Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The Black Crook is considered to be the first piece of Musical theatre that conforms to the modern notion of a " Book musical " Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed A dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog) is a reciprocal Conversation between two or more entities. Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an Art form that generally refers to movement of the body usually rhythmic The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole.
Musical theatre works, usually referred to as musicals, are performed around the world. They may be presented in large venues, such as big budget West End and Broadway theatre productions in London and New York City, or in smaller Fringe Theatre, Off-Broadway or regional productions, on tour, or by amateur groups in schools, theatres and other performance spaces. West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London 's "Theatreland" Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The City of New York Fringe theatre is a term used to describe Alternative theatre, or entertainment not of the mainstream Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. In addition to Britain and North America, there are vibrant musical theatre scenes in many countries in Europe, South America and Asia.
Some famous musicals include Oklahoma!, West Side Story, The Fantasticks, Hair, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Rent, and The Producers. Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. West Side Story is a musical by Arthur Laurents (book Leonard Bernstein (music and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. Hair The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a Rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt Les Misérables ( in French, le mize'ʁaːbl colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz, is a musical composed The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the book written by the French novelist Gaston Leroux Rent is a Rock musical, with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini 's Opera La Bohème The Producers is a Comedy - musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name,
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Definitions
The three main components of a musical are the music, the lyrics, and the book. The book of a musical refers to the "play" or story of the show – in effect its spoken (not sung) lines; however, "book" can also refer to the dialogue and lyrics together, which are sometimes referred to (as in opera) as the libretto (Italian for “little book”). A play, or stageplay, is a form of Literature written by a Playwright, almost always consisting of Dialogue between Fictional characters A libretto is the text used in an extended Musical work such as an Opera, Operetta, Masque, sacred or secular Oratorio and Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. The music and lyrics together form the score of the musical. The interpretation of the musical by the creative team heavily influences the way that the musical is presented. The creative team includes a director, a musical director and usually a choreographer. A theatre director or stage director is a practitioner in the Theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production (a play, The title of music director or musical director is used by many Symphony orchestras to designate the primary conductor and artistic leader of the orchestra See also, Choreography (literally "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" (circular dance see chorea) and "γραφή" A musical's production is also creatively characterized by technical aspects, such as set, costumes, stage properties, lighting, etc. The term costume can refer to Wardrobe and dress in general or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people class or period that generally change from production to production (although some famous production aspects tend to be retained from the original production, for example, Bob Fosse's choregraphy in Chicago). Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse ( June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American Musical theater Choreographer and Chicago is a Kander and Ebb musical set in prohibition era Chicago.
There is no fixed length for a musical, and it can range from a short one-act entertainment to several acts and several hours in length (or even a multi-evening presentation); however, most musicals range from one and a half hours to three hours. Musicals today are typically presented in two acts, with one intermission ten to 20 minutes in length. An intermission or interval is a break between two parts of performances or sessions in events such as a theatrical play, Opera or musical concert The first act is almost always somewhat longer than the second act, and generally introduces most of the music. A musical may be built around 4-6 main theme tunes that are reprised throughout the show, or consist of a series of songs not directly musically related. Spoken dialogue is generally interspersed between musical numbers, although the use of "sung dialogue" or recitative is not unknown, especially in so-called "sung-through" musicals such as Les Misérables and Evita. Recitative /rɛsɪtə'tiv/ (also known by its Italian name "recitativo" (/retʃita'tivo/ is a style of delivery (much used in Operas Oratorios
Musical theatre is closely related to another theatrical performance art, opera. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto These forms are usually distinguished by weighing a number of factors. Musicals generally have a greater focus on spoken dialogue (though some musicals are entirely accompanied and sung through, such as Jesus Christ Superstar and Les Misérables; and on the other hand some operas, such as Die Zauberflöte, and most operettas, have some unaccompanied dialogue), on dancing (particularly by the principal performers as well as the chorus), on the use of various genres of popular music (or at least popular singing styles), and on the avoidance of certain operatic conventions. Jesus Christ Superstar is a Rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Magic Flute (German Die Zauberflöte, K 620 is an Opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more
In particular, a musical is almost never performed in any but the language of its audience. Musicals produced in London or New York, for instance, are invariably sung in English, even if they were originally written in another language (again, Les Misérables, originally written in French, is a good example).
While an opera singer is primarily a singer and only secondarily an actor, a musical theatre singer is usually an actor first, who can at least hold a tune and "put over" a song, but is often not a professional singer as such. Composers of music for musicals often have to take the limitations of such performers into account, and theatres staging musicals generally use amplification of the actors' singing voices in a way that would normally be disapproved of in an operatic context. Generally an amplifier or simply amp, is any device that changes usually increases the amplitude of a signal.
In isolation, at least, none of these features is truly "defining", and in practice it is often difficult to distinguish among the various kinds of light musical theatre, including "operetta", "comic opera", "light opera", "burletta", "musical play", "musical comedy", "extravaganza", "burlesque", "travesty", "music hall", and even "revue". Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending A burletta ( Italian, meaning little joke) also sometimes burla or burlettina, is a Musical term generally denoting a brief comic Italian Extravaganza refers to a literary or musical work (often Musical theatre) characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque Burlesque is theatrical entertainment of broad and parodic humor which usually consists of comic skits (and sometimes a strip tease) Music hall is a form of British theatrical Entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960 A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical Entertainment that combines Music, dance and sketches. Some works (e. g. by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim) have received both "musical theatre" and "operatic" treatment. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22 1930 is an American musical and film composer and lyricist winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards (seven Similarly, some older operettas or light operas (such as The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan) have had modern productions or adaptations that treated them as musicals. 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 Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W 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. Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22 1930 is an American musical and film composer and lyricist winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards (seven That's it. It's the terrain, the countryside, the expectations of the audience that make it one thing or another. "[2] This article primarily concerns musical theatre works that are distinctively "non-operatic", but there inescapably remains some overlap between lighter operatic forms and the more musically complex or ambitious musicals: a grey area, in which production styles are almost as important as actual musical or dramatic content in defining into which art form the piece falls.
As with a well-crafted operetta or opera, a "book" musical's moments of greatest dramatic intensity are often performed in song. Proverbially, "when the emotion becomes too strong for speech (or recitative) you sing; when it becomes too strong for song, you dance. Recitative /rɛsɪtə'tiv/ (also known by its Italian name "recitativo" (/retʃita'tivo/ is a style of delivery (much used in Operas Oratorios " 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. the 1890s and 1920s) when this integration between music and story has been tenuous. As New York Times critic Ben Brantley described the ideal of song in theatre in reviewing the 2008 revival of Gypsy, "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. "[3]
A show often opens with a song that sets the tone of the musical, introduces some or all of the major characters, and shows the setting of the play. Within the compressed nature of the musical, the writers must develop the characters and the plot. Music provides a means to express emotion. However, 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 than in a straight play of equivalent length, since a musical usually devotes more time to music than to dialogue.
Many familiar musical theatre works have been the basis for popular musical films, such as The Sound of Music, West Side Story, and My Fair Lady or were adapted or even written for television presentations (for example Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella). The musical film is a Film genre in which several Songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative Rodgers and Hammerstein 's The Sound of Music is a Musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews in the lead role West Side Story is a 1961 film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. My Fair Lady is a musical Film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical My Fair Lady, based in turn on the play Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 &ndash 1960 were a well-known American songwriting duo Rodgers and Hammerstein 's Cinderella is a musical written for Television by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II Recently, some popular television programs have set an episode in the style of a musical. There has also been a recent revival of the movie musical, such as the 2002 film, Chicago, based on the 1975 stage musical. Chicago is a Musical film adaptation of the satirical stage musical Chicago, the film explores the themes of Similarly, India produces numerous musical films, referred to as "Bollywood" musicals, and Japan produces a considerable number of Anime musicals. Bollywood (बॉलीवूड بالی وڈ is the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai -based Hindi-language Film industry in India (anime in Japanese, Conversely, there has been a trend in recent decades to adapt musicals from the screen to the stage, both from popular animated film musicals, such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, and live-action films, such as The Producers and The Color Purple. The Lion King is a Tony and Olivier Award -winning Broadway and West End musical based on the 1994 Disney animated The Producers is a Comedy - musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, The Color Purple is a Broadway musical based upon the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
History
Ancient Greece and middle ages
Musical theatre in Europe dates back to the theatre of the ancient Greeks, who included music and dance in their stage comedies and tragedies as early as the 5th century B. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca C. [4] Aeschylus and Sophocles even composed their own music to accompany their plays. Aeschylus (ˈɛskɨləs or /ˈiːskɨləs/ Greek: Ασχύλος, Aischylos, 525 BC/524 BC 456 BC/455 BC was an ancient Greek Playwright Sophocles (ˈsɒfəkliːz Ancient Greek, sopʰoklɛ̂ːs circa The Third Century B. C. Roman comedies of Plautus included song and dance routines performed with orchestrations. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Titus Maccius Plautus (c 254–184 BCE commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman Playwright. The popularity of theatre declined somewhat in the Roman Empire, but some innovations were made: to make the dance steps more audible in large open air theatres, Roman actors attached metal chips called "sabilla" to their stage footwear – the first tap shoes. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial [5] During the Middle Ages, performers travelled from town to town trying to find an audience. At times, they were barred, as it was feared that they brought the plague. [4] In the 12th and 13th centuries, religious dramas, such as The Play of Herod and The Play of Daniel taught the liturgy, set to church chants. To teach the Latin bible to illiterate masses, cycle plays were created that told a biblical story divided into entertaining parts. Several pageant wagons (stages on wheels) would move about the city, and a group of actors would tell their part of the story. Mystery plays and Miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in Medieval Europe. Once finished, the group would move on with their wagon, and the next group would arrive to tell its part of the story. These plays developed into an autonomous form of musical theatre, with poetic forms sometimes alternating with the prose dialogues and liturgical chants. The poetry was provided with modified or completely new melodies. [6]
Renaissance to the 1700s
The Renaissance saw these forms evolve into commedia dell'arte, an Italian tradition where raucous clowns improvised their way through familiar stories, and from there, opera buffa. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Commedia dell'Arte ( Italian: "the comedy of artists" is a form of Improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century The term Opera buffa (plural Opere buffe) was at first used as an informal description of Italian Comic operas variously classified by their authors as Molière turned several of his farcical comedies into musical entertainments with songs (music provided by Jean Baptiste Lully) and dance in the late 1600s. Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known by his Stage name, Molière, ( January 15, 1622 – February 17 1673) was a French Jean-Baptiste de Lully ( Giovanni Battista di Lulli) (ʒɑ̃batist də lyˈli in French (November 28 1632 &ndash March 22 1687 was a French Composer of Italian Arts of all kinds became widely popular, including musical theatre. [4]
By the 1700s, two forms of musical theatre were popular in Britain, France and Germany: ballad operas, like John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1728), that included lyrics written to the tunes of popular songs of the day (often spoofing opera), and comic operas, with original scores and mostly romantic plot lines, like Michael Balfe's The Bohemian Girl (1845). The term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century John Gay ( 30 June, 1685 - 4 December, 1732) was an English Poet and Dramatist. The Beggar's Opera is a Ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay. Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending Michael William Balfe ( May 15, 1808 - October 20, 1870) was an Irish Composer, best known today for his Opera The Bohemian Girl is an Opera composed by Michael Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. Other musical theatre forms developed by the 19th century, such as vaudeville, British music hall, melodrama and burlesque. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Music hall is a form of British theatrical Entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960 Melodrama refers to theatre in which music is used to increase the spectator's emotional response or to suggest character types Burlesque is a genre of entertainment also known as Travesty. Melodramas and burlettas, in particular, were popularized partly because most London theatres were licensed only as music halls and not allowed to present plays without music. In any event, what a piece was called did not necessarily define what it was. The Broadway extravaganza The Magic Deer (1852) advertised itself as "A Serio Comico Tragico Operatical Historical Extravaganzical Burletical Tale of Enchantment. Extravaganza refers to a literary or musical work (often Musical theatre) characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque "[7]
The first recorded long running play of any kind was The Beggar's Opera, which ran for 62 successive performances in 1728. It would take almost a century before the first play broke 100 performances, with Tom and Jerry, based on the book Life in London (1821), and the record soon reached 150 in the late 1820s. [8]
New York (and so, America) did not have a significant theatre presence until 1752, when William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist. Williamsburg is a city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598 The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad-operas such as The Beggar’s Opera and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan (theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate prices, and did not arrive in the Times Square area until the 1920s and 1930s). Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5 1810 &ndash April 7 1891 was an American Showman remembered for Hoaxes and for founding the Circus that became the Broadway's first "long-run" musical was a 50 performance hit called The Elves in 1857. New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keene's "musical burletta" Seven Sisters (1860) shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances.
