Musical theater pre 1920s

Musical Theater Time Line: Pre-1920s

  • Sally (1920)

    Sally (1920)
    Sally is a musical comedy with music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Clifford Grey, and book by Guy Bolton, with additional lyrics by Buddy De Sylva, Anne Caldwell, and P. G. Wodehouse. The plot hinges on mistaken identity: Sally, a waif, is a dishwasher at the Alley Inn.
  • Shuffle Along (1921)

    Shuffle Along (1921)
    Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed is a musical with a score by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle and a libretto by George C. Wolfe, based on the original book of the 1921 musical revue Shuffle Along, by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles.
  • Little Nellie Kelly (1922)

    Little Nellie Kelly (1922)
    When Nellie gets married to good-looking Jerry Kelly, her grumpy, out-of-work father Michael Noonan disapproves and makes an oath never to talk to his son-in-law.
  • The Cabaret Girl (1922)

    The Cabaret Girl (1922)
    The Cabaret Girl is a musical comedy in three acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by George Grossmith, Jr. and P. G. Wodehouse.
  • Lady, Be Good! (1924)

    Lady, Be Good! (1924)
    Lady, Be Good! is a musical written by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson with music by George and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was first presented on Broadway in 1924; the West End production followed in 1926.
  • Dearest Enemy (1925)

    Dearest Enemy (1925)
    Dearest Enemy is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. This was the first of eight book musicals written by the songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart and writer Herbert Fields and the first of more than two dozen Rodgers and Hart Broadway musicals.
  • No, No Nanette (1925)

    No, No Nanette (1925)
    No, No, Nanette is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play My Lady Friends.
  • The Cocoanuts (1925)

    The Cocoanuts (1925)
    The Cocoanuts is a musical with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a book by George S. Kaufman, with additional text by Morrie Ryskind.
  • Tip-Toes (1925)

    Tip-Toes (1925)
    Tip-Toes is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. It centers on a vaudeville act composed of Tip-Toes, her brother, and her uncle, who try to pass her off as an aristocrat to snare a millionaire husband.
  • Oh, Kay! (1926)

    Oh, Kay!  (1926)
    Oh, Kay! is a musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. It is based on the play La Présidente by Maurice Hennequin and Pierre Veber.
  • The Desert Song (1926)

    The Desert Song  (1926)
    The Desert Song is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, and Frank Mandel. It was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riffs, a group of Moroccan fighters, against French colonial rule.