NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Broadway musicals

Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. It is closely related to opera, frequently being distinguished by the use of popular music of various forms (and thus usually different instrumentation), the use of unaccompanied dialogue (though some musicals are entirely accompanied, such as Les Misérables, and some operas have spoken dialogue, such as Carmen), and the avoidance of many operatic conventions. Theatre is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle â€” indeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. ... Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Music Look up Music in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikisource, as part of the 1911 Encyclopedia Wikiproject, has original text related to this article: Music Wikicities has a wiki about Music: Music Music City : a collaborative music database All Music Guide... A song is a relatively short musical composition for the human voice (possibly accompanied by other musical instruments), which features words (lyrics). ... A contemporary dancer rehearsing in a dance studio Dance (from Old French dance, further history unknown) generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression (see also body language) or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... The term dialogue (or dialog) expresses basically reciprocal conversation between two or more persons. ... The foyer of Charles Garniers OpÃ©ra, Paris, opened 1875 Opera is an art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and mostly distributed commercially. ... Les MisÃ©rables programme from Palace Theatre purchased for Â£3 in July 2003. ... Carmen is a French opera by Georges Bizet. ...

The musical components of a musical are generally referred to as the score, with sung lines considered the lyrics and the spoken lines the book, or occasionally the libretto (a term also frequently applied to text of an opera, it incorporates the words of both dialogue and lyric). Score can mean one of several things: A score is a group of twenty things; four score means eighty. ... Lyrics are the written words in a song. ... A libretto is the body of words used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, oratorio, or musical. ... The foyer of Charles Garniers OpÃ©ra, Paris, opened 1875 Opera is an art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. ...

Many familiar musical theater works have been the basis for successful musical films, or were adapted for television presentations. While some popular television programs have set one single episode in the style of 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", or Oz's "Variety"), or have suddenly begun singing and dancing in a musical-like style during an episode (several episodes of The Simpsons), the television series Cop Rock, which extensively used the musical format, was not a success. A musical film belongs to a film genre that features songs, sung by the actors, interwoven into the narrative. ... Time magazine, June 29, 1998. ... Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a U.S. television series loosely based on the 1992 movie of the same name. ... The Simpsons is the longest-running animated television series in American TV history, with 17 seasons and 356 episodes since it debuted on December 17, 1989 on FOX, and is a spinoff of The Tracey Ullman Show. ... Cop Rock was a very short-lived Steven Bochco television series on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1990. ...

While musical theater works are performed around the world, they are perhaps most frequently produced on Broadway in New York and in the West End in London. Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, and is at the center of international finance, politics, music, and culture. ... West End is the name of some places in the world, including: The West End of London, England West End Theatre, is where many of Londons major theatres are located and premier cinema screenings take place. ... St. ...

A musical can be anywhere from a few minutes to several hours; however, most musicals are two hours to two hours and forty-five minutes; musicals today are typically presented with one intermission ten to fifteen minutes in length. A musical will usually have around twenty to thirty songs of varying lengths (including reprises and underscoring) interspersed with book (dialogue) scenes. Some musicals, however, are "sung-through" and do not have any spoken dialogue. This can blur the line between musical theatre and opera. In music a reprise is the repetition or return of the opening material later in a composition such as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though it originally (18th century) was simply any repeated section, such as is indicated by beginning and ending repeat signs. ...

A musical's moments of greatest dramatic intensity are often performed in song. Proverbially, "when the emotion becomes too strong for speech, you sing; when it becomes too strong for song, you dance." A song must be crafted to suit the character (or characters) and their situation within the story. A show usually 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 an excellent way to express emotion. However, on average, 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 may have an hour and a half or more of music in it.

Musical collaboration

Musical theater/theatre is a collaborative craft with a long history of traditional forms and structures, although new writing in musicals is constantly stretching and testing the enormous flexibility of the artform, taking it to previously unexplored places. Musicals are most commonly recognised to be a combination of sung lyric and spoken dialogue.

The authors

There are usually several authors of a musical. Very few musicals are written entirely by one person. A collaborative partnership of composer (music), lyricist (lyrics) and bookwriter (script) are generally involved, although one person may serve as composer/lyricist, lyricist/bookwriter (also called librettist) or bookwriter/composer. There can be multiple bookwriters, lyricists and/or composers on any one musical. A composer is a person who writes music. ... A lyricist is an author of song lyrics. ... Lyrics are the written words in a song. ... Bookwriter is a term used to describe the playwright, or person who writes the spoken dialogue, of a musical. ... Libretto can also refer to a sub-notebook PC manufactured by Toshiba. ...