Development of musical comedy
The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is generally considered to be The Black Crook, which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866. The Black Crook is considered to be the first piece of Musical theatre that conforms to the modern notion of a " Book musical " Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 1866 ( MDCCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The production was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it 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. "[1] At that time, in England, musical theatre consisted of mostly of music hall, adaptations of risque French operetta and burlesques, notably at the Gaiety Theatre beginning in 1868. Music hall is a form of British theatrical Entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960 The Gaiety Theatre London was a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. In reaction to these a few family-friendly entertainments were created, such as the German Reed Entertainments. German Reed Entertainment was founded in 1855 and operated by Thomas German Reed (1817&ndash1888 together with his wife Priscilla Reed née Horton (1818&ndash1895
Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 (The Mulligan Guard Picnic) and 1885, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham. Edward Harrigan (October 26 1844 – June 6 1911 was an American actor playwright theatre manager and Composer. These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from the everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudeville and burlesque, towards a more literate form. They starred high quality singers (Lillian Russell, Vivienne Segal, and Fay Templeton) instead of the ladies of questionable repute who had starred in earlier musical forms. Lillian Russell ( December 4[[ 860]] &ndash June 6 1922) was an American actress and Singer. Vivienne Sonia Segal ( April 19, 1897 - December 29, 1992) was an American actress and singer Fay Templeton ( December 25 1865, Little Rock Arkansas &ndash October 3 1939, San Francisco California) was an American
The length of runs in the theatre changed rapidly around the same time that the modern musical was born. As transportation improved, poverty in London and New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night, the number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values. The first play to achieve 500 consecutive performances was the London (non-musical) comedy Our Boys, opening in 1875, which set an astonishing new record of 1,362 performances. Our Boys is a Comedy in three acts written by Henry James Byron, first performed in London in January 1875 at the Vaudeville [9]
This run was not equalled on the musical stage until World War I, but musical theatre soon broke the 500 performance mark London, most notably by the series of long-running Gilbert and Sullivan family-friendly comic opera hits, beginning with H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878,[10] whose runs were exceeded by Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson's record-breaking 1886 hit, Dorothy (a show midway between comic opera and musical comedy), with 931 performances, which was chased (but not equalled) by several of the most successful London musicals of the 1890s. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending HMS Pinafore, or The Lass that Loved a Sailor, is a Comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and Libretto by Alfred Cellier (1 December 1844&ndash28 December 1891 was an English composer orchestrator and conductor Benjamin Charles Stephenson, or B C Stephenson, (1839 &ndash January 22 1906) was a Dramatist, lyricist and Librettist in Dorothy is a Comic opera in three acts with music by Alfred Cellier and a libretto by B The most popular of these shows also enjoyed profitable New York productions and tours of Britain, America, Europe, Australasia and South Africa. These shows were fare for "respectable" audiences and starred respectable girls, a marked contrast from the risqué burlesques, melodramas, bawdy music hall shows and badly translated French operettas that dominated the stage earlier in the 19th century and drew a sometimes seedy crowd looking for easy entertainment. 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
Charles Hoyt's A Trip to Chinatown (1891) was Broadway's long-run champion (until Irene in 1919), running for 657 performances. Charles Hale Hoyt ( July 26 1859 - November 20 1900) was an American dramatist born in Concord, N A Trip to Chinatown is a musical comedy in three acts by Charles H Irene is a musical with a book by James Montgomery lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by Harry Tierney. Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas were both pirated and imitated in New York by productions such as Reginald DeKoven's Robin Hood (1891) and John Philip Sousa's El Capitan (1896). Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W John Philip Sousa ( November 6, 1854 &ndash March 6, 1932) was an American Composer and conductor of the late El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end A Trip to Coontown (1898) was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans in a Broadway theatre (largely inspired by the routines of the minstrel shows), followed by the ragtime-tinged Clorindy the Origin of the Cakewalk (1898), and the highly successful In Dahomey (1902). African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits variety acts dancing, and Music, Ragtime (alternately spelled Rag-time) is an American musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918 Hundreds of musical comedies were staged on Broadway in the 1890s and early 1900s comprised of songs written in New York's Tin Pan Alley involving composers such as Gus Edwards, John J. Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City -centered music publishers and Songwriters who dominated the popular McNally, John Walter Bratton, and George M. Cohan (Little Johnny Jones (1904), 45 Minutes From Broadway (1906), and George Washington Jr. John Walter Bratton ( January 21 1867 - February 7 1947) was an American composer and theatrical producer George Michael Cohan ( July 3, 1878 &ndash November 5, 1942) was a United States Entertainer, Playwright, For the blues pianist see Little Johnny Jones (pianist Little Johnny Jones is a musical by George M (1906)). Still, New York runs continued to be relatively short, with a few exceptions, compared with London runs, until World War I. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All [11]
Meanwhile, musicals had spread to the London stage by the Gay Nineties. Gay Nineties is an American term that refers to the decade of the 1890s George Edwardes had left the management of Richard D'Oyly Carte's Savoy Theatre, perceiving that theatregoers' tastes had turned away from Savoy-style comic operas and their intellectual, political, absurdist satire. George Joseph Edwardes (born as Edwards) (8 October 1855 &ndash 4 October 1915 was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in Musical Richard D'Oyly Carte (3 May 1844 &ndash 3 April 1901 was an English talent agent theatrical Impresario and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London England Savoy Operas denote a style of Comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century with W They wanted breezy music, snappy, romantic banter, and stylish spectacle. He revolutionized the London stage by presenting musical comedies at the Gaiety Theatre, Daly's Theatre and other venues that delivered these elements, borrowing others from Harrigan and Hart and adding in his famous Gaiety Girls to complete the musical and visual fun. The Gaiety Theatre London was a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street just off Leicester Square. 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 success of first of these, In Town in 1892 and A Gaiety Girl in 1893 (which played at other theatres), confirmed Edwardes on the path he was taking. In Town is a musical comedy written by Adrian Ross and James T 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
His early Gaiety hits included a series of light, romantic "poor maiden loves aristocrat and wins him against all odds" shows, usually with the word "Girl" in the title, including The Shop Girl (1894) and A Runaway Girl (1898), with music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. The Shop Girl was a musical comedy in two acts (described by the author as a musical farce written by H A Runaway Girl is a Musical comedy in two acts written in 1898 by Seymour Hicks and Harry Nicholls Felix Tilkins ( May 12 1861 &ndash November 29 1921) better known by his Pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian Lionel John Alexander Monckton (18 December 1861 – 15 February 1924 was an English writer and Composer of Musical theatre. These shows were immediately widely copied at other London theatres (and soon in America), and the Edwardian musical comedy swept away the earlier musical forms of comic opera and operetta. Edwardian Musical Comedies are those British Musical theatre shows from the period between the 1890s when Gilbert and Sullivan began to lose their dominance to the At Daly's Theatre, Edwardes presented slightly more complex comedy hits. Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street just off Leicester Square. The Geisha (1896) by Sidney Jones with lyrics by Harry Greenbank and Adrian Ross and then Jones' San Toy (1899) each ran for more than two years and also finding great international success. The Geisha a story of a tea house is a Musical comedy in two acts Sidney Jones is also the name of the SouthEast Asia programme director of International Crisis Group James Sidney Jones (17 June 1861 - 29 January Harry Greenbank ( 11 September 1865 – 26 February 1899) was an English author and dramatist best known for contributing lyrics to the successful For the NFL player see Adrian Ross (American football Arthur Reed Ropes ( December 23 1859 &ndash September 10 1933 F collingbourn San Toyjpg|right|thumb|250px|F Collingbourn]] San Toy or The Emperor's Own is a "Chinese" Musical comedy in two acts first performed at Other British musical comedy composers of the period included F. Osmond Carr and Edward Solomon. Frank Osmond Carr (23 April 1858&ndash29 August 1916 known as F Edward Solomon ( July 25 1855 &ndash January 22 1895) was a prolific English composer as well as a conductor orchestrator and pianist
