This material is a compilation of many important people and works throughout the history of

Musical Theatre, but it is in no way complete or exhaustive. The material covered is by very
broad strokes, meant to give a sense of the origin and developments that have created musical
theatre as we know it today.

Musical Theatre has roots dating back to the 5th Century-at least in terms of music and stage
play being presented as a single production.
Influences on Modern Musical Theatre have a traceable root originating from European
Operetta of the late 1800’s, primarily Viennese Composers/Productions

This material will move chronologically, which means we will revisit some important people
through the eras as major changes happen in Musical Theatres development

AMERICAN ORIGINS
● Minstrel Shows began in late 1790’s in America
○ Mostly Solo actors doing brief songs, dance, and comic sketch
● Minstrel Shows slowly gained popularity and then developed into more thought out
productions in a 3 part format;
○ After an Overture came: Minstrel Line-where blackface performers would sit semi
circle around a non-blackface MC how would adapt the show on the spot
depending on reception. This segment contained songs and jokes, maybe a skit
○ The “Olio”-a variety show feat. The company members specialities, song dance
etc. This was a family friendly section
■ The Olio, because of its tame nature, could be considered the precursor
to Vaudeville
○ The third section was “The Afterpiece” usually a one act play with songs,
traditionally sentimental comic tales of plantation life, the popularity of operetta
the themes started leaving blackface traditions behind.
● All of this was happening before and into the Civil War
● The most lasting legacy is the songs from Minstrel shows
○ Eg Camptown Races, Beautiful Dreamer, Dixie, Jimmy Crack Corn
■ Composers of Dixie-Dan Emmett, was an abolitionist and appalled that it
became the song of the Confederacy
● Longest lasting legacy/contribution to America is the Barbershop Quartet
● Post Civil War, minstrel shows continued, some using all Black troupes
● Rise of the American Variety show as entertainment, think of school pageants, talent
contests etc.

Burlesque-mid 1800’s
● Burlesque means to make fun of something.
● Quote John Kenrick “By the twentieth cent. Burlesque was a rundown form of variety that
flaunted sexual mores and relied on the pelvic bumps and grinds of female strippers to
 sell tickets. But burlesque started out as a form of legitimate musical theatre that spoofed
Victorian society’s rigid perceptions of gender.”
● Edward Rice developed a model of burlesque that was continually popular on Broadway,
of easily digestible fun for a family audiences, including newly composed songs and
parodies (a model very very loosely related to modern MT)

Gilbert and Sullivan

As creators of widely popular operetta in England, that were widely popular on broadway as
well. The character traits and forms that G&S employed are noteworthy in tracing the origin of
MT.
● Topsy-turvydom-the plot/places are realistic with absurd subjects or actions
● Unqualified men having found their way to high public office (farce)
● The course of true love not only never runs smooth, but often runs in surprise directions
● There is an appalling disdain for women over 40
● There is a least one word-heavy patter song for the lead comedian
● Intricate and unprecedented use of rhyme and rhyme scheme
G&S made very simple one dimensional characters that were easy to understand and identify
with, but that also is a pitfall as competition for entertainment grew. G&S pushed American
creators to explore more witty content and more melodic sophistication.

THE BIRTH OF MUSICAL COMEDY-1880-1899

Prior to 1880
● Offenbach called his comedic works ‘operettas’ and ‘opera-bouffes’
● Gilbert and Sullivan used ‘comic operas’
● Early American musicals were advertised as ‘burlettas’ ‘variety show’ and
‘extravaganzas’ and ‘musical farces’-the closest link to musical comedy
DEFINITION​- a simple definition of ‘musical comedy’ is- a comic drama that makes substantial
use of original songs as a storytelling element’

Vaudeville
Literally the French slang for ‘songs of the town’
● Begun as shows by variety actors
● A response to the growth of audiences and new demographics
○ Because of the industrial revolution more women have entered the workforce
with disposable income to spend
○ The new demographic meant changes, no booze was allowed(attempt to keep
things more civil and safer
● In the over 50 years Vaudeville over 25,000 performers worked the circuit.
● Venues were described in 3 categories
○ Small time: small town theatres and cheap venues, crude environments where
old-timers skidded out their final seasons, salaries ranged from $15-$75 a week
○ Medium time: good theatres in a wide range of cities, performers here were either
on their way up or down career wise. Salaries up to a few hundred dollars a week
 ○ Big Time: finest theatres in the bes cities, a majority using a two performance a
day format. Most earned hundreds per week with headliners earning thousands
○ FOR PERSPECTIVE the avg. factory worker made around $1,300 a year, a
small time performer working a 42 week season could average $3,100 a year.
● Vaudeville shows could take any form and varied in lengths, but the ideal was
considered to be 8 acts that covered two and a half hours. Headliners were billed at the
top of the marquee each week, with the other acts listed in order of perceived popularity.
The order of 8 acts followed this form(mostly)
○ First- non verbal acts, acrobats, animal tricks-things that wouldn’t compete with
the audience noise
○ 2nd- singers or dancers (usually sibling pairs, or pretending to be siblings)
○ 3rd- Skit or one act play. Authors ranged from unknown to very popular,
accomplished actors would fill this spot in some tours
○ 4th-A novelty act i.e. sword swallower, eccentric dancer, etc.
○ 5th-Ending Act 1 was either a Falling or Rising Star
○ 6th- Act 2 opened with a ‘big act’ that required an elaborate set or bandstand,
such as a choir or novelty orchestra
○ 7th-the ‘next to closing’ spot when to the headliner, usually vocalists or
comedians
○ 8th-following the star act, this is the spot for something to clear the audience, e.g.
one man band, boring short film, etc
● These Vaudeville shows became the model for early broadway revues (Ziegfeld)

