical), Elisabeth'', ''Mozart!'' and ''Rebecca (musical), Rebecca''), Czech Republic (''Dracula (Czech musical), Dracula''), France (''Starmania (musical), Starmania'', ''Notre-Dame de Paris (musical), Notre-Dame de Paris'', ''Les Misérables'', ''Roméo et Juliette (musical), Roméo et Juliette'' and ''Mozart, l'opéra rock'') and Spain (''Hoy no me puedo levantar'' and ''The Musical Sancho Panza'').
Japan has recently seen the growth of an indigenous form of musical theatre, both animated and live action, mostly based on Anime and Manga, such as ''Kiki's Delivery Service'' and ''Tenimyu''. The popular ''Sailor Moon'' metaseries has had twenty-nine Sailor Moon musicals, spanning thirteen years. Beginning in 1914, a series of popular
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
s have been performed by the all-female Takarazuka Revue, which currently fields five performing troupes. Elsewhere in Asia, the Indian
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
musical, mostly in the form of motion pictures, is tremendously successful.
Beginning with a 2002 tour of ''Les Misérables'', various Western musicals have been imported to mainland China and staged in English.Zhou, Xiaoyan. ''Taking the Stage'', ''Beijing Review'', 2011, p. 42 Attempts at localizing Western productions in China began in 2008 when ''Fame (musical), Fame'' was produced in Mandarin with a full Chinese cast at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. Since then, other western productions have been staged in China in Mandarin with a Chinese cast. The first Chinese production in the style of Western musical theatre was ''The Gold Sand'' in 2005. In addition, Li Dun, a well-known Chinese producer, produced ''Butterflies'', based on a classic Chinese love tragedy, in 2007 as well as ''Love U Teresa'' in 2011.
Amateur and school productions
Musicals are often presented by amateur theatre, amateur and school groups in churches, schools and other performance spaces. Although amateur theatre has existed for centuries, even in the New World,Lynch, Twink "Community Theatre History" American Association of Community Theatre, accessed March 14, 2016 François Cellier and Cunningham Bridgeman wrote, in 1914, that prior to the late 19th century, amateur actors were treated with contempt by professionals. After the formation of amateur Gilbert and Sullivan companies licensed to perform the Savoy operas, professionals recognized that the amateur societies "support the culture of music and the drama. They are now accepted as useful training schools for the legitimate stage, and from the volunteer ranks have sprung many present-day favourites." The National Operatic and Dramatic Association was founded in the UK in 1899. It reported, in 1914, that nearly 200 amateur dramatic societies were producing Gilbert and Sullivan works in Britain that year. Similarly, more than 100 community theatres were founded in the US in the early 20th century. This number has grown to an estimated 18,000 in the US. The Educational Theater Association in the US has nearly 5,000 member schools.
Relevance
The Broadway League announced that in the 2007–08 season, 12.27 million tickets were purchased for Broadway shows for a gross sale amount of almost a billion dollars. The League further reported that during the 2006–07 season, approximately 65% of Broadway tickets were purchased by tourists, and that foreign tourists were 16% of attendees. The Society of London Theatre reported that 2007 set a record for attendance in London. Total attendees in the major commercial and grant-aided theatres in Central London were 13.6 million, and total ticket revenues were £469.7 million. The international musicals scene has been increasingly active in recent decades. Nevertheless, Stephen Sondheim commented in the year 2000:
However, noting the success in recent decades of original material, and creative re-imaginings of film, plays and literature, theatre historian John Kenrick (theatre writer), John Kenrick countered:
Is the Musical dead? ... Absolutely not! Changing? Always! The musical has been changing ever since Jacques Offenbach, Offenbach did his first rewrite in the 1850s. And change is the clearest sign that the musical is still a living, growing genre. Will we ever return to the so-called 'golden age', with musicals at the center of popular culture? Probably not. Public taste has undergone fundamental changes, and the commercial arts can only flow where the paying public allows.
See also
* Cast recording
* Lists of musicals
* Long-running musical theatre productions
* Music theatre
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Parsi theatre
Parsi theatre is a generic term for an influential theatre tradition, staged by Parsis, and theatre companies largely-owned by the Parsi business community, which flourished between 1850 and 1930s. Plays were primarily in the Hindustani language ( ...
*
2.5D musical
A , also known as an anime musical, is a type of modern Japanese musical theatre production based exclusively on popular Japanese anime, manga, or video games. The term "2.5D musical" was coined to describe stories presented in a two-dimensional ...
Notes and references
Cited books
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Further reading
* Bauch, Marc. The American Musical '. Marburg, Germany: Tectum Verlag, 2003.
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* Gerald Bordman, Bordman, Gerald (1978). ''American Musical Theatre: a Chronicle''. New York: Oxford University Press. viii, 749 p.
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* Stephen Citron, Citron, Stephen (1991). ''The Musical, from the Inside Out''. Chicago, Illinois: I.R. Dee. 336 p.
* Ewen, David (1961). ''The Story of American Musical Theater''. First ed. Philadelphia: Chilton. v, 208 p.
* Kurt Gänzl, Gänzl, Kurt. ''The Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre'' (3 Volumes). New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.
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* Stempel, Larry. ''Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater'' (W. W. Norton, 2010) 826 pages; comprehensive history since the mid-19th century.
* Richard Traubner, Traubner, Richard. ''Operetta: A Theatrical History''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1983