-
Period: to
Musical Theatre
"Musical Theatre is an art form that combines music, dialogue, movement, and design to tell a story" (Brockett 271). Musicals are still performed all around the United States, even to this day. -
The Black Crook
"The Black Crook," by Charles M. Barras, is known to be the first American musical (Brockett 272). It was originally written as a simple melodrama that told the Faust story, but then a tragic theater fire happened, and ballet was added to it (bartelby.com). It then became the first American musical. It ran for 476 performances and was the first production to run for over a year (Brockett 272). However, "The Black Crook" was just the start of American musicals. -
Die Fledermaus
In Paris, "Die Fledermaus" by Johan Strauss II, was one of the first operettas created that was professionally performed (Brockett 272). "Die Fledermaus" means "The Bat," which is exactly what the operetta is about (opera-arias.com). The operetta consisted mostly of songs, but between the songs would be a brief moment of dialogue (Brockett 272). Although it isn't considered a musical, it still played a huge roll in musical theatre, being an opera and all. -
George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan largely contributed to musical theatre from 1878- 1942 (Brockett 273). He wrote "Give My Regards to Broadway," "I'm a Yankee Doodle Boy," and "You're a Grand Old Flag" (Brockett 273). All of these musicals are comedies, meaning he also contributed to the comedic world. Without George M. Cohan, musicals might not be filled with the humor that makes them so enjoyable for all. He also added a tap-dancing leading man (Brockett 273). -
In Dahomey
"In Dahomey" was the very first all-black musical performed on Broadway (Brockett 274). The book was written by Jesse A. Shipp, but the lyrics were written by Paul Laurence Dunbar (Ganzl). The musical, however, was created by George Walker and Bert Williams (Brockett 274). This led to the creation of many more diverse musicals. -
Show Boat
The musical titled "Show Boat" was made by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein (Brockett 274). It is known as the first modern musical because of believable circumstances, characters, scenes, music, and dances (Brockett 274). It was the very first musical to be based off of a serious novel, and a romantic story, about a Mississippi River showboat (Brockett 275). Many more modern musicals came to be, "Show Boat" being the first and major inspiration. -
George and Ira Gershwin
During the Great Depression, the Gershwins really won the hearts of Americans with their musicals. They wrote "Lady Be Good," "Funny Face," and "Girl Crazy" (Brockett 276). During this time theatre was suffering due to the lack of employment, but these shows still flourished (Brockett 276). -
Kiss Me, Kate
"Kiss Me, Kate" was written by Cole Porter, being his most successful musical, and one of the first Golden Age musicals (Brockett 277). It is about a divorced couple playing roles in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," and their conflicts on and off stage with one another (Brockett 277). It ran for at least 1000 performances, and it won the first Tony Award for Best Musical (Brockett 277). -
Fiddler on the Roof
"Fiddler on the Roof" was created by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. Together, they created the longest running Broadway performance, which is still popular to this day (Brockett 282). It ran for 3,242 performances and was the first musical to run for over 3,000 performances (Brockett 282). It is about a Jewish man trying to raise his family and marry off his daughters while his village is threatened (imdb.com). -
Cats
"Cats" was made by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1981 (Brockett 290). It was very popular and ran on Broadway for twenty-one years, 8,949 performances (Brockett 291). It won seven Tony awards (Brockett 290). For almost eighteen years it was the longest running Broadway musical (Brockett 291). It is about alley cats being chosen and led by the Old Deuteronomy to heaven (Brockett 291). -
Phantom of the Opera
"Phantom of the Opera" is one of the most popular Broadway productions even to this day. It was based on Gaston Leroux's novel (Brockett 291). The plot is about a phantom who lives in the caverns under an opera house. He falls in love with a voice he hears coming from inside the opera house and kidnaps the maiden. No one is able to look upon his face because his face is of death. "As of June 7, 2015, its Broadway run was 11,343 performances" (Brockett 291).