1900-1913
By now broadway is a hive of entertainment, Vaudeville and variety acts are popular, and young
people are becoming attracted to the idea of becoming a star, moving to NY etc.
Victor Herbert
● Born in Ireland, raised in Germany, Cellist 1859-1924
● Came to US in 1886 When wife was contracted with Met Opera to sing
○ Mrs. Herbert had a short lived career as a singer
● Victor played for the Met and Pittsburgh Symphony
● Started composing operettas
○ Babes in Toyland 1903 192 performances
■ Later turned into a film
● Herbert’s compositions were successful for their melodious writing
● Branched from romantic operetta to musical comedy
○ 1st Musical Comedy was The Red Mill 1906 274 performances
● Synthesis of his ability to write operetta, musical comedy, and large scale opera was
joined in ​Naughty Marietta
○ Commissioned by Oscar Hammerstein I
○ Song “Ah Sweet Mystery of Life at last I’ve Found Thee
■ Example of very high level use of language, florid romantic poetry, which
was unusual for American theatre at the time: “Ah Sweet mystery of life at
 last I’ve found thee! Now at last I know the secret of it all. All the longing,
seeking, striving, waiting, yearning, the burning hopes, the joy and idle
tears that fall. For ‘tis love, and love alone, the world is seeking; and it’s
love and love alone, that can reply; ‘Tis the answer, ‘tis the end and all of
living, for it is love alone that rules for aye!”
● Herbert set the model for how American Operetta would be formed
○ Plot requires a historic and/or exotic setting
○ The music rules
○ Both the music and lyrics should be flowery and poetic
○ Romance is the main ingredient, not sex
○ The heroine must be indecisive the hero stalwart and macho
○ A class difference, either real or imagined, between leads
○ Productions should be spectacles and lavish
○ Comedy is a spice that must be used sparingly
○ “Wit? Never heard of it. Whatever it is, it need not apply”-John Kenrick
● Herbert would eventually wright music for some of ziegfeld's follies, and contributed
music the the 1924 concert the premiered Rhapsody in Blue.
George M. Cohan​ 1878-1942
● Early life as part of family vaudeville actors
● By 15, George had hundreds of performances in Vaudeville across the US, insisted the
family try the New York theatres
● 1893-not successful entrance into NY scene
○ George was relegated to the dreaded opening spot where he claims he ‘died four
times a day’
● Young George was very emotional/aggressive which made booking difficult
● He started to write skits and music for other Vaudeville acts, has music published on Tin
Pan Alley
● George starts writing musicals for him to star in, usually patriotic in theme, featuring the
‘all American boy’ masculine dancing and straight forward dialogue and lyrics.
○ Little Johnny Jones​ 1904 52 performances, song I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy
○ Also ‘Give My Regards to Broadway’—-an important example of a shift in
language being used that is very simple, conversational and not overly
romanticized
○ “Give my regards to broadway, remember me to Herald Square, Tell all the gang
at Forty Second Street that I will soon be there. Whisper of how I’m yearning to
mingle with the old-time throng. Give my regards to old Broadway and tell them
I’ll be there ‘ere long.”
● George found success as actor and writer, the first major star of Broadway in musical
comedies.
● From John Kenrick “By furthering the art of the conversational lyric, by making it
acceptable for leading men to dance, and by encouraging the integration of song and
dialogue in musical comedy, he set the groundwork for much that followed in the course
of the 20th cent.”
Florenz Ziegfeld​ 1867-1932
● Started out as a nightclub promoter in Chicago
● Moved to broadway 1896 to produce his first musical, starring his common law wife
Anna Held(Parisian music all star, quintessential French ingenue)
● It was Held who suggested Ziegfeld produce a revue based on the French Folies
Berger’s model-spoofing the foibles and follies of society while showcasing a chorus of
appealingly underdressed women
● Up until this, most musicals were still comic Olioes, things done in intimate theatres,
without a large scope
● By 1911 The Ziegfeld Follies has become established as a style involving girls,
spectacle, and clean comedy. All about glamour
● Ziegfeld believed beauty was talent
○ This is a significant moment of sexualizing actors and using sex as a means of
winning jobs
○ Florenz was very caddish, had many affairs
● Follies still did not have a singular theme or thread between spectacles and acts, it is a
very glamourized and refined evolution of Vaudeville.
The Merry Widow
By early 1900’s American Theatre has ignored Viennese operetta.
Merry Widow broke the typical mode, by have a plot about two characters refusing to
acknowledge they love each other. After opening to weak reviews, the infectious tuneful music
pervaded popular life in Vienna. By 400th performance, an English version was being prepared
in London. The First English language production ran in 1907 for 778 performances, it moved to
broadway the same year. It is estimated that during the first 60 years of performances, the
Merry Widow was performed 500,000 times, if that was performed once a day, it would run for
1,370 years straight.
Viennese opera and waltz become a prevalent theme on Broadway thru 1913

1914-1919​-Emergence of American Identity.

