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The Golden Age of Broadway
The Golden Age of Broadway is known as the greatest period of time on Broadway. This was the very start of musicals on Broadway. Taking simple plays and adding elaborate music and dance. Musicals such as Peter Pan (1954), Gypsy (1959), Guys and Dolls (1950) , and many more were released at this time. The Tony Awards also emerged in this time period. During this time period Broadway was the face of American culture. People such as Mary Martin and Robert Alda were popular names in the time. -
Broadway show Guys and Dolls
In 1950 the Broadway show Guys and Dolls first premiered on Broadway. The show ran for over 1200 performances spanning three years. Guys and Dolls had seven renewals, three Broadway revivals, two London revivals and two West End revivals. The original production playwrights were Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, and the composer and the lyricist was Frank Loesser. It was nominated and won five Tony Awards, one was best musical. The 1992 revival was nominated for eight Tony Awards, winning four. -
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Modernism - Postwar British/American (1950's-1980's)
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Margo Jones died at the age of 45
Margo Jones was born in 1911 and is a Broadway director and producer. She is most famous for her Broadway production of The Glass Menagerie (1945) and Theatre '47, she opened in Dallas Texas. She grew up in Texas with no Broadway theaters around her she knew that she was going to have to make her own. So, she started her own theater in Dallas Texas. She was "nickname the "Texas Tornado" . . . to describe her as a combination of Joan of Arc, Gene Autry, and nitroglycerine." (Lupfer, 2024). -
Robert Preston wins a Tony Award
In 1958 Robert Preston famous for his role in The Music Man won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Robert Preston is most famous for his roles in several Broadway shows such as The Music Man, Ben Franklin in Paris, and Sly Fox. In 1962 he reprised his role as Harold Hill in the Move The Music Man. Spanning 18 shows he has performed on Broadway for over 2000 performances. Across his career he was nominated for ten awards; three of these are Tony Awards. Out of these he won four. -
Mart Crowley's Boys in the Band
In 1968 the play Boys in the Band was first premiered off-Broadway. The playwright for Boys in the Band is Mart Crowley. It ran for a total of 1,001 performances across its time. In 2018 during its fiftieth anniversary it got a Broadway revival that lasted a couple months. The simple plot of Boys in the Band is gay men meeting in New York City for a birthday party. Although the original play was not nominated or awarded any awards; The 2018 revival was nominated and won 2 Tony Awards. -
Peter Shaffer at his height
In May of 1926 Peter Shaffer was born in Liverpool, he lived for ninety years and died in 2016. He started his career in the middle of the 1950's gaining popularity 10 years later. In this time period Peter released Five Finger Exercise (1958) and The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964). But he is "now best known for Equus (1973) and Amadeus (1979)" (Brockett text 2017) Peter has also Won several awards in his expansive career such as: two Tony Awards, one Academy Award, one Golden Globe, etc. -
Donna McKechnie wins best actress
In 1976 Donna McKechnie won the Tony award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Cassie Ferguson in A Chorus Line. She has had an astounding 62 year long career on Broadway. Her first show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying first premiered in 1961. Now she is opening as Madame Morrible for the Broadway revival of Wicked in 2024. She has been nominated for four awards, three of which have been Tony Award. She has won all three of those Tony awards for A Chorus line. -
Peter Shaffer's Amadeus
In 1979 the Broadway show Amadeus (1979) was released by Peter Shaffer. It first premiered on Broadway on 11 December 1980 and ran on Broadway for 1,181 performances. It was nominated for seven Tony Awards and won a total of five of those nominations. This show is about "The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the . . . composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him." (IMDb). This show got a movie adaptation. -
Broadway show Singin' in the Rain
In 1983 the Broadway show Singin' in the Rain opened for its first of many performances. Singin' in the Rain was based on the 1952 movie with the same name. With the playwrights Betty Comden and Adolph Green, composer Nacio Herb Brown, and lyrics by Arthur Freed this show was packed with talent. The simple plot of this Musical is, silent movie stars struggling with the transition to talkies. It was nominated for two Tony Awards, but unfortunately lost both to The Mystery of Edwin Drood. -
Micheal Smuin wins Best Choreographer
Micheal Smuin was born in 1938 and is regarded as one of the best choreographers and directors in past times. Micheal has worked on several Broadway shows such as Anything Goes (1987) and Sophisticated Ladies (1981). He has been Nominated for six awards, five of which are awards for his astounding choreography on stage. In which he won 3 of these awards, these include, Emmy Award for Anythings Goes (1987), Tony Award Anything Goes (1987), and a Drama Desk Award for Anything Goes(1987). -
Maria Björnson Wins two Tony Awards
Maria Björnson was born in 1949 and is an outstanding set and costume designer on Broadway. She is the granddaughter of a great playwright that won a Nobel Prize. Her most famous credit is for Phantom of the Opera (1987) for her designs of the costumes. She is credited with arguably the most famous chandelier in Broadway history. She won two Drama Desk Awards in 1988 for Phantom of the Opera and two Tony Awards in 1988 for Phantom of the Opera. Sadly she died on the 13th of December 2002.