The British musical comedy Florodora (1899) by Leslie Stuart and Paul Rubens made a splash on both sides of the Atlantic, as did A Chinese Honeymoon (1901), by British lyricist George Dance and American-born composer Howard Talbot, which ran for a record setting 1,074 performances in London and 376 in New York. Florodora was one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century Leslie Stuart ( 15 March 1863 &ndash 27 March 1928) was an English composer of early Musical theatre, best known for the hit Paul Alfred Rubens (29 April 1875 – 25 February 1917 was an English songwriter and librettist for some of the most popular Edwardian musical comedies. PineappleChineseHoneymoonjpg|right|thumb|250px| Williams as Mr George Dance ( October 14 1857 - 1932 was an English lyricist and librettist in the 1890s and an important theatrical manager at the beginning of the 20th Century Richard Lansdale Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot (9 March 1865 - 12 September 1928 was an American-born English -raised conductor and composer of The story concerns couples who honeymoon in China and inadvertently break the kissing laws (shades of 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 The Belle of New York (1898) ran for 697 performances in London after a brief New York run, becoming the first American musical to run for over a year in London. The Belle of New York is a Musical comedy in two acts with book and lyrics by Hugh Morton and music by Gustave Kerker. After the turn of the century, Seymour Hicks (who joined forces with American producer Charles Frohman) wrote popular shows with composer Charles Taylor and others, and Edwardes and Ross continued to churn out hits like The Toreador (1901), A Country Girl, The Orchid (1903), The Girls of Gottenberg (1907), Our Miss Gibbs (1909), and The Boy (1917). Seymour Hicks ( 30 January 1871 &ndash 6 April 1949) was a British actor Music hall performer playwright screenwriter Charles Frohman ( July 15 1856 – May 7, 1915) was a Jewish American theatrical producer Charles Henry Taylor ( July 21 1859 - June 27 1907) was a British lyricist best known for his lyrics for early 20th century West End Payne1jpg|right|thumb|250px|Drawing of Edmund Payne as Sammy Gigg]] The Toreador is a Musical comedy in two acts by James T A Country Girl or Town and Country is a musical play in two acts by James T The Orchid is a musical play in two acts by James T Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan This article is about the musical For the French film that translates as "The Girl from Paris" see Une hirondelle a fait le printemps The Girls of Gottenberg Our Miss Gibbs is a musical comedy in three acts by 'Cryptos' and James T The Boy is a musical comedy with a book by Fred Thompson and Percy Greenbank (based on Arthur Wing Pinero 's 1885 play The Magistrate However, only three decades after Gilbert and Sullivan broke the stranglehold that French operettas had on the London stage, European operettas came roaring back to Britain and America beginning in 1907 with the London hit production of The Merry Widow. The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe is an Operetta by the Austro-Hungarian Composer Franz Lehár.
Operetta and World War I
Probably the best known composers of operetta, beginning in the second half of the 19th century, were Jacques Offenbach and Johann Strauss II (usually played in bad, bawdy translations in London and New York). Jacques Offenbach (born Jacob Offenbach 20 June 1819 in Cologne &ndash 5 October 1880 in Paris) was a German Johann Strauss II (also known as Johann Strauss the Younger, Johann Strauss Jr In England, W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan created an English answer to French operetta, styled British comic opera, that became family-friendly hits in Britain and the U. Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 &ndash 29 May 1911 was an English Dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO (13 May 1842 &ndash 22 November 1900 was an English composer of Irish and Italian descent best known for his operatic Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending S. in the 1870s and '80s. Although British and American musicals of the 1890s and the first few years of the 20th century had virtually swept operetta and comic opera from the stage, operettas returned to the London and Broadway stages in 1907, and operettas and musicals became direct competitors for a while. The winner of this competition was the theatre going public, who needed escapist entertainment during the dark times of World War I and flocked to theatres for musicals like Maid of the Mountains, Irene,[12] and the astonishing hit Chu Chin Chow (whose run of 2,238 performances, more than twice as many as any previous musical, set a record that stood for nearly forty years until Salad Days) as well as popular revues like The Bing Boys Are Here. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Jose Collins Maidjpg|right|thumb|250px| Jose Collins as Teresa]] The Maid of the Mountains, called in its original score a Musical play, is an Operetta Irene is a musical with a book by James Montgomery lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by Harry Tierney. Chu Chin Chow is a musical comedy written produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embelishments "Salad days" is an Idiomatic expression referring to a youthful time accompanied by the inexperience enthusiasm idealism innocence or indiscretion that one 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
In the early years of the 20th century, translations of 19th century continental operettas, as well as operettas by a new generation of European composers, such as Franz Lehár and Oscar Straus, among others, spread throughout the English-speaking world. Franz Lehár (30 April 1870 &ndash 24 October 1948 known in Hungarian as Lehár Ferenc, was an Austrian Composer of Hungarian descent Oscar Nathan Straus (6 March 1870 – 11 January 1954 was a Viennese composer of Operettas and film scores and songs They were joined by British and American operetta composers and librettists of the 1910s (the "Princess Theatre" shows) by P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton and Harry B. Smith, who paved the way for Jerome Kern's later work by showing that a musical could combine a light popular touch with real continuity between story and musical numbers, and Victor Herbert, whose work included some intimate musical plays with modern settings as well as his string of famous operettas (The Fortune Teller (1898), Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), and Naughty Marietta (1910)). Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975 (ˈwʊdhaʊs was an English Comic novelist who enjoyed enormous popular success Guy Reginald Bolton ( November 23, 1884 - September 6, 1979) was a British - American Playwright and writer of Harry B Smith ( December 28, 1860 &ndash January 2, 1936) was a renowned and prolific Writer, Lyricist, and Jerome David Kern ( January 27, 1885 &ndash November 11, 1945) was an American Composer of popular music Victor August Herbert ( February 1 1859 &ndash May 26 1924) was a Cellist, conductor and Composer best known The Fortune Teller is an Operetta in three acts written by Victor Herbert, with a Libretto by Harry B Babes in Toyland is an Operetta composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Glen MacDonough (1870 - 1924 which wove together various characters Mlle Modiste is an Operetta in two acts written by Victor Herbert, Libretto by Henry Blossom. The Red Mill is an Operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a Libretto by Henry Blossom. Naughty Marietta is an Operetta in two acts with Libretto by Rida Johnson Young and music by Victor Herbert. These owed much to Gilbert and Sullivan and the composers of the 1890s. Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W [13]
The legacy of these operetta composers continued to serve as an inspiration to the next generation of composers of operettas and musicals in the 1920s and 1930s, such as Rudolf Friml, Irving Berlin, Sigmund Romberg, George Gershwin, and Noel Coward, and these, in turn, influenced the Rodgers, Sondheim, and many others later in the century. Rudolf Friml ( December 7, 1879 - November 12, 1972) was a Composer of Operettas musicals and songs as well Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 &ndash 22 September 1989 was a Russian-born American Composer and Lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters Sigmund Romberg, born Zsigmond Romberg ( July 29, 1887, Nagykanizsa − November 9, 1951 George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. Sir Noël Peirce Coward ( 16 December 1899 26 March 1973) was an English Actor, Playwright [7] At the same time, George M. Cohan kept the theatres filled with lively musical entertainments, as the Shubert Brothers began to take control of the Broadway theatres. George Michael Cohan ( July 3, 1878 &ndash November 5, 1942) was a United States Entertainer, Playwright, The Shubert family of New York City, New York was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district in New York City, as the hub of
The Roaring Twenties
The motion picture mounted a challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only a limited challenge to theatre. But by the end of the 1920s, films like The Jazz Singer could be presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if the cinema would replace live theatre altogether. The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American Musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized Dialogue The musicals of the Roaring Twenties, borrowing from vaudeville, music hall and other light entertainments, tended to ignore plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses, big dance routines, and popular songs. Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s principally in North America, that emphasizes the period's social artistic and cultural dynamism Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Music hall is a form of British theatrical Entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960 Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, popular music was dominated by theatre writers. Many shows were revues with little plot. For instance, Florenz Ziegfeld produced annual spectacular song-and-dance revues on Broadway featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there was little to tie the various numbers together. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr ( March 21, 1869 &ndash July 22, 1932) called Flo Ziegfeld, was an American Broadway In London, the Aldwych Farces were similarly successful, and stars such as Ivor Novello were popular. David Ivor Davies (15 January 1893 &ndash 6 March 1951 better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh Composer, Singer and Actor, who These spectacles also raised production values, and mounting a musical generally became more expensive.
Typical of the decade were lighthearted productions like Sally; Lady Be Good; Sunny; No, No, Nanette; Oh, Kay!; and Funny Face. Sally is a musical comedy with music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Clifford Grey and book by Guy Bolton (inspired by the 19th century Sally is a musical comedy with music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Clifford Grey and book by Guy Bolton (inspired by the 19th century Lady Be Good (title sometimes presented with an Exclamation point) is the title of a Broadway musical play that was written by Guy Bolton, 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 Oh Kay! is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P Funny Face is a 1927 musical composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and book by Fred Thompson and Paul Their books may have been forgettable, but they produced enduring standards from George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Vincent Youmans, and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, among others, and stars like Marilyn Miller and Fred Astaire. George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. Cole Albert Porter (June 9 1891 &ndash October 15 1964 was an American Composer and songwriter from Peru, Indiana. Jerome David Kern ( January 27, 1885 &ndash November 11, 1945) was an American Composer of popular music Vincent Youmans ( September 27, 1898 - April 5, 1946) was an American popular composer and Broadway producer Richard Charles Rodgers ( June 28, 1902, Arverne Queens, New York City &ndash December 30, 1979, New York Lorenz "Larry" Hart ( May 2, 1895 &ndash November 22, 1943) was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Marilyn Miller ( September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 &ndash June 22, 1987) was an American Academy Award Audiences tapped their toes to these musicals on both sides of the Atlantic ocean while continuing to patronize the popular operettas that were continuing to come out of continental Europe and also from composers like Noel Coward in London and Sigmund Romberg and Rudolf Friml in America. Sir Noël Peirce Coward ( 16 December 1899 26 March 1973) was an English Actor, Playwright Sigmund Romberg, born Zsigmond Romberg ( July 29, 1887, Nagykanizsa − November 9, 1951 Rudolf Friml ( December 7, 1879 - November 12, 1972) was a Composer of Operettas musicals and songs as well Clearly, cinema had not killed live theatre.
Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind, and taking the drama a giant step beyond Victor Herbert and sentimental operetta, Show Boat, which premiered on December 27, 1927 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York, represented a complete integration of book and score, with dramatic themes, as told through the music, dialogue, setting and movement, woven together more seamlessly than in previous musicals. Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book (based on a novel by Edna Ferber) and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein Events 537 - The Hagia Sophia is completed 1512 - The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Ziegfeld Theatre was a Broadway Theatre formerly located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan, Show Boat, with a book and lyrics adapted from Edna Ferber's novel by Oscar Hammerstein II and P. G. Wodehouse, and music by Jerome Kern, presented a new concept that was embraced by audiences immediately. Edna Ferber ( August 15 1885 - April 16 1968) was an American novelist, Author and Playwright Oscar Hammerstein II (ˈhæmɚstaɪn (born Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein) ( July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975 (ˈwʊdhaʊs was an English Comic novelist who enjoyed enormous popular success Jerome David Kern ( January 27, 1885 &ndash November 11, 1945) was an American Composer of popular music Despite some of its startling themes—miscegenation among them—the original production ran a total of 572 performances. Miscegenation (Latin miscere "to mix" + genus "kind" is the mixing of different racial groups, that is marrying, cohabiting Still, Broadway runs lagged behind London's in general. By way of comparison, in 1920, The Beggar's Opera began an astonishing run of 1,463 performances at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, England. The Beggar's Opera is a Ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay. Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, approximately 5 miles (8km west of Charing Cross on
1930s
The Great Depression affected theatre audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, as people had little money to spend on entertainment. Ethel Merman ( January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American Actress and Singer for Musical In addition, "talkie" films at low prices presented a strong challenge to theatre of all kinds. Only a few shows exceeded a run on Broadway or in London of 500 performances. Still, for those who could afford it, this was an exciting time in the development of musical theatre. Encouraged by the success of Show Boat, creative teams began following the "format" of that popular hit. Of Thee I Sing (1931), a political satire with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Morrie Ryskind, was the first musical to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Of Thee I Sing is a musical with a score by George and Ira Gershwin and a book by George S Ira Gershwin ( 6 December 1896 &ndash 17 August 1983) was an American Lyricist who collaborated with his younger Morrie Ryskind ( October 20, 1895 in New York City - August 24, 1985 in Washington DC The Pulitzer Prize, ˈpʊlɨtsɚ PULL-it-sər is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in Newspaper journalism, The Band Wagon (1931), starred dancing partners Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. For the musical see The Band Wagon (musical. The Band Wagon ( 1953) is a Musical comedy film that many critics rank (along Porter's Anything Goes (1934) affirmed Ethel Merman's position as the First Lady of musical theatre – a title she maintained for many years. Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Ethel Merman ( January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American Actress and Singer for Musical As Thousands Cheer (1933) was an Irving Berlin and Moss Hart success that marked Marilyn Miller's last show and the first Broadway show to star an African-American, Ethel Waters). As Thousands Cheer is a Revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 &ndash 22 September 1989 was a Russian-born American Composer and Lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters Moss Hart ( October 24 1904 &ndash December 20 1961) was an American Playwright and director of plays and Musical Marilyn Miller ( September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early Ethel Waters ( October 31, 1896 &ndash September 1, 1977) was an American Blues and Jazz Vocalist [14]
Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1935) was a step closer to opera than Show Boat and the other musicals of the era, and in some respects it foreshadowed such "operatic" musicals as West Side Story and Sweeney Todd. George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. Porgy and Bess is an Opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, Libretto by DuBose Heyward, and Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto West Side Story is a musical by Arthur Laurents (book Leonard Bernstein (music and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics The Cradle Will Rock (1937), with a book and score by Marc Blitzstein and directed by Orson Welles, was a highly political piece that, despite the controversy surrounding it, managed to run for 108 performances. The Cradle Will Rock is a 1937 musical by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Marc Blitzstein ( March 2, 1905 &ndash January 22, 1964) was an American Composer. George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television Kurt Weill's Knickerbocker Holiday brought to the musical stage New York City's early history, using as its source writings by Washington Irving, while good-naturedly satirizing the good intentions of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Kurt Julian Weill ( March 2, 1900 &ndash April 3, Knickerbocker Holiday is a Broadway musical written by Kurt Weill (music and Maxwell Anderson (book and lyrics it was directed Washington Irving (April 3 1783 – November 28 1859 was an American Author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th
British writers such as Noel Coward and Ivor Novello continued to deliver old fashioned, sentimential musicals, such as The Dancing Years. Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership consisting of the composer Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and the lyricist The Dancing Years is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall. Similarly, Rodgers & Hart returned from Hollywood to churn out a series of lighthearted Broadway hits, including On Your Toes (1936, with Ray Bolger, the first Broadway musical to make dramatic use of classical dance), Babes In Arms (1937), I'd Rather Be Right, a political satire with George M. Cohan as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and The Boys From Syracuse (1938), and Cole Porter wrote a similar string of hits, including Anything Goes (1934) and DuBarry Was a Lady (1939). Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership consisting of the composer Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and the lyricist On Your Toes (1936 is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers and lyrics Ray Bolger ( January 10 1904 – January 15 1987) was an American entertainer of stage and screen best known for his portrayal of Babes in Arms is a 1937 Musical theater production which tells the story of a boy who puts on a show to avoid being sent to a work farm I'd Rather Be Right is a musical comedy by Moss Hart and George S George Michael Cohan ( July 3, 1878 &ndash November 5, 1942) was a United States Entertainer, Playwright, The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare 's play The Cole Albert Porter (June 9 1891 &ndash October 15 1964 was an American Composer and songwriter from Peru, Indiana. Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. DuBarry Was a Lady (1939 is a Broadway musical, starring Bert Lahr, Ethel Merman and Betty Grable with music and lyrics He later would go on to write scores for such classics as Can-Can (1953) and Silk Stockings (1955). Can-Can is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and a book by Abe Burrows. Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole But 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 that was finally beaten by Oklahoma!
Despite the economic woes and the competition from film, the musical survived. Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. In fact, the move towards political satire in Of Thee I Sing, I'd Rather Be Right and Knickerbocker Holiday, together with the musical sophistication of the Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers and Weill musicals and the fast-paced staging and naturalistic dialogue style created by director George Abbott showed that musical theatre was finally evolving beyond the gags and showgirls musicals of the Gay Nineties and Roaring Twenties and the sentimental romance of operetta. George Francis Abbott ( June 25, 1887 - January 31, 1995) was an American Theater producer and director, Playwright
The Golden Age (1943 to 1968)
The Golden Age of the Broadway musical is generally considered to have begun with Oklahoma! (1943) and to have ended with Hair (1968). Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 &ndash 1960 were a well-known American songwriting duo Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 &ndash 22 September 1989 was a Russian-born American Composer and Lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. Hair The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a Rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt
1940s
The 1940s would begin with more hits from Porter, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, Weill and Gershwin, some with runs over 500 performances as the economy rebounded, but artistic change was in the air. Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 &ndash 22 September 1989 was a Russian-born American Composer and Lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! had a cohesive (if somewhat slim) plot, songs that furthered the action of the story, and featured dream ballets which advanced the plot and developed the characters, rather than using dance as an excuse to parade scantily-clad women across the stage. Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 &ndash 1960 were a well-known American songwriting duo Rodgers and Hammerstein hired ballet choreographer Agnes de Mille, who used everyday motions to help the characters express their ideas. Agnes George de Mille ( September 18, 1905 &ndash October 7, 1993) was an American Dancer and Choreographer 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! written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist 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. 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 (1951), and The Sound of Music (1959). Carousel is a musical by Richard Rodgers (music and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics that was adapted from Ferenc Molnar South Pacific is a musical, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by both Hammerstein and Joshua The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay Some of these musicals, including Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific and The Sound of Music, treat more serious subject matter than most earlier shows.
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 and Adolph Green, composed by Leonard Bernstein and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. On the Town is a musical with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, based Betty Comden ( May 3 1917 November 23 2006) along with Adolph Green (1914 2002 was one-half of the musical duo Comden and Green Adolph Green ( December 2, 1914 October 23, 2002) was an American Lyricist and Playwright who with long-time WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes Jerome Robbins (11 October 1918 – 29 July 1998 was an American film director and Choreographer whose work has included everything from classical ballet to The musical is set during wartime, where a group of three sailors are on a 24 hour shore leave in New York. During their day, they each meet a wonderful woman. The women in this show have a specific power to them, as if saying, "Come here! I need a man!" The show also gives the impression of a country with an uncertain future, as the sailors also have with their women before leaving.
Oklahoma! inspired others to continue the trend. Irving Berlin used sharpshooter Annie Oakley's career as a basis for his Annie Get Your Gun (1946, 1,147 performances); Burton Lane, E. Y. Harburg, and Fred Saidy combined political satire with Irish whimsy for their fantasy Finian's Rainbow (1947, 1,725 performances); and Cole Porter found inspiration in William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew for Kiss Me, Kate (1948, 1,077 performances). Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 &ndash 22 September 1989 was a Russian-born American Composer and Lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Burton Lane ( February 2, 1912, New York City - January 5, 1997, New York City) was an American Composer Edgar Yipsel Harburg ( April 8 1896 – March 4 1981) best known as Yip Harburg, was an American Lyricist Fred Saidy ( February 11 1907 - May 14 1982) was an American Playwright and Screenwriter. Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by EY Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg and music by Burton Lane. William Shakespeare ( baptised The Taming of the Shrew is an early comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594 Kiss Me Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. 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). Perchance to Dream is a musical romance with book lyrics and music by Ivor Novello.