The start of WWI made German operetta and waltz lose popularity in UK and USA. American
musical comedy was filling a need to offer fun and levity in the face of unknown fear.

Jerome Kern​: 1885-1945

● Born in NY, trained in Europe
● Started as a song plugger, playing songs for customers, on Tin Pan Alley
● Got a break out when asked to interpolate songs for British musicals coming to America
○ British shows of the early 1900’s saved the good tunes for the second act, since
socialites didn’t show up till then, whereas American Audiences would leave at
Intermission if the 1st act wasn’t up to par
● Most of his interpolations of British shows went with him uncredited
● Kern was at the cusp of espousing art and popular song with his ballad “They Didn’t
Believe me” from ​The Girl from Utah​ which showed refined romance and sentiment, with
easy flowing lyrics of everyday conversation.
 ● Kern went on to mounting shows at the Princess Theatre
○ Princess was the tiniest theatre, seating 299
○ These Princess Theatre Musicals were Kern’s break out
■ Small shows, intimate acting and music making, creating a feeling of
being at an exclusive party rather than a show
○ Oh Boy!​ Was Kern’s biggest success of the Princess series, it was moved to the
West end where it was even more popular
■ Kern was meant to be on the Lusitania, but overslept, keeping him from
his death
○ The Princess Series was not the first time music was integrated into story,
remember the Greeks, G&S, Merry Widow? The shows have been credited as
the start of American Musicals because of the factors of the Princess Theatre
Series
■ The intimacy of the theatre, made natural performing style
possible(foreshadowing sound Film)
■ The first set of musicals set primarily in NY
■ Elements were organic, developing out of the story and character, no
need for stars to carry a show
■ An integrated musical where songs serve as continuations of the story,
making the book/libretto more important as well
■ It was completely Kern’s music, no interpolations or other restrictions, his
melodic writing flourished
■ These works can still be performed in there original form and be
understood and enjoyed by audiences today, Cohan and Herbert’s works
only appear as adaptions today
■ These shows openly inspired the next generation, Rodgers, Hart, the
Gershwin’s and others all openly credited these shows as important to
their own ambition

Irving Berlin: 1888-1989

● Working in Tin Pan Alley the same time as Kern
● Russian-Jewish Immigrant named ‘Israel Baline’
● Dropped out of school at 13, worked his way from newspaper boy, to singing waiter, to
song-writer.
● His first published song misprinted his name as I. Berlin, prompting the change
● Soon he owned his own publishing firm
● Primarily a lyricist, he started composing, using only black keys and dictating to a
secretary that notated the music. Early songs primarily ethnic comedy songs
● In 1911 wrote ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’ became the fastest selling sheet music in the
US(ironically it is not a rag, but a song ABOUT a rag)
● Wrote music for reviews and early forms of Musical Theatre
● Breakout musical was Watch Your Step 1914 175 performances
○ Featuring dancing couple Vernon and Irene Castle
 ● Conscripted into the Army during WWI Berlin composed shows for soldiers to perform to
raise funds

Al Jolsen: 1883-1950 The World’s Greatest Entertainer

● He successfully bridged minstrelsy, vaudeville, Broadway, Hollywood, recordings and
radio(a true first)
● Born Asa Yoelson in a Lithuanian shtetl, sent to live with relatives in the US to protect
from Russian Pogroms
● Rapidly gained popularity as a performer for his energy and excitement in singing and
acting
● Jolsen would improvise melodies, alter phrases, or deliver phrases at incredible volume,
sometimes appearing in Blackface
● Routinely entered new gags or materials into a revue or show to keep audiences coming
back for a surprise
● Jolsen would routinely stop musicals and explain the impending plot to the audience and
ask if they’d rather see that play out, or hear him sing his hits, if they responded, he
would send the cast home and entertain the crowd
● Because of Jolsen, the first ‘star vehicle’ shows begin to form
● Exhausted by Broadway schedule and fights with the Shuberts, Jolson moved to films
○ Breakout movie ​The Jazz Singer
■ Jolsen‘ s performance in the film was so well received theatres across the
country had to install sound equipment(originally in 7 theatres)
○ As early movie musicals fell out of favor for being overly sentimental Jolsen
returned to Broadway
● Jolsen used the break out of WWII as an opportunity to change venue, he toured the
world entertaining troops and doing radio productions that brought him into the national
spotlight again.
● This rise in popularity brought him back to Movies, becoming a star again
● Died shortly after returning from giving 42 performances in 7 days for troops in Korea