There is no easy answer to the most frequently-asked question about musical theatre: "Which comes first, the music or the lyric?" Each collaboration works in a different way, and tends to be unique to the specific collaborators involved. Sometimes a melody inspires a lyric. Sometimes a lyric inspires a melody. However, the strongest inspiration for all the authors is the driving theme of the main story of the show.

The initial idea for a new musical can come from the authors themselves, or they might be commissioned by a producer to write a musical on a specific subject. Musical theatre has a long tradition of adapting plays, books and other source material into this new genre.

Getting a musical produced

Authors can spend years developing a single musical, and then attempting to get their work produced. During the development of a new musical, readings or workshops may be used for revision of the work. A new musical will usually undergo several extensive rewrites before it is deemed ready for production, both by the authors and any potential producers.

Large-scale musicals today are typically backed by a number of producers; in the past musicals were usually controlled by a sole producer but with costs ballooning to more than $10 million for many new Broadway musicals, several individuals or corporations may contribute money to a single project. A theatrical producer is a type of producer who oversees the staging of theatre productions. ...

The production process

After the authors have found producers for their musical, the producer will typically hire a director; the director, producers, and authors will then hire the rest of the creative team, a group consisting of choreographer, music director/conductor, set designer, lighting designer, costume designer, and sound designer. A theatre director is a principal in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a play by unifying various endeavors and aspects of production. ... Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... The title of music director is used by many orchestras to designate the primary conductor of the orchestra. ... A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... Scenic design also known as Stage design is the creation of theatrical scenery. ... This article is about lighting design in theater. ... Costume designer is a cinema term which refers to a person whose responsibilty is to design costumes for a movie or stage production. ... This is an article about the film crew member known as a sound designer. ...

Once the main creative team has been assembled, the show will typically hold auditions for actors. In some cases a show may start with a few stars planned for certain roles. In the USA and Britain, rules between the group of producers and the actors' union, Actors' Equity Association in the USA, Equity in Britain, require that there be open calls for every show. This means that non-union performers can also audition. The producers must also hire crew members and orchestra members for the show. Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... The Actors Equity Association (commonly simply Equity) is the trade union of American theatrical performers and stage managers. ... This article is about concept of equity in Anglo-American jurisprudence. ...

Once the cast has been assembled, rehearsals start, and in many cases a show will open in an out-of-town tryout. This gives producers and writers a chance to get the show in front of an audience and make changes, while keeping it away from the prying eyes of the press. In recent years, however, it has become more common for a show to forego the out-of-town tryout and replace it with a month or more of previews in a major city. If the show does open out-of-town, there will typically be a period of time, sometimes only a few months or as much as a year, before the show goes to a major city. If a show does poorly in its tryout, plans for a major city run may be scrapped. If a show goes to a major city, it may play previews for up to a month. During previews, the press is rarely allowed to review the show; they must wait until the official opening night. In some cases, previews may have discounted ticket prices. During previews, the final changes are made to the show.

When a show opens, reviews by the critics are very important. If a show gets positive reviews, it might become popular; however, a show that receives negative reviews may be hurt. When a show gets negative reviews, producers may have to work to minimize the damage, using advertising or relying on good word of mouth from audiences. Advertising and word of mouth have sometimes been able to overcome mixed or negative reviews.

A successful show can run for years, sometimes more than a decade. The longest running show in Broadway history is Cats, which ran for almost 18 years, totalling 7,485 performances. A successful show will probably spawn national tours and productions in other major cities around the world. When a musical runs for a lengthy time, the amount of money it can gross can be astronomical. The Phantom of the Opera, for example, has grossed more than $500 million dollars from its Broadway run alone and more than US$3.2 billion worldwide. CATS The Musical is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber (ALW) in 1981 based on Old Possums Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. ... The title character as depicted by Lon Chaney, Sr. ...

An unsuccessful show may close within months, weeks, or even days of opening. Producers and investors (also known as 'angels' within the business) risk losing millions on a flop.