1950s
Damon Runyon's eclectic characters were at the core of Frank Loesser's and Abe Burrows' Guys and Dolls, (1950, 1,200 performances); and the Gold Rush was the setting for Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's Paint Your Wagon (1951). Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE (born Julia Elizabeth Wells on October 1 1935) is an award-winning English Actress Damon Runyon ( 4 October 1884 – 10 December 1946) was a newspaperman and writer Frank Henry Loesser ( June 29, 1910, New York City – July 26, 1969, New York City) was an American Abe Burrows ( December 18, 1910 &ndash May 17, 1985) was an American humorist author and director for Radio and Guys and Dolls is a musical, with the music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on The California Gold Rush (1848&ndash1855 began on January 24 1848 when Gold was discovered by James Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California Alan Jay Lerner ( August 31, 1918 &ndash June 14, 1986) was an American Broadway Lyricist and Librettist The relatively brief run—289 performances—of that show didn't discourage Lerner and Loewe from collaborating again, this time on My Fair Lady (1956), an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion starring Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, which at 2,717 performances held the long-run record for many years. Lerner and Loewe are the American Musical comedy writing team of Lyricist and Librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw 's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner George Bernard Shaw ( (26 July 1856 &ndash 2 November 1950 was an Irish Playwright. Pygmalion (1913 is a play by George Bernard Shaw based on the Greek myth of the same name. Sir Reginald “Rex” Carey Harrison (5 March 1908 - 2 June 1990 was an English Academy Award and Tony Award -winning Theatre and Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE (born Julia Elizabeth Wells on October 1 1935) is an award-winning English Actress Popular Hollywood movies were made of all of these musicals. The Boy Friend (1954) ran for 2,078 performances in London, briefly becoming the third-longest running musical in West End or Broadway history (after Chu Chin Chow and Oklahoma!), until it was demoted by Salad Days. It marked Julie Andrews' American debut. Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE (born Julia Elizabeth Wells on October 1 1935) is an award-winning English Actress Another record was set by The Threepenny Opera, which ran for 2,707 performances, becoming the longest-running off-Broadway musical until The Fantasticks. The Threepenny Opera ( Die Dreigroschenoper) is a revolutionary work of Musical theatre, by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer
As in Oklahoma!, dance was an integral part of West Side Story (1957), which transported Romeo and Juliet to modern day New York City and converted the feuding Montague and Capulet families into opposing ethnic gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. West Side Story is a musical by Arthur Laurents (book Leonard Bernstein (music and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics The book was adapted by Arthur Laurents, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by newcomer Stephen Sondheim. Arthur Laurents (born July 14, 1918) is an American Playwright, Novelist, Screenwriter, Librettist and WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22 1930 is an American musical and film composer and lyricist winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards (seven 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's The Music Man to the alleys of Manhattan's Upper West Side. Robert Meredith Willson ( 18 May 1902 – 15 June 1984) was an American composer songwriter conductor and playwright The Music Man is a musical with book music and lyrics by Meredith Willson. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Apparently Tony Award voters were of a similar mind, since they favored the former over the latter. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented 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 film of West Side Story was extremely successful.
Laurents and Sondheim teamed up again for Gypsy (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. Gypsy is a 1959 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Jule Styne ( December 31, 1905 &ndash September 20, 1994) was a British -born American Songwriter especially Gypsy Rose Lee (also known as Rose Louise Hovick and Louise Hovick) (born January 8 1911 &ndash April 26 1970) was The original production ran for 702 performances, and was given four subsequent revivals, with Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone later tackling the role made famous by Ethel Merman. Angela Brigid Lansbury, CBE (born October 16, 1925) is an English Golden Globe Award and Tony Award winning Actress Ellen Tyne Daly (b February 21, 1946) is an American Emmy Award and Tony Award -winning stage and screen actress Bernadette Peters (born February 28 1948 is an American Actress and Singer from New York City. Patti LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American Singer and Actress, perhaps best known for her Tony Award -winning
Automotive companies and other types of corporations began to hire Broadway talent to write corporate musicals, private shows which were only seen by their employees or customers. An industrial musical is a musical performed internally for the Employees or Shareholders of a Business, to create a feeling of being part of a The 1950s ended with Rodgers and Hammerstein's last hit, The Sound of Music, which also became another hit for Mary Martin. Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 &ndash 1960 were a well-known American songwriting duo 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. Rodgers and Hammerstein 's The Sound of Music is a Musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews in the lead role
1960s
In 1960, The Fantasticks was first produced off-Broadway. The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. This intimate allegorical show would quietly run for over 40 years at the Sullivan Street Theatre in Greenwich Village, becoming by far the longest-running musical in history. Greenwich Village (ˌgrɛnɪtʃ ˈvɪlɪdʒ often simply called the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern Manhattan Its authors produced other innovative works in the 1960s, such as Celebration and I Do! I Do!, The first two-character Broadway musical. Celebration is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt. I Do! I Do! is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt. The 1960s would see a number of traditional blockbusters, like Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, Hello, Dolly! and Camelot, and some more risqué pieces like Cabaret, before ending with the emergence of the rock musical. Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set Funny Girl is a musical with a book by Isobel Lennart, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. Hello Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder 's 1938 Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics and Frederic Loewe (music Cabaret is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander. A rock musical is a Musical theatre work with Rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, Concept albums Two men had considerable impact on musical theatre history beginning in this decade:
The first project for which Sondheim wrote both music and lyrics was A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962, 964 performances), with a book based on the works of Plautus by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, and starring Zero Mostel. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Titus Maccius Plautus (c 254–184 BCE commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman Playwright. Burt Shevelove ( September 19 1915 - April 8 1982) was an American musical theater playwright lyricist librettist and director Larry Simon Gelbart (born February 25, 1928) is an American Comedy Writer and playwright with over sixty years of credits Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel ( February 28 1915 – September 8 1977) was an American Actor of stage and 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. Some of his earlier works include Anyone Can Whistle (1964, which—at a mere nine performances, despite having star power in Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury—is an infamous flop), Company (1970), Follies (1971), and A Little Night Music (1973). Anyone Can Whistle is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Lee Ann Remick ( December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an Academy Award - and Tony Award -nominated American film and Angela Brigid Lansbury, CBE (born October 16, 1925) is an English Golden Globe Award and Tony Award winning Actress Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. He has found inspiration in the unlikeliest of sources—the opening of Japan to Western trade for Pacific Overtures, a legendary murderous barber seeking revenge in the Industrial Age of London for Sweeney Todd, the paintings of Georges Seurat for Sunday in the Park with George, fairy tales for Into the Woods, and a collection of individuals intent on eliminating the President of the United States in Assassins. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Pacific Overtures is a 1976 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Georges-Pierre Seurat ( December 2, 1859 &ndash March 29, 1891) was a French painter and Draftsman. Sunday in the Park with George is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert Jr
While some critics have argued that some of Sondheim’s musicals are less popular with the public because of their unusual lyrical sophistication and musical complexity, others have praised these features of his work, 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 Act 1 ends with the cast informing the audience that they are mad. Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim.
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, and continuing with the smash hits Hello, Dolly! (1964, 2,844 performances), Mame (1966, 1,508 performances), and La Cage aux Folles (1983, 1,761 performances). Jerry Herman (born July 10, 1931) is an American Composer / Lyricist of the Broadway Musical theater. Milk and Honey is a musical with a book by Don Appell and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Hello Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder 's 1938 MAME is an Emulator application designed to recreate the Hardware of Arcade game systems in Software, with the intent of preserving gaming Even his less successful shows like Dear World (1969) and Mack & Mabel (1974) have had memorable scores (Mack & Mabel was later reworked into a London hit). Dear World is a Broadway musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E Mack & Mabel is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Mack & Mabel is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Writing both words and music, many of Herman's showtunes 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 Gorme, Barbra Streisand, Petula Clark and Bernadette Peters. " Hello Dolly! " is the title song of the popular 1964 musical of the same name. Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter Eydie Gorme (alternative spelling Eydie Gormé; born Edith Gormezano August 16, 1931) is an American Singer credited heavily Barbra Streisand (ˈstraɪsænd "STRY-sand" born April 24 1942 is an American Singer, Film and Theatre Actress Petula Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932 is an English singer actress and Composer best known for her upbeat popular international hits Bernadette Peters (born February 28 1948 is an American Actress and Singer from New York City. Herman's songbook has been the subject of two popular musical revues, Jerry's Girls (Broadway, 1985), and Showtune (off-Broadway, 2003). Jerry's Girls is a musical Revue based on the songs of Composer Jerry Herman. Showtune is a popular Musical revue celebrating the words and music of Broadway composer Jerry Herman.