1920-1929​ Jazz Age

F. Scott Fitzgerald is credited with claiming the 1920’s as the ‘Jazz Age’ Jazz was new, strange,
and exciting musical expression that combined syncopations of ragtime, emotional wails from
country and blues and improvisation. F. Scott was speaking for a discontented generation that
found in this music an expression of their passion, their sorrows, their anger, and their sheer
energy. Emitted by the senseless carnage of the ‘war to end all wars’ they were out to have a
good time, and jazz. Was the sound they partied, mated, and wept to. By the end of the 20’s
Jazz dominated pop culture worldwide.
1920’s were a massively successful time on Broadway, with an average of 50 new musicals
each season. One notable 6 day period:
● No No Nanette​- the most lasting musical comedy smash of the decade
● The Vagabond King- r​ omantic operetta that gained major popularity
● Sunny- musical comedy with songs of J. Kern
 ● Dearest Enemy-​ the first musical comedy of Rodgers and Hart
All of these shows contributed songs that became household standards
Ziegfeld’s follies are still popular, although his personal life is spiraling with two former lovers
having committed suicide and his wife leaving him, he personally was not popular during this
period.

Cole Porter 1891-1964

● Born into incredible wealth
● President of Yale Glee Club, composed songs that are still used by Wiffenpoofs
● Was encouraged to leave law school to be a songwriter, first show 1916 ​See America
​ ot a successful show, but showed his ability as songwriter
First, n
● Left for Paris, joined Foreign Legion, later American Army
● Spent a long stint in Paris and Venice, where it was easier for a very wealthy social elite
to have homosexual relationships, although he was married(she is believed to have had
an arrangement with Cole)
● Because of his friendship with I. Berlin, and Cole’s defense of his desire to marry a
catholic, Berlin repaid the kindness by offer Porter to write a musical
○ 1928 ​Paris​ 195 performances which featured “Let’s Do It”
● Porters early musicals were full of incredible tunes but often suffered from bad books

Rodgers and Hart​:

● As a 14 RR was taken to Columbia by his brother to see their well known varsity shows,
which motivated RR to write for Broadway
● Rodgers saw Hart perform in the variety show, to much success
● Rodgers was also introduced to O. Hammerstein II(although it will be 25ish years until
they collaborate)
● RR was re introduced to Hart when RR was at Columbia, then they started working
together, writing mostly for amateur shows
○ Lorenz Hart was a terrible drunk, and RR spent a lot of time corralling LH to work
● 1st break out work was a revue for a new theatre ​The Garrick Gaieties​ 1925 311
performances
○ After the success of Garrick Gaieties, they wrote 13 shows over 5 years(most
collaborations with Herb Fields writing Librettos)

Not to diminish his career, but Noel Coward primarily found success in the West End of London,
he is a massively popular composer, lyricist, and writer that chose very witty and intellectual
writer as his medium

George and Ira Gershwin​: in the 20’s

● Born Jacob(George) and Israel(Ira)1896-1983 Gershovitz
● George 1898-1937 started as a player in Tin Pan Alley, where he met a 17y/o Fred
Astaire looking for new music for his vaudeville act, when GG said “wouldn’t it be great if
I could write a musical show and you could be in it?”
 ● GG started on broadway as a rehearsal pianist, seeing the process from the inside
● GG was very extroverted and a shameless promoter of his music(which benefited him)
● GG first show was ​La La Lucille​ 1919 104 performances that was ended due to an
Equity Actors Strike
● 1924 invited to submit music for a concert called “An Experiment in Jazz” where
Rhapsody in Blue premiered, to ecstatic response
● The first fraternal musical was ​Lady Be Good​ 1924 330 performances staring Fred and
Adele Astaire
○ Fun Fact during collaborations on a later show, GG started playing a dance tune
as a ballad and Ira remarked that it sounded better that way, and thus “Someone
to Watch Over Me”

Black Musicals
● Shuffle Along​ 1921 504 performances, 1st major Broadway production in over a decade
written and performed by African Americans. (A revue)
○ Shuffle Along did not rely on the tropes of the early years, but still was tainted by
racism and expectations of Black characters
● Runnin Wild​ 1923 228 performances was a musical, not revue, that presented “The
Charleston” written by James P. Johnson and Cecil Mack, which would define a dance
craze for the 1920’s
● There are a handful of show, many not very substantive, but many songs have
maintained in the repertory