History

In the beginning

The first theater piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical is generally considered to be The Black Crook - with book by Charles M. Barras and musical adaptations by Giuseppe Operti - which premiered at Niblo's Gardens in New York on September 12, 1866. The production was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length kept theatergoers mesmerized enough to run for 474 performances. September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

Operetta

Probably the best-known composers of operetta were W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, whose prolific output - including The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, and Princess Ida - remains popular to this day, and is often revived by London's D'Oyly Carte company, which is dedicated to presenting their work at the Savoy Theatre. Much of their legacy served as an inspiration for the likes of Victor Herbert (Babes in Toyland, 1903), Franz Lehár (The Merry Widow, 1907), and Oskar Straus (The Chocolate Soldier, 1910). To this day, there are many theatre companies that specalise exclusively in Gilbert and Sullivan. Operetta (literally, little opera) is a performance art-form similar to opera, though it generally deals with less serious topics. ... Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (November 18, 1836 â€“ May 29, 1911) was a British dramatist and librettist best known for his operatic collaborations with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. ... Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (May 13, 1842â€“November 22, 1900) was a British composer best known for his operatic collaborations with librettist William S. Gilbert. ... The Mikado, or The Town of Titipu, is a comic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta in two acts. ... The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty, is a Gilbert and Sullivan comic operetta in two acts. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Princess Ida Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Princess (Tennyson) Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant, is the eighth operetta written by Gilbert and Sullivan. ... Richard DOyly Carte (May 3, 1844 – April 3, 1901) was a London theatrical impresario during the latter half of the nineteenth century. ... Savoy Theatre London, December 2003 The Savoy Theatre, which opened on 10 October 1881, was built by Richard DOyly Carte (1844 - 1901) on the site of the old Savoy Palace in London as a showcase for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, which became known as the Savoy Operas... Victor Herbert (February 1, 1859 - May 26, 1924) was a popular composer of light opera. ... See: Babes in Toyland (band) Babes in Toyland (operetta) by Victor Herbert Babes in Toyland (1934 movie) with Laurel and Hardy Babes in Toyland (1961 movie) with Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands Babes in Toyland (1986 movie) with Drew Barrymore and Keanu Reeves Babes in Toyland (1997 movie) - an animated... 1903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasnt had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. ... Franz LehÃ¡r (30 April 1870 - 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer, mainly known for his operettas. ... The Merry Widow is a musical comedy or operetta of 1905, by the Austro-Hungarian composer, Franz Lehár. ... 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Chocolate Soldier is an operetta by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaws 1894 Arms and the Man. ... 1910 in topic: Arts Architecture- Art- Film- Literature- Music- Television Science and technology Aviation- Rail transport- Science Other topics Australia- Canada- Ireland- South Africa- Sport Births- Deaths Lists of leaders: State leaders - Religious leaders 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Musical comedy

On the London stage musical comedies developed out of operetta from the 1890s onward. Edward German, Leslie Stewart and Lionel Monckton were among the principal composers. Sir Edward German (17 February 1862 - 11 November 1936) was a musician and composer. ... Lionel Monckton (December 18, 1861 - September 15, 1924) was a British writer and composer of musical theatre. ...

The Roaring Twenties

The musical developed from opera and operetta, but early musicals in the Roaring Twenties ignored plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses, big dance routines, and popular songs (throughout the first half of the twentieth century, popular music was dominated by theater writers). Many shows were revues with little plot. Typical of the times were lighthearted productions like Lady Be Good, Sunny, Tip Toes, No, No, Nanette, Oh, Kay, and Funny Face. Their books may have been forgettable, but they produced enduring standards from George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Vincent Youmans, and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, among others. The Roaring Twenties refers to the North American historical period of the 1920s, which has been described as one of the most colorful decades in American history. ... Lady Be Good is a 1924 song by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, as well as the title of the Broadway show which the song was featured in. ... Sunny can refer to several things: Sunlight Sunny, Bobby Hebbs song Nissan Sunny Sunny Co. ... No, No, Nanette - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Funny Face is an American musical film released in 1957, based on the 1927 broadway version by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. ... George Gershwin photograph by Edward Steichen in 1927. ... Cole Porter (June 9, 1891 â€“ October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. ... Vincent Youmans ( September 27, 1898 - April 5, 1946) was an American popular composer and Broadway producer. ... (For work done with Oscar Hammerstein II, see Rodgers and Hammerstein) Richard Rodgers (June 18, 1902 - December 30, 1979) was one of the great composers of musical theater, best known for his song writing partnerships with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. He received countless awards including Pulitzers, Tonys, Oscars... Lorenz Hart (May 2, 1895 - November 22, 1943) was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. ...