The musical started to diverge from the relatively narrow confines of the 1950s. Rock music 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. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Hair The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a Rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
Racial and religious tolerance
After Show Boat and Porgy and Bess, and as the struggle in America and elsewhere for minorities' civil rights progressed, Hammerstein, Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg and others were emboldened to write more musicals and operas which aimed to normalize societal toleration of minorities and urged racial harmony. Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book (based on a novel by Edna Ferber) and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein Porgy and Bess is an Opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, Libretto by DuBose Heyward, and Harold Arlen ( February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American Composer of popular music Edgar Yipsel Harburg ( April 8 1896 – March 4 1981) best known as Yip Harburg, was an American Lyricist Early Golden Age works that focused on racial tolerance included Finian's Rainbow, South Pacific, and the The King and I. Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by EY Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg and music by Burton Lane. South Pacific is a musical, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by both Hammerstein and Joshua The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Towards the end of the Golden Age, several shows tackled Jewish subjects and issues, such as Fiddler on the Roof, Milk and Honey, Blitz! and later Rags. Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set Milk and Honey is a musical with a book by Don Appell and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Blitz! is a musical by Lionel Bart. The play described by Steven Suskin as "massive" was set in the East End of London Rags is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and music by Charles Strouse. The original concept that became West Side Story was set in the Lower East Side during Easter-Passover celebrations; the rival gangs were to be Jewish and Italian Catholic. West Side Story is a musical by Arthur Laurents (book Leonard Bernstein (music and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics The Lower East Side is a Neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. An Italian American is an American of Italian descent and/or dual citizenship Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". The creative team later decided that the Polish (white) vs. Puerto Rican conflict was fresher. A Puerto Rican ('puertorriqueño' ( Taíno term boricua) is a person who was born in Puerto Rico. [15]
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 '60s, musicals became racially integrated, with black and white cast members even covering each others' roles, as they did in Hair. Casting in some musicals is an attempt to represent the community at the subject of the drama, as in Rent. Homosexuality has been explored in such musicals, beginning with Hair, and even more overtly in La Cage aux Folles and Falsettos. Falsettos is a musical with a book by James Lapine and William Finn and music and lyrics by Finn comprising March of the Falsettos Parade is a sensitive exploration of both anti-Semitism and historical American racism. Parade is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that
More recent eras
1970s
After the success of Hair, rock musicals flourished in the 1970s, with Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, Grease and Two Gentlemen of Verona. A rock musical is a Musical theatre work with Rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, Concept albums Jesus Christ Superstar is a Rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. This article is about the musical For the movie see Godspell (film. This article is about the stage musical For the 1978 film of the same name see Grease (film. Two Gentlemen of Verona is an award-winning rock musical with a book by John Guare and Mel Shapiro, lyrics by Guare and music by Some of these rock musicals began with "concept albums" and then moved to film or stage, such as Tommy. In Popular music, a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme which can be instrumental compositional narrative or lyrical" 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. In Popular music, a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme which can be instrumental compositional narrative or lyrical" Rock operas, Concept albums Song cycles and Oratorios all differ from a conventional rock album which usually includes songs that are unrelated to each The musical also went in other directions. Shows like Raisin, Dreamgirls, Purlie, and The Wiz brought a significant African-American influence to Broadway. Raisin is a Musical theatre adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun, with songs by Judd Woldin and Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical, which opened on December 20, 1981 at the Imperial Theatre. Purlie is a musical with a book by Ossie Davis, Philip Rose and Peter Udell lyrics by Udell and music by Gary Geld The Wiz is a 1975 Broadway musical, based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L More varied musical genres and styles were incorporated into musicals both on and especially off-Broadway. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City.
1975 brought one of the great contemporary musicals to the stage. A Chorus Line 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. A Chorus Line is a musical about seventeen Broadway Dancers auditioning for spots on a Chorus line. Michael Bennett ( April 8, 1943 - July 2, 1987) was an American Musical theater director, Writer From hundreds of hours of tapes, James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nick Dante fashioned a book about an audition for a musical, incorporating into it many of the real-life stories of those who had sat in on the sessions — and some of whom eventually played variations of themselves or each other in the show. James Kirkwood Jr ( August 22, 1925 &ndash April 22, 1989) was an American Playwright and Author born in Nicholas Dante (born circa 1942 - May 21 1991) was an American Dancer and Writer, best known for A Chorus Line With music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, A Chorus Line first opened at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in lower Manhattan. Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (born June 2, 1944) is an American Composer. Edward Kleban ( April 30 1939 - December 28 1987) known professionally as Ed Kleban, was an American Musical theatre Joseph Papp ( June 22 1921 - October 31 1991) was an American Theatrical producer and director. The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Advance word-of-mouth— that something extraordinary was about to explode - boosted box office sales, and after critics ran out of superlatives to describe what they witnessed on opening night, what initially had been planned as a limited engagement eventually moved to the Shubert Theatre uptown for a run that seemed to last forever. The show swept the Tony Awards and won the Pulitzer Prize, and its hit song, What I Did for Love, became an instant standard. The Pulitzer Prize, ˈpʊlɨtsɚ PULL-it-sər is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in Newspaper journalism,
Clearly, Broadway audiences were eager to welcome musicals that strayed from the usual style and substance. John Kander and Fred Ebb explored pre-World War II Nazi Germany in Cabaret and Prohibition-era Chicago, which relied on old vaudeville techniques to tell its tale of murder and the media. John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927 in Kansas City Missouri) is the American Composer Fred Ebb ( April 8 1933 &mdash September 11 2004) was a Musical theatre lyricist World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Cabaret is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander. Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol Chicago is a Kander and Ebb musical set in prohibition era Chicago. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Pippin, by Stephen Schwartz, was set in the days of Charlemagne. Pippin is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American Musical theater lyricist and Composer. Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his Federico Fellini's autobiographical film 8½ became Maury Yeston's Nine. Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI ( January 20 1920 &ndash October 31 1993) was an Italian Film 8½ (pronounced Maury Yeston (born October 23, 1945) is an American composer lyricist educator and musicologist Nine is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. At the end of the decade, Evita gave a more serious political biography than audiences were used to at musicals, and Sweeney Todd was the precursor to the darker, big budget musicals of the 1980s like Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, and The Phantom of the Opera, that depended on dramatic stories, sweeping scores and spectacular effects. Evita is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Les Misérables ( in French, le mize'ʁaːbl colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz, is a musical composed Miss Saigon is a West End musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the book written by the French novelist Gaston Leroux But during this same period, old-fashioned values were still embraced in such hits as Annie, 42nd Street, My One and Only, and popular revivals of No, No, Nanette and Irene. Annie is a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray Comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles 42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren My One and Only is a musical with a book by Peter Stone and Timothy S Irene is a musical with a book by James Montgomery lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by Harry Tierney.
1980s and 1990s
The 1980s and 1990s saw the influence of European "mega-musicals" or "pop operas," which typically featured a pop-influenced score and had large casts and sets and were identified as much by their notable effects—a falling chandelier (in Phantom), a helicopter landing on stage (in Miss Saigon)—as they were by anything else in the production. A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights Miss Saigon is a West End musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil Many were based on novels or other works of literature. The most important writers of mega-musicals include the French team of Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, responsible for Les Misérables, which became the longest-running international musical hit in history. Claude-Michel Schönberg (born July 6, 1944 in Vannes, France) is a French record producer actor singer popular songwriter and Musical Alain Boublil is a Librettist, born in Tunisia in 1941 best known for his collaborations with the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg. Les Misérables ( in French, le mize'ʁaːbl colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz, is a musical composed The team, in collaboration with Richard Maltby, Jr., continued to produce hits with Miss Saigon (inspired by the Puccini opera Madame Butterfly). Richard Maltby Jr (born October 6, 1937, Ripon Wisconsin) is an American Theatre director and producer, Lyricist The British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, saw similar mega-success with Evita, based on the life of Argentina's Eva Perón, and Cats, derived from the poems of T. S. Eliot, both of which musicals originally starred Elaine Paige, who with continued success has become known as the First Lady of British Musical Theatre. Andrew Lloyd Webber Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948 is a British Composer of Musical theatre, the elder son of William Lloyd Webber Evita is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. María Eva Duarte de Perón' ( May 7 1919 &ndash July 26 1952) was the second wife of President Juan Domingo Perón Cats is an award-winning musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. Elaine Paige OBE (née Bickerstaff born 5 March 1948 is an English Singer and actress, best known for her work in Musical theatre Other Lloyd Webber musical successes include Starlight Express, famous for being performed on rollerskates; The Phantom of the Opera, derived from the novel "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra" written by Gaston Leroux; and Sunset Boulevard (from the classic film of the same name). Starlight Express is a Rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music and Richard Stilgoe (lyrics with later revisions by Don Black Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux ( 6 May, 1868, Paris France &ndash 15 April, 1927) was a French Journalist Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Several of these mega-musicals ran (or are still running) for decades in both New York and London. The 90s also saw the influence of large corporations on the production of musicals. The most important has been The Walt Disney Company, which began adapting some of its animated movie musicals—such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King—for the stage, and also created original stage productions like Aida, with music by Elton John. The Lion King is a Tony and Olivier Award -winning Broadway and West End musical based on the 1994 Disney animated This article is about the marketing term AIDA For other uses of the term see Aida (disambiguation. Sir Elton Hercules John CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947 is an English pop / rock Singer, Composer Disney continues to create new musicals for Broadway and West End theatres, such as, Tarzan, a stage adaptation of the classic Mary Poppins, and, most recently, a stage version of 1989's The Little Mermaid. Tarzan is a stage musical based on the Disney film of the same name and the story by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Mary Poppins is a Walt Disney Theatrical musical based on the similarly-titled series of children's books and the Disney 1964 film. This is the article about the stage musical For the 1989 film see The Little Mermaid (1989 film.
With the growing scale (and cost) of musicals, style was sometimes emphasized in favor of substance diromg the last two decades of the 20th century. At the same time, however, many writers broke from this pattern and began to create smaller scale, but critically-acclaimed and financially successful musicals, such as Falsettoland, Passion, Little Shop of Horrors, Bat Boy: The Musical, and Blood Brothers. Falsettoland is a musical with a book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by William Finn. Passion is a musical adapted from Ettore Scola 's film Passione d'Amore (which was in its turn based on Iginio Ugo Tarchetti Little Shop of Horrors is a Rock musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises Bat Boy The Musical is an Off-Broadway and West End musical. The Weekly World News story about a half-boy half- Bat Blood Brothers is a musical with book lyrics and music by Willy Russell. The topics vary widely, and the music ranges from rock to pop, but they often are produced off-Broadway (or for smaller London theatres) and feature smaller casts and generally less expensive productions. Some of these have been noted as imaginative and innovative. [16]
The cost of tickets to Broadway and West End musicals was escalating beyond the budget of many theatregoers, and the trend was for these musicals to be viewed by a smaller and smaller audience. Jonathan Larson's musical Rent (based on the opera La Bohème) attempted to increase the popularity of musicals among a younger audience. Jonathan Larson ( February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American Tony Award -winning Composer and Rent is a Rock musical, with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini 's Opera La Bohème It features a cast of twentysomethings, and the score is heavily rock-influenced. The musical became a hit, even with its composer dying of an aortic aneurysm on the night of the final dress rehearsal at New York Theatre Workshop, before he could see it reach Broadway. New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW is an Off-Broadway Theatre noted for its acclaimed and innovative productions of new works A group of young fans, styled RENTheads, line up at the Nederlander Theatre hours early in hopes of winning the lottery for $20 front row tickets, and some have seen the show more than 50 times. A RENT-head or RENThead is someone who is obsessed with or at least a very big fan of the musical RENT (capitalization David T Nederlander Theatre (formerly " Billy Rose Theatre " or "National Theatre" is a 1232-seat Broadway theatre located at 208 West 41st Street Other writers who have attempted to bring a taste of modern rock music to the stage include Jason Robert Brown. Jason Robert Brown (born 1970 in Ossining, New York) is an American Musical theater Composer and Lyricist.