Show Boat​:
● Kern was approached by Hammerstein in 1926 to adapt Edna Ferber’s book to a
musical(a new idea)
● Show Boat would premier in 1927 572 performances
● They started working on the project before obtaining the rights(an unusual process for
the time)
● Kern and Hammerstein wanted to blend the integration of operetta with the spirit in
musical comedies
● Ziegfeld was approached to produce, and somewhat reluctantly gave in
○ Posterity has proved Show Boat to be Ziegfeld’s longest lasting and most
important contribution to MT
● First score to cover many genres:
○ Negro Folk Song-Can’t Help Lovin’ that Man
○ Spiritual- Ol Man River
○ Operetta- Make Believe, You Are Love
○ Musical Comedy- Life on the Wicked Stage
○ Tin Pan Alley- Goodbye My Lady Love, After the Ball
The crash of 1929 would end many good productions on Broadway and send many of the
composers and songwriters to Hollywood in hopes of making a living in films
1930-1940 Depression Era —
● Ziegfeld continued to pour whatever money he could find into producing shows(although
they were not great, and he attempted to cheat many people out of paying them)
○ Ziegfeld desperately looking to save his legacy enlisted the mob for funding to
remount Show Boat, but with so few people able to buy tickets it lost a significant
amount to money.
○ Shortly thereafter, with many bill collectors prowling, Ziegfeld died in 1932, the
broadway he knew having disappeared
● The Shubert organization which had defined successful theatre ownership and
management suffered and the brothers were forced to liquefy their assets, at their peak
valued around $25 million, it sold for $400,000
○ Lee Shubert secretly hid money away and formed a company, Select Theatre
Inc, that bought the assets cutting his brother JJ from the business.
● Nightclubs and revues continued through the depression as the major entertainment
venues, but musicals and comedies were present, often at a smaller scale
● Revues still generated many songs that have maintained in the repertoire
○ Heat wave, Let’s Have another Cup of Coffee, Supper time(HEARTBREAKING
BALLAD)
● Hellzapoppin​ became the longest running musical production of the 1930’s with 1,404
performances
○ Created by Vaudeville actors Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson as a low budget revue
fueled by comic chaos
■ It opened with Hitler haranguing a crowd….in Yiddish.
■ Feat. A man in a monkey suit chasing a girl through the auditorium
■ Feat. Dancing in the aisles, flower delivery man wondering the hall, each
entrance the plant he carries is bigger
■ The gags changed weekly, and the score was inconsequential
Noel Coward wrote and produced many successful productions in the West End during the
1930’s

● The Gershwin’s created ​Girl Crazy​ in 1930 272 performances, which cast Ethel Merman,
a singing stenographer at the time
○ Opening Night Merman stole the show during I Got Rhythm belting a C over 16
bars while the orchestra played the tune
■ The orchestra included Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa,
and Jack Teagarden, conducted by G. Gershwin
○ This began a strong friendship of George and Ethel—
● Gershwin was able to realize a lifelong dream of combining grand opera, jazz and
broadway in his adaptation of DuBose Hayward’s Porgy, into Porgy and Bess 1935 124
performances
○ The public did not know how to receive a broadway opera
■ The Gershwin’s called it ‘Folk Opera’
○ It is truly masterful, a broadway musical that happens to be opera
 ○ After receiving mixed reviews and criticism, the Gershwin’s left for Hollywood to
create film scores for Fred Astaire
○ Shortly there after GG was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and died.
○ Porgy and Bess is the first broadway composition to enter the repertory of the
Met Opera.
● Cole Porter, unaffected by the crash, flourished during the 30’s
○ Composed ​Gay Divorce​ 1932 which offered a vehicle for Fred Astaire
■ Such tunes as Night and Day, After You
○ Truly benefiting from being in the right place at the right time, Porter flourished
during this time, building up to ​Anything Goes​ 1934 420 performances (a vehicle
for Merman)
■ Tunes include:I get a Kick out of You, Blow, Gabriel, Blow, All through the
night, You’re the Top
■ Porter is quoted as saying: “I’d rather write songs from Ethel Merman than
anyone else in the world. She sounds like a brass band going by.”

1940-1950–TURNING POINT
Everything is either pre-Oklahoma, or post-Oklahoma, in terms of MT.
● Early 1940’s Rodgers and Hart are still creating successes
○ Pal Joey, has stood up to time, important tunes
■ Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered
■ I Could Write a Book
○ Around 540 performances

The first collaboration of Rodgers and Hammerstein:

OKLAHOMA
● The elements that make Oklahoma stand out were not created just during this creative
process, but had already existed
○ Ex. Pal Joey used a Two Person opening scene, instead of the traditional full
chorus presentation
○ Ex. Lady in the Dark had dream scenes, and ballets had been in since the 19th
cent—Importance of Agnes DeMille!
● Oklahoma, however, was the combination of the maturation of these different elements
in a truly refined way, the most ‘grown up version’ of the integrated musical
DEF—-“Integrated Musical is a musical whose music is used to advance the story, where the
materials are related to the story, not a collection of songs within a drama
● Oklahoma opened in 1943 and ran for a record setting 2,212 performances
○ After opening night there was not an empty seat for 5 straight years
● Oklahoma introduced the ‘conditional love song’
○ DEF—-Conditional Love Song is a song, traditional early in the show, that the
two main love interests sing about how they are not in love, or do not love each
other, but actually do.
 ■ Oklahoma-People Will Say We’re in Love
■ Carousel- If I Loved You
■ Guys and Dolls(Frank Loesser)- I’ll Know when my love comes around
● Reasons for Oklahoma’s instant and lasting success:
○ The collaboration of two incredible talents RR and OH, who had been honing
their skills for years before collaborating together
■ RR had shown this type of depth with Show Boat
○ The weight of WWII on the American People-this show gave people a look at the
simple American life, a hope for people back hope, and something for the troops
to idealize and fight for.
○ Every element was integrated-all elements meant something, costumes, scenery,
lights, musical, dialogue etc.
○ The first example of a cast recording-done before the show opens
■ Before this, stars would record hit numbers, but never a whole show
● Oklahoma was such an unprecedented success, it returned 2,500% on an investment,
for every $1000 invested, you made $25,000…..