The first production to most resemble the musical as we know it today - a complete integration of book and score - was Show Boat, which premiered on December 27, 1927 at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York. Up to this point, Florenz Ziegfeld had been known for his spectacular song-and-dance revues featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there was no common theme tying the various numbers together. 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. Despite some of its startling themes - miscegenation among them - the original production ran a total of 572 performances. Sigmund Romberg wrote extremely popular shows, The Student Prince and The Desert Song. Show Boat is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II (with the notable exception of Bill, the lyrics of which were written by P. G. Wodehouse). ... December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1928 Time cover featuring Ziegfeld Florenz Ziegfeld (March 21, 1869–July 22, 1932) was a Broadway impresario who achieved fame by perfecting the United States revue. ... Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885-April 16, 1968), author Edna Ferber was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan on August 15, 1885. ... (For work done with Richard Rodgers, see Rodgers and Hammerstein) Oscar Hammerstein II ( July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American writer and producer of musical comedies for almost forty years. ... Called English literatures performing flea, P. G. Wodehouse, pictured in 1904, became famous for his complex plots, ingenious wordplay, and prolific output. ... Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American popular composer. ... Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 - November 9, 1951) was a composer best known for his operettas. ... The Student Prince is an operetta written by Sigmund Romberg (music) and Dorothy Donnelly (books and lyrics). ... The Desert Song was a notable 1926 operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach, respectively. ...

The thirties

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. The Band Wagon (1931), with a score by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, starred dancing partners Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. While it was primarily a revue, it served as the basis for two subsequent film versions that were "book" musicals in the truest sense. Porter's Anything Goes (1934) affirmed Ethel Merman's position as the First Lady of musical theater - a title she maintained for many years. Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1935) was closer to opera than it was to the typical musical, but in style and scope it foreshadowed such contemporary productions as Evita and Les Misérables. Of Thee I Sing is a musical with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, to a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. ... 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... George (left) and Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershowitz) (December 6, 1896 - August 17, 1983) American lyricist, collaborator with, and brother of George Gershwin He is interred in the Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-04-13, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... The Band Wagon is a 1953 musical comedy film which tells the story of an aging musical star who wants to star in a Broadway play that will restart his career. ... Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 - September 3, 1984) was an American composer of popular music. ... Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 - July 30, 1983) was an American lyric writer and librettist. ... Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 â€“ June 22, 1987), born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American film and Broadway ballroom dancer and actor. ... Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ethel Merman (January 16, 1908 - February 15, 1984) was a star of stage and film musicals, well known for her strident voice and comic acting. ... The cast of Porgy and Bess during the Boston try-out prior to the Broadway opening. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Madonna as Evita in the 1996 movie adaptation of the musical Evita is a musical/rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the life of Eva PerÃ³n. ... Les MisÃ©rables programme from Palace Theatre purchased for Â£3 in July 2003. ...

In the United Kingdom Ivor Novello and Noel Coward, produced popular musical plays that stuck closer to the tradition of operetta, although Noel Coward also wrote racier review shows. Noel Gay was responsible for shows based on the popular music of the day, such as Me and My Girl. Ivor Novello David Ivor Davies (January 15, 1893 â€“ March 6, 1951), better known as Ivor Novello, was one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century. ... NoÃ«l Coward Sir Noel Peirce Coward (spelling his forename NoÃ«l with the diaeresis was an affectation of later life, and Peirce is the correct spelling) (December 16, 1899 - March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ... Noel Gay born Reginald Armitage (July 15, 1898 - March 3, 1954) was one of the most successful British composers of popular music of the 1930s and 1940s. ... Me and My Girl is a popular British stage musical, with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. ...

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. Kurt Weill's Knickerbocker Holiday brought to the musical stage New York City's early history, using as its source writings by Washington Irving. Clearly, musical theater was evolving into something beyond feathers and beads worn by statuesque showgirls. The 1937 musical The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein was originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964) was an American composer. ... Orson Welles, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 â€“ October 10, 1985) is generally considered one of Hollywoods greatest directors, as well as a fine actor, broadcaster and screenwriter. ... Kurt Weill, a photo taken in Salzburg, Austria, 1934 Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 â€“ April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York, was a German composer active from the 1920s until his death. ... Knickerbocker Holiday was a Broadway musical written by Kurt Weill (music) and Maxwell Anderson (book and lyrics); it was directed by Joshua Logan. ... Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 â€“ November 28, 1859) was an American author of the early 19th century. ...