Another trend has been to create a minimal plot to fit a collection of songs that have already been hits. These have included Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story (1995), Movin' Out (2002, based on the tunes of Billy Joel), Good Vibrations (the Beach Boys), All Shook Up (Elvis Presley), Jersey Boys (2006, The Four Seasons), Daddy Cool—The Boney M Musical, and many others. Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story is a Jukebox musical in two acts with a book co-written by Alan Janes and Rob Bettinson and music and lyrics by a variety of Movin' Out is a Jukebox musical featuring the songs of Billy Joel. William Martin Joel (born May 9 1949 is an American Pianist and Singer-songwriter. Good Vibrations is a Broadway Jukebox musical featuring the music of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. The Beach Boys is an American rock band Formed in 1961 the group gained popularity for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a California Youth culture All Shook Up is a Jukebox musical featuring the music of the classic rock star Elvis Presley, with a book by Joe DiPietro. Jersey Boys is a documentary -style musical based on the lives of one of the most successful 1960s Rock 'n roll groups the Four The Four Seasons (known off and on since 1967 as Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons - although not shown that way on any of their hit records is an American Daddy Cool was a British musical based upon the music of Boney M and other Frank Farian artists This style is often referred to as the "jukebox musical". A jukebox musical is a stage or film musical that uses previously released popular songs as its Musical score. Similar but more plot-driven musicals have been built around the canon of a particular pop group including Mamma Mia! (1999, featuring songs by ABBA), Our House (based on the songs of Madness), and We Will Rock You (based on the works of Queen). This article is about the stage musical For the film see Mamma Mia! The Movie. Our House was a musical first staged at the Cambridge Theatre in London 's West End from October 28 2002 to August 16 2003 Madness are an English pop / Ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976 We Will Rock You (abbreviated as WWRY) is a Jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of Queen were an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist
2000s
- Recent trends
In recent years, familiarity has been embraced by producers anxious to guarantee that they recoup their considerable investments, if not show a healthy profit. Some are willing to take (usually modest-budget) chances on the new and unusual, such as Urinetown (2001), Bombay Dreams (2002; about the Bollywood musicals churned out by Indian cinema), Avenue Q (2003; utilizes puppets to tell its adult-themed story), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005; people watching the show can become "spellers" in the show). Bombay Dreams is a Bollywood -themed musical The music for Bombay Dreams was created by A Bollywood (बॉलीवूड بالی وڈ is the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai -based Hindi-language Film industry in India Avenue Q is a musical conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics and directed by Jason Moore. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical Comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin But the majority prefer to hedge their bets by sticking with revivals of familiar fare like Wonderful Town or Fiddler on the Roof, or proven hits like La Cage aux Folles. Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set Today's composers are finding their sources in already proven material, such as films (roughly one-third of current Broadway musicals, including The Producers, Spamalot, Hairspray, Billy Elliot, The Color Purple, and Grey Gardens) or classic literature (such as Little Women, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dracula, and Wicked) hoping that the shows will have a built-in audience as a result. The Producers is a Comedy - musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan based Billy Elliot the Musical is a musical based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot. The Color Purple is a Broadway musical based upon the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Grey Gardens is a musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, based on the 1975 documentary of Little Women or Meg Jo Beth and Amy is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832&ndash1888 The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic play and Adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary Antagonist the vampire Count Dracula. Wicked is a musical with songs and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. The reuse of plots, especially those from The Walt Disney Company, has been considered by some critics to be a redefinition of Broadway: rather than a creative outlet, it has become a tourist attraction. [7]
The musical is being pulled in a number of different directions. It is less likely today that a sole producer—a David Merrick or a Cameron Mackintosh—backs a production. David Merrick ( November 27 1911 &ndash April 25, 2000) was a prolific Tony Award -winning American Theatrical producer Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born) is a British Theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals 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 comprised of several individuals. This article is about the 1967 film For the Broadway musical see Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical. 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. Spring Awakening was developed off-Broadway before being launched on Broadway in 2006. Spring Awakening is a Tony Award -winning rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater.
It also appears that the spectacle format is on the rise again, returning to the times when Romans would have mock sea battles on stage. This was true of Starlight Express and is most apparent in the musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings that ran in Toronto, Canada in 2006, and opened for previews in May 2007 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London, billed as the biggest stage production in musical theatre history. Starlight Express is a Rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music and Richard Stilgoe (lyrics with later revisions by Don Black This article is about the theatrical productions For other uses see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The expensive production lost money in Toronto. Conversely, The Drowsy Chaperone, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Xanadu and others are part of a Broadway trend to present musicals uninterrupted by an intermission, with short running time of less than two hours. The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical Comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin Xanadu is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane, music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the The latter two, together with works like Avenue Q, also represent a trend towards presenting smaller-scale, small cast musicals that are able to show a good profit in a smaller house. Avenue Q is a musical conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics and directed by Jason Moore.
- Renaissance of the movie-musical and TV "musicals"
After the 1996 film of Evita, the first successful movie musical in nearly two decades, Baz Luhrmann continued the revival of the movie musical with Moulin Rouge! (2001). Evita is the 1996 Film adaptation of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber 's musical based on the life of Eva Baz Luhrmann (born Mark Anthony Luhrmann on 17 September 1962 is an Oscar and Golden Globe -nominated Australian Film director, Screenwriter This article is about the 2001 Motion picture. For other uses see Moulin Rouge (disambiguation Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 Musical film This was followed by a number of film successes, including Chicago in 2002, Phantom of the Opera in 2004, Dreamgirls in 2006, and Hairspray and Sweeney Todd in 2007. Chicago is a Musical film adaptation of the satirical stage musical Chicago, the film explores the themes of The Phantom of the Opera is a 2004 film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart 's 1986 stage musical, which is based Dreamgirls is a 2006 American Musical film, directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures Hairspray is a 2007 Musical film produced by Zadan / Meron Productions and distributed by New Line Cinema. Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 2007 musical thriller and the Film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000) and The Cat in the Hat (2003), made the children's book into live-action musicals. Theodor Seuss Geisel (ˈsɔɪs ˈɡaɪzəl March 2 1904 – September 24 1991 was an American Writer and Cartoonist, better known by his pen name Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (also known as The Grinch) is a 2000 Academy Award winning live-action film from Dr Seuss' The Cat in the Hat is a 2003 Live-action Film, based on the 1957 book, produced by Universal Studios, Disney and other animated musicals and more adult animated musical films, like South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999), paved the way for the revival of the movie musical. South Park Bigger Longer & Uncut is an Academy Award -nominated Animated satirical Comedy In addition, India is producing numerous "Bollywood" film musicals, and Japan is producing "Anime" film musicals. Occasionally, "made for TV" movies, such as Gypsy (1993), and Cinderella (1997), are made in musical format. Gypsy is a 1959 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Rodgers and Hammerstein 's Cinderella is a musical written for Television by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Some recent television shows have set an episode as a musical as a play on their usual format (examples include episodes of Ally McBeal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's episode Once More, with Feeling, That's So Raven, Daria's episode Daria!, Oz's Variety, Space Ghost Coast to Coast's O Coast to Coast!/Boatshow, Scrubs (in an episode written by the creators of Avenue Q), and the 100th Episode of That '70s Show) or 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, and in Hannah Montana, South Park, and Family Guy. Ally McBeal is an American Television series which ran on the FOX network from 1997 to 2002 Fictional narratives (and works of art exist beyond their completion e " Once More with Feeling " is a musical episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which a mysterious force compels That's So Raven is an Emmy, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and Teen Choice Award Award-winning American Daria is an American Oz is an American Television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an animated spoof talk show The main characters of the show include Space Ghost, Zorak, Moltar, and Scrubs is an Emmy and Peabody Award -winning American Comedy-drama that premiered on October 2 2001 on NBC. That '70s Show is an American television sitcom that centered on the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional town of Hannah Montana is an Emmy Award-nominated American Television series, which debuted on March 24 2006 on Disney Channel. South Park is an animated American television comedy series created and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Comedy Central Family Guy is an animated American television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane that airs on Fox and regularly on other The television series Cop Rock, extensively used the musical format as does the series The Mighty Boosh. Cop Rock is a short-lived American television series that aired on ABC in 1990. The Mighty Boosh, colloquially referred to as The Boosh, is the collective name for the creators of the British television situation comedy written by and starring
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). Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending Zarzuela (θarˈθwela in Spain in Latin America is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes the latter incorporating Operatic 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). The Boy From Oz is a Jukebox musical based on the life of singer/songwriter Peter Allen and featuring songs written by him The Drowsy Chaperone is a musical with a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg 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 Taliep Petersen and Sarafina! touring internationally. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Kat and the Kings is a musical with a book and lyrics by David Kramer and music by Taliep Petersen. Taliep Petersen (1950 - 16 December, 2006) was a South African singer composer and director of a number of popular musicals. Sarafina! is a South African musical by Mbongeni Ngema depicting students involved in the Soweto Riots, in opposition to Apartheid. Locally, musicals like Vere, Love and Green Onions, Over the Rainbow: the all-new all-gay. . . extravaganza and Bangbroek Mountain have been produced successfully.