Rodgers worked with Hart again briefly after Oklahoma, but Hart was obviously melancholy over
the success, and his alcoholism hit is peak and he shortly died there after.

Rodgers and Hammerstein second collaboration:

Carousel
● 1945 890 performances
● Rodgers called this his favorite score
● Another adaptation of a play
● The opening was revolutionary, with no overture, but instead an 8 minute pantomime of
storytelling set to a fabulous waltz
● The epitome of music dialogue weaving in the ‘bench scene’ in the beginning between
Billy and Julie, they flow seamlessly out of dialogue into lyrics, mostly around the most
blatant of conditional love songs If I Loved You
● The Soliloquy to end Act I
● The first “musical tragedy”—the main character commits suicide(unheard of!)
○ Let alone suicide in a musical
● The ‘star-keeper’ character, original written as Mr. God in a New England Parlor, but
inventive to have God as a character in a musical
Allegro​-1947 315 performances, was not a success, the elements were pushed a bit too far for
audiences to get behind the creativity R&H wanted to implement

The immediate effect of R&H was to create compelling storytelling done by characters in the
show, building an expectation for show to have to tell a well crafted narrative throughout.

Following Oklahoma...
R&H were incredibly busy when they were approached about an Annie Oakley Musical, which
they deferred to a hesitant Irving Berlin-he had never worked on an ‘integrated musical before’
The result was ​Annie Get Your Gun​ 1946 1,147 performances, another vehicle for Ethel
Merman
Cole Porter was also thrown into this new world of integrated musical, his first being:
Kiss Me Kate​ 1948 1,077 performances, a show surrounding Shakespeares Taming of the
Shrew
E.Y. “Yip” Harburg ​Finian’s Rainbow​ 1947, 725 performances

Alan Jay Lerner​ 1918-1986

● Used the R&H platform of integrated musical but wanted to invoke more traditional
elements of operetta
● Thus, ​Brigadoon​ 1947 581 performances
○ Charm of operetta with the integrated elements of Oklahoma
■ Again Agnes DeMille creating incredible dances, sword dance etc,
pushing the way dance was used in musicals
There are a great number of shows that flourished in the 1940’s, many because the used
elements introduced by R&H
While Carousel and Allegro were successful, people were looking to R&H for a
blockbuster...enter:
South Pacific:​ 1949 1,925 performances
● Adaptation of “Tales of the South Pacific” by James Michener
● Exotic setting
● Racial issues
○ It took weeks for Hammerstein's to create the lyric Bali’hai and RR only 5 minutes
to make the tune….
R&H had made the depression a distant memory, and energized musical theatre into a new way
of being

1950-1963​ Growing into its own

Broadway had been the leading source for entertainment from WWI to 1950- much of popular
music was either show tunes, or directly influenced by the music of broadway, the advent of the
Television was going to change the way people consumed entertainment, and musicals were
going to have to find a way into this new market.

R&H Flourish
The King and I:​ 1951 1,246 performances
● An example of multiple story lines that weave tragedy and comedy within them, to a very
high level
● The introduction of Yul Brynner- he made his career off of this role
After writing some less than successful shows, R&H went to Hollywood to supervise production
of film versions of Oklahoma and Carousel, as well as create the first made for TV musical,
Cinderella, 1957.
 ● It is considered to be the most watched TV event, with viewership greater than 106
million people, greater than any Super Bowl viewership.
R&H returned from Hollywood to make ​Flower Drum Song​ 1958, 600 performances, and to
great success:
The Sound of Music​ 1959 1,443 performances
● Brought some operetta elements because of its setting
● Was a box office smash when turned into a film
● Hammerstein died shortly after its opening, from complications of stomach cancer
● The last lyric he is said to have written was for this show:
○ “Love in you heart wasn’t put there to stay; Love isn’t love till you give it away.”

Frank Loesser ​Guys and Dolls

● 1950 1,200 performances
● Brilliant success in the tradition of R&H, a leading example of Musical Comedy
● One of the most successful scores in MT(both songs and orchestrations)
● Mentored Meredith WIllson

Meredith Willson Music Man

● 1957 1,375 performances
● Willson was once a member of John Phillip Sousa’s Band
● Spent years crafting the book, lyrics, and music to Music Man
● Music Man beat out West Side Story for the Tony for best musical

George Abbott, Jerome Robbins, and Bob Fosse

● Starting in the 1950’s these men were pivotal in the success of many of the shows
● George Abbott was a visionary director that cemented many important shows into the
history books
● Jerome Robbins was an early example of the Director Choreographer, who saved many
shows as well as created some of the most well known choreography in MT history
○ Bottle Dance in Fiddler
○ Mambo in West Side Story
● Bob Fosse, another Director Choreographer who brought a new distinct style and
language to dance in shows like:
○ Chicago, Cabaret etc
THERE is not enough time to go into detail for these people, but they are beyond significant to
the progression and creativity of MT for many decades

