A Brief History Of Musical Theater

Though it has its roots in European forms such as opera and operetta, what we know as musical theatre today is a form that developed in America during the 20th century.

The birth of musical theatre can be traced to an 1866 production called The Black Crook, a far-fetched melodrama scheduled to open in New York City. At the same time a French ballet troupe was scheduled to appear but the theatre where the ballet was to take place burned to the ground. The producer of The Black Crook, having little faith in his show, hired the ballet troupe to be part of his production. The dances were performed in between scenes of the play, thus joining a play with music and dance. It was widely successful.

Following this, most of the musicals that were seen came from the vaudeville type show. They were primarily revues with scenes and songs. Little vignettes that were separate entities, featuring very popular songs and usually a large chorus of pretty female dancers. The subject matter was light and frivolous. Popular composers of this time included Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers. The lyrics were generally witty and clever, and they reflected a high order on intelligence. For example,

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This musical struck a chord with young people and introduced a new generation of theatergoers to the genre of musical theatre. While other successful book musicals were written after Fiddler, the popularity of the American musical was waning as other more accessible forms of entertainment began to emerge. It didn’t have a traditional plot line, it was a show based on around an idea instead. It won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, an honor that has not since been awarded to a musical. It was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, who gave it an overall style and point of view that represented the best of the American musical.

A resurgence began in the late 1990s thanks in large part to the 1996 musical Rent. Dealing with the issues of drug addiction, love, homosexuality, homelessness, and AIDS. With a score by Stephen Scwartz and a story telling of the lives of Glinda the Good Witch and Elphba, the Wicked Witch of the West of Wizard of Oz fame. Avenue Q is a contemporary musical using puppets and actors to tell the often seedy story of life on a street in New York called Avenue Q. Another trend involves the musicalizing of popular movies, like Hairspray, The Producers, The Full Monty and The Lion King. in “You’re the Top” Cole Porter compares the singer’s beloved to a wide range of objects, stating that the person is the Colosseum and the Louvre Museum, a Bendel bonnet and a Shakespears sonnet, they rhyming the Tower of Pisa with the smile on the Mona Lisa. It has gone through many changes since its beginnings and continues to evolve with each generation.

Musical Theatre continues to be an American artform. By the early 1990s, new shows were on the wane and the musical was in a sorry state. From Oklahoma! on, American musicals could tackle any subject, serious as well as frivolous, and present it as an integrated art form with acting, dancing, and singing all intertwined.

Approximate Word count = 1222
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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