Successful musicals from continental Europe include shows from (among other countries) Germany (Elixier and Ludwig II ), Austria (Dance of the Vampires and Elisabeth), Czech Republic (Angelika), France (Notre Dame de Paris, Les Misérables, Angélique, Marquise des Anges and Romeo & Juliette) and Spain (Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar). Elixier is a German musical that premiered in 1997. Music Tobias Künzel Wolfgang Lenk (Die Prinzen Lyrics Kati Naumann Director Ludwig II Longing for Paradise is a German musical with music by Franz Hummel and lyrics by Stephan Barbarino Dance of the Vampires (or Tanz der Vampire as the original German language version is named is a musical remake of a 1967 Elisabeth is a Viennese German-language musical commissioned by the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (VBW with book/lyrics by Michael Kunze and Angelique (original Angélique) is series of 13 French historical adventure books by the novelist duo Anne and Serge Golon. Notre Dame de Paris is a French - Canadian musical which debuted on 16 September 1998 in Paris. Angelique (original Angélique) is series of 13 French historical adventure books by the novelist duo Anne and Serge Golon. Roméo et Juliette de la Haine à l'Amour is a French musical based on William Shakespeare 's play Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar (English I Can't Get up Today) is a Spanish musical, with music and lyrics by Nacho Cano, former member
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. (anime in Japanese, ˈmɑŋgə is the Japanese word for Comics (sometimes called komikku コミック and print Cartoons In their modern form manga date from shortly is the fifth Studio Ghibli anime film, produced written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 1989. The Prince of Tennis Musical, also known as "TeniPuri Musical" "Tenimyu" or "GekiPuri" (Stage Prince is a series of live action stage musicals based The popular Sailor Moon metaseries has had twenty-nine Sailor Moon musicals, spanning thirteen years. is the title of a Japanese Media franchise created by Naoko Takeuchi. The, commonly referred to as, are a series of live theatre productions based on Naoko Takeuchi 's Metaseries Sailor Moon. Beginning in 1914, a series of popular revues have been performed by the all-female Takarazuka Revue, which currently fields five performing troupes. A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical Entertainment that combines Music, dance and sketches. The Takarazuka Revue (宝塚歌劇団 Takarazuka Kagekidan) is a Japanese all- Female musical theater in the city of Takarazuka Japan Elsewhere in Asia, the Indian Bollywood musical, mostly in the form of motion pictures, is tremendously successful. Bollywood (बॉलीवूड بالی وڈ is the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai -based Hindi-language Film industry in India Hong Kong's first modern musical, produced in both Mandarin and Cantonese, is Snow.Wolf.Lake. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders Standard Mandarin, also known as Standard Spoken Chinese, is the official modern Chinese spoken language used in mainland China and Taiwan Standard Cantonese is the standard variant of the Cantonese (Yuet language Snow WolfLake is Hong Kong's first modern musical Jacky Cheung, a Cantopop mega star was the artistic director of the show
Other countries with an especially active musicals scene include the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, Turkey and China. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands
Relevance
In the 2006-07 season, 12 million tickets were purchased on Broadway for a gross sale amount of almost a billion dollars. The League of American Theatres and Producers announced that more than half of those tickets were purchased by tourists (5 million domestic and 1. 3 million foreign). This does not include off-Broadway and smaller venues. These statistics were near historic records (including both plays and musicals). [17] Likewise, the Society of London Theatre reported that 2006 set a record for attendance, revenue and advance booking in London. Total attendees in the major commercial and grant-aided theatres in Central London were 12. 4 million, and total ticket revenues were just over £400 million. [18] Also, as noted above, the international musicals scene has been particularly active in recent years.
However, Stephen Sondheim has been less than optimistic:
- "You have two kinds of shows on Broadway – revivals and the same kind of musicals over and over again, all spectacles. You get your tickets for The Lion King a year in advance, and essentially a family. . . pass on to their children the idea that that's what the theater is – a spectacular musical you see once a year, a stage version of a movie. It has nothing to do with theater at all. It has to do with seeing what is familiar. . . . I don't think the theatre will die per se, but it's never going to be what it was. . . . It's a tourist attraction. "[19]
But the success of original material like Avenue Q, Urinetown, Wicked, and Spelling Bee, as well as creative re-imaginings of film properties, including Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hairspray, Billy Elliot and The Color Purple, and plays-turned-musicals, such as Spring Awakening prompts Broadway historian John Kenrick to write: "Is the Musical dead? . Billy Elliot is a 2000 Film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Spring Awakening is a Tony Award -winning rock musical with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater. . . Absolutely not! Changing? Always! The musical has been changing ever since Offenbach did his first rewrite in the 1850s. Jacques Offenbach (born Jacob Offenbach 20 June 1819 in Cologne &ndash 5 October 1880 in Paris) was a German 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. "[7]
Musical theatre in East Asian traditions
China
India
See also
- List of musicals
- List of musicals by composer
- Cast recording
- Show tunes
- Industrial musical
- List of musical theatre composers
- List of the 100 Longest-Running Broadway shows
- Long-running musical theatre productions
- Summary of Tony and Olivier Award Winning Musicals
- List of choreographers
- AFI's 100 Years of Musicals
Notes
- ^ a b Sheridan, Morley. Chinese Opera ( Chinese: 戏曲/戲曲 Pinyin: xìqǔ is a popular form of Drama and Musical theatre in China with roots going back Classical Indian musical theatre is a sacred art of the Hindu temple culture This is a general list of Composers who have written music for the Musical theatre, along with their works organized by first production date A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience A show tune is a Popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" (or stage musical, especially if the piece in question has become An industrial musical is a musical performed internally for the Employees or Shareholders of a Business, to create a feeling of being part of a This is a list of notable Composers of musicals. See also List of musicals by composer A Ron Abel Daniel Abtar This list contains the 100 longest-running shows on Broadway. This is a selected list of long-running Musical theatre productions divided into two sections This is a list of Choreographers A Paula Abdul Alvin Ailey Phillip Adams Part of the AFI 100 Years series, AFI's 100 Years of Musicals is a list of the top musicals in American cinema. Spread A Little Happiness, New York: Thames and Hudson, 1987, p. 15
- ^ Sondheim website
- ^ Brantley, Ben. "Curtain Up! It’s Patti’s Turn", New York Times, March 28, 2008
- ^ a b c Study guide history of musical theatre
- ^ See Denny Martin Flynn, Musical: A Grand Tour (New York: Schirmer Books, 1997), p. 22.
- ^ See Rochard H. Hoppin, Medieval Music (New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 1978), pp. 180-181.
- ^ a b c d Article on the Musicals 101 website
- ^ Article on long-running musicals before 1920
- ^ Article on long-running musicals before 1920
- ^ The Chimes of Normandy, 1878 (adapted from the French Les Cloches de Corneville), ran for 705 performances in London, beating any of the Gilbert and Sullivan pieces. Palmayserpolettejpg|right|thumb|220px| Ilka Palmay as Serpolette in an 1893 Berlin production]] Les cloches de Corneville (known in English as The Chimes Its run was not exceeded by any other piece of musical theatre until Dorothy broke its record in 1886
- ^ Article on long-running musicals before 1920
- ^ Irene 's run of 670 performances was a Broadway record that held until 1938's Hellzapoppin. Dorothy is a Comic opera in three acts with music by Alfred Cellier and a libretto by B
- ^ Midkoff, Neil article
- ^ Information about As Thousands Cheer
- ^ Arthur Laurents, Theatre: West Side Story; The Growth of an Idea, New York Herald Tribune, August 4, 1957. The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald. Reproduced on leonardbernstein. com. Accessed 12 February 2006.
- ^ BroadwayBaby site article on Bat Boy
- ^ Announcement of 2006-07 Broadway season
- ^ Press Release "Records Tumble in Theatreland", Jan. 29, 2007
- ^ quoted by Frank Rich in Conversations with Sondheim, New York Times Magazine, March 12, 2000, pp. Frank Rich (born June 2, 1949 in Washington DC) is a Columnist for The New York Times who focuses on American politics The New York Times Magazine is a supplement to the Sunday The New York Times newspaper 40 and 88
References
- Ganzl, Kurt. The Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre (3 Volumes). New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.
- The Broadway Musical Home
- The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film
- Information from History.com
- Bloom, Ken; Frank Vlastnik (2004-10-01). "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. Broadway Musicals : The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time. New York, New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 1-57912-390-2.
- Kantor, Michael; Laurence Maslon (2004). Broadway: the American musical. New York, New York: Bulfinch Press. ISBN 0-8212-2905-2.
- Botto, Louis (2002-09-01). See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. in Robert Viagas: At This Theatre. Applause Books. ISBN 1-55783-566-7.
- Mordden, Ethan (1999). Ethan Mordden (born January 27, 1949, Pennsylvania) is an American Author. Beautiful Mornin': The Broadway Musical in the 1940s. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512851-6.
- Article on history of musical theatre, focusing on American musicals
- Stacy's Musical Village - large musical theatre site
- Traubner, Richard. Operetta: A Theatrical History. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1983
- Bauch, Marc. The American Musical. Marburg, Germany: Tectum Verlag, 2003. ISBN 382888458X described here
- Bauch, Marc. Themes and Topics of the American Musical after World War II. Marburg, Germany: Tectum Verlag, 2001. ISBN 3828811418 described here
External links
- A TIME collection of Broadway's evolution
- Australia's leading musical theatre website (aussietheatre.com)
- Internet Broadway Database (ibdb.com)
- Musical Cast Album Database (castalbumdb.com)
- Broadway.com - extensive theater site with news, photos and more
- Theatre.com - extensive theatre site with London news, photos and more
- Musical Cyberspace: Broadway and Beyond
- Science Fiction Musicals Sourcebook
- Musical Workshop - listings of contemporary musicals
- Edwardian theatre site with numerous midi files and other information
- Guide to Broadway
- List of articles available from British musical theatre publication The Gaiety and related publications
- Long running plays (over 400 performances) on Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Toronto, Melbourne, Paris, Vienna, and Berlin
- Class Act Movie Musicals
- The Broadway Musical Home
- League of American Theatres amd Producers
- Broadway In Chicago
- Thoroughly modern 'movicals' Friday November 04 2005, Arts Hub
- A Tube Map of Musical Theatre HIstory
- A Guide to musical theatre detailing synopsis, cast lists, song lists and rights holder, etc
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