Lerner and Loewe

● Re-teamed when approached to make a musical out of George Bernard Shaw’s
Pygmalion
○ Hammerstein strongly discouraged them, admitting that he and RR had failed to
make it work, thus it couldn’t be done
 ● Through much hard work L&L turned out: ​My Fair Lady
○ 1956 2,717 performances
○ Julie Andrews enters as the lead, break out role
○ Overtook Oklahoma for longest run, and in popularity
● Next was ​Camelot
○ 1960 873 performances
○ Break out for Robert Goulet
○ Has grown to have a larger fan base through revivals

1960-1970​ Rock Moves In

● Re-introduction of small scale musicals(think back to the Princess Series)
● The Fantasticks
○ 1960 17,162 performances
○ Started as a 7 character one act, later expanded to two acts
○ Ran in the producers townhouse basement for 41 years, during which 11,800
other productions were mounted world wide
● Another small musical breakout: ​You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown
○ 1967 1,597 performances
● The Earliest introduction of Rock and Roll into a musical: ​Bye Bye Birdie
○ 1960, 607 performances

Start of a series of blockbusters, running for over 1,000 performances each

● Hello Dolly
○ 1964 2,884 performances
○ Jerry Herman composer
○ A new approach to old broadway sounds in the score
○ Intended for Ethel Merman, unavailable due to illness, gave Carol Channing a
career defining moment
● Funny Girl
○ 1964 1,348 performances
○ Jule Styne music, Bob Merrill Lyrics
○ Jerry Robbins, uncredited, came in last minute to direct and save production
○ Break out role for a young Barbara Streisand
● Fiddler on the Roof
○ 1964 3,242 performances
○ Jerry Bock Composer Sheldon Harnick Lyrics, Joe Stein Book
○ Instant hit, with a widely recognized story
○ Clear example of a book and music written so well together
● Man of La Mancha
○ 1965 2,328 performances
○ Mitch Leigh Composer, Joe Darion Lyrics, Dale Wasserman Book
○ Setting of Don Quixote
 ● Mame
○ 1966 1,508 performances
○ Jerry Herman music,
○ Break out for vaudeville actress Angela Lansbury and supporting role for Bea
Arthur (bosom buddies)
● Cabaret
○ 1966 1,165 performances
○ Book Joe Masterhoff, music, John Kander, Lyrics Fred Ebb
○ A ‘show biz’ style musical
● These shows have sustained interest as examples of stories of the human spirit. Partly
fuel by the ending of WWII, the social changes that impacted life in the 1950’s and 60’s
certainly influenced the type of story that made for the success, the human stories being
told.

Rock n Roll
● Hair​ 1968 1,750 performances
○ An ‘American Tribal-Love Rock Musical
○ Free form show, using elements of very current pop culture as subject
● Promises, Promises​ 1968 1,281 performances
○ Burt Bacharach music
● Oh Calcutta!​ 1968 1,922 performances
○ Music by rock group Open Window
■ Open Window included band member Peter Schickele of PDQ Bach fame

1970-1979
A period on Broadway where three types are shows are fighting for dominance
● Rock Musicals
● Concept Musicals
● Conventional Book Musicals(post Oklahoma)
Rock shows give a current voice to the musical:
● Godspell​ 1971 2,645 performances
● 5 months later enter: ​Jesus Christ Superstar​ 1971 711 performances
○ Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
● Pippin​ 1972 1,944 performances
○ Stephen Schwartz’s first broadway score
■ Blended contemporary sounds with traditional song forms
● Grease​ 1972 3,388 performances
○ Most successful musical of 1970
● The Wiz​ 1975 1,672 performances
○ All black retelling of the Wizard of Oz
Concept Musicals​ go beyond traditional narrative, breaking the limitations of time, place, and
action to simultaneously examine numerous individuals and relationships. A Concept musical
can be an integrated musicals, they are not mutually exclusive.

Hal Prince-famed director, worked with George Abbott growing up. Known for his brilliant
collaborations with Stephen Sondheim

● Company ​1970 706 performances

○ Sondheim’s lyrics continue the tradition of Porter and Hammerstein as being very
reflective of the time and people, and are understandable in a normal context.
○ Company has a central figure, Bobby, but is ‘conceptual’ in the sense of it tells
may storylines independent, yet dependent, on the central line.
● Follies​ 1971 522 performances
○ A show reflecting on the past of MT(Ziegfeld)
○ Not very successful run, but the score has stood out as remarkable
● Chicago​ 1975, 898 performances
○ A unique situation where Fosse’s vision ruled over the merits of the book or
music during the creation
● A Chorus Line​ 1975 6,137 performances
○ Maintained success as a show biz show, people identified with the material of
trying to make it in the biz

A shift was happening during the 70’s in Broadway that would change how productions would
be mounted. The cost of mounting shows from 1970-1979 rose by 400%.

● Sweeney Todd​ 1979 557 performances

○ An unusual blend of Victorian melodrama, operatic score, and a conventional plot
○ The subject matter is unique—focusing on the darkest parts of humanity
○ The run was so costly that it ended early to prevent to great a financial loss
● Evita
○ Original West End Run 1978 2,900 performances
○ Broadway run 1979 1,567 performances.
○ Evita ran much longer on broadway having focused more on presenting in a
Ziegfeld grandeur than the artistically more intricate Sweeney.
○ Evita introduced the idea of a ​megamusical
● MEGAMUSICAL-characteristics
○ Almost entirely sung thru, little dialogue
○ Songs and emotions are bing, loud, bombastic
○ Characterization is often explained rather than dramatized: characters tell you
who they are rather than showing who they are
○ The music is rock-pop, but can incorporate various styles-the music does not
have to reflect the place or era of the subject
○ The plots are melodramatic, with minimal humor
 ○ All major professional stagings are carbon copies(not concepts, think more of
different Sweeney mountings than phantom)
This trend of shows that were guaranteed to be a money making spectacle forced the direction
of Broadway.

1980-2000

Important shows of 1980

● Barnum​ 1980, 854 performances
○ Cy Coleman Michael Stewart score
● Woman of the year​ 1981 770 performances
○ Kander and Ebb
● Dreamgirls​ 1981 1,552 performances
○ Henry Kreiger, score, Tom Eyen Book
● Little Shop of Horrors​ 1982 2,209 performances
○ Spoof of Roger Colman’s 1960 film.
○ Alan Mencken lyricist-librettist, Howard Ashman score
Most of these shows still closed at a loss, and none of their cast albums ever became best
sellers.

● Cats​ 1981 8,949 performances (west end, recording breaking)

○ Broadway Run 1982 7,485 performances
○ The epitome of megamusical
○ Cats was the first show to truly capitalize on marketing in a new way. Before
production, materials like t-shirts etc were being generated that made this show
wildly more profitable. A trend that influences musicals going forward.
The American MT response to Cats were many ‘heady’ shows:
● The Tap Dance Kid
● The Rink​-Kander and Ebb
● Sunday in the Park with George​-Sondheim
● La Cage Aux Folles​ Jerry Herman, Harvey Fierstein
1980 was the first decade that an American Musical did not hit 1,000 performances

The mega musical continues…

● Les Miserables
○ 1985 9,600+ performances West End(record setting)
○ Claude-Michel Schoenberg music, Alain Boublil libretto
○ Broadway 1987 6,680 performances
● Phantom of the Opera​ 1986(west End) still running

1990’s
At this time less than 5% of Americans attended the theatre on a regular basis. Shows were
targeting the attending demographics that consist of mostly:
 ● Aging suburbanites
● Tourists
● Gay men
● Students
The first three were groups with disposable income, and students got discounted tickets.
AIDS was also front and center, especially in the theatre world, having a disproportionate
representation in gay men, who were inextricably link to MT.

Shows:
● The Will Rogers Follies​ 1991 983 performances
● Secret Garden​ 1991 709 performances
● Falsettos​ 1992 489 performances
● Many revivals
These shows all target issues of the known demographic of regular theatre goers.

The brits kept pushing megamusical

● Miss Saigon​ 1989 4,264 West End
○ Broadway 1991 4,097 performances
Americans could not create megamusicals like their British counterparts.
The first step towards a successful American Show came from Disney’s first production on
broadway
● Beauty and the Beast​ 1994 5,464 performances
This was the first example, and Disney is credited with creating, the ​Corporate Musical.
A Corporate Musical​ is a genre of shows built, produced, and managed by multifunctional
entertainment corporations.
● The Lion King​ 1997 4,000+ performances
○ Cost $12million to put on
○ Biggest hit of the 90’s
Rent​ 1996 4,500+ performances
● While not a corporate musical, Rent came to be thru guidance of many producers who
helped make this artistic piece compete with the forces of corporations.
● The unexpected death of composer/lyricist Jonathan Larson on dress rehearsal caused
the show to gain quite a bit of attention
○ As well as bring light to the lack of services, insurance, that are available to
people in the arts

2000’s
Megamusicals continue to flourish
Corporate Musicals are still dominant, Disney
BUT—musical comedy, more akin to its early years, is making a comeback

● Aida​ 2000 1,852 performances

○ Disney, corporate musical
 ● The Producers​ 2001 2,502
○ Mel Brooks adapted 1967 screen version for musical
○ Bringing back, in a back way, the old school broadway comedy thought dead
● Urinetown​ 2001 965 performances
○ Unexpected hit, surreal subject, lots of comedy
● Thoroughly Modern Millie ​2002 903 performances
○ Adaption of 1967 movie musical
● Hairspray​ 2002
● Wicked ​2003 6,000+ performances
● Avenue Q​ 2003 2,500+ performances
○ Puppets, comedy comedy comedy
● Drowsy Chaperone​ 2006 500+ performances
● The Color Purple​ 2005 800+ performances
● Spring Awakening ​2006
○ Non-integrated musical
■ Characters would stop to pick up mics to sing rock tunes set against the
1890’s story

Since the early 2000’s a large number of musicals have been produced, but can trace their
roots, in some part, the trends, conventions, and genres throughout history.

Oscar Hammerstein II quote:

“It is nonsense to say what. A musical should or should not be. It should be anything it wants to
be, and if you don’t like it you don’t have to go to it. There is only one absolutely indispensable
element that a musical must have. It must have music. And there is only one thing that it has to
be—it has to be good.”