The Golden Age (1940s/1950s/1960s)

The Golden Age of the Broadway musical is generally considered to have begun with Oklahoma! (1943) and to have ended with Hair (1968). Oklahoma! (1943) was the first musical play written by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II, working together. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... The original poster for the show. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

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. 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 Morning. It was the first "blockbuster" Broadway show, running a total of 2,212 performances, and remains one of the most frequently produced of the team's projects. The two created an extraordinary collection of some of musical theater's best loved and most enduring classics, including Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), and The Sound of Music (1959). Rodgers and Hammersteins 1945 stage musical Carousel adapted Ferenc Molnars play Liliom to 1870s New England. ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... South Pacific is a musical play with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II that opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949, and ran for more than five years. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, with a script based on Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Julie Andrews as Maria, seeks guidance from the Mother Abbess, played by Peggy Wood, in this scene from the 1965 film version. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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, 725 performances); Cole Porter found inspiration in William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew for Kiss Me, Kate (1948, 1,077 performances); Damon Runyan'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). Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist. ... Annie Oakley circa 1899. ... Annie Get Your Gun is a stage musical loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Burton Lane (February 2, 1912, New York City - January 5, 1997, New York City) was a composer and lyricist. ... E. Y. Yip Harburg (April 8, 1896 - March 5, 1981) was a lyricist who worked with many well-known composers. ... Petula Clark in the 1968 Warner Brothers film version Finians Rainbow, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, opened on Broadway in 1947, with Ella Logan and David Wayne in the lead roles. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... Kiss Me, Kate is a stage musical by Samuel and Bella Spewack (book) and Cole Porter (music and lyrics) that ran for 1,077 performances and was first performed in New York on December 30, 1948. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Damon Runyon Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 - December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. ... Frank Loesser (June 29, 1910, New York City - July 26, 1969, New York City) was a composer and lyricist. ... Abe Burrows (1910- 1985) noted author and director for the stage, particularly Broadway. ... Guys And Dolls is a successful 1950 musical. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Gold rush handbill The California Gold Rush was a period in American history marked by mass hysteria concerning a gold discovery in Northern California. ... Alan Jay Lerner (born August 31, 1918 in New York City, United States ? died there on June 14, 1986) was a Broadway lyricist and librettist. ... Frederic Loewe, an Austrian-American composer (June 10, 1901 - February 14, 1988) worked with lyricist Alan J. Lerner in musical theater. ... Paint Your Wagon is a 1951 Broadway musical comedy, with book and lyrics by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

The fairly brief run - 289 performances - of that show didn't discourage them from collaborating again, this time on an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion - My Fair Lady (1956), with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, which at 2,717 performances held the long-run record for many years. This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... George Bernard Shaw (July 26, 1856 â€“ November 2, 1950) was an Irish playwright and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. ... Pygmalion is a play written by George Bernard Shaw written in 1913. ... The original poster for the Broadway production of the show designed by Al Hirschfeld My Fair Lady is a 1956 musical theater production with lyrics and book by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederic Loewe, adapted from George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey Rex Harrison (March 5, 1908â€“June 2, 1990) was a British theatre and film actor. ... Julie Andrews as Maria, with the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music. ...

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 warring gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. The book was adapted by Arthur Laurents, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by newcomer Stephen Sondheim. 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. Apparently Tony Award voters were of a similar mind, since they favored the latter over the former. 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. West Side Story is a musical written by Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), and was originally produced, choreographed, and directed by Jerome Robbins. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Arthur Laurents (born July 14, 1918) is an American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, librettist and stage director. ... Bernstein with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, at 1974 Charles Ives Centenary Concert in Danbury, Connecticut. ... Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. ... Robert Meredith Willson {18 May 1902 - 15 June 1984) was an American composer and playwright, best known as the writer of The Music Man. ... The Music Man is a musical play written by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey, which premiered on Broadway in 1957 famously starring Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill (in his musical debut) and revived in 1976 with Ian Richardson. ... Manhattan is an island bordering the lower Hudson River. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater. ...

Laurents and Sondheim teamed 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. The original production ran for 702 performances, but proved to be a bigger hit in its three subsequent revivals, with Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, and Bernadette Peters tackling the role made famous by Ethel Merman. Gypsy: A Musical Fable is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jule Styne (December 31, 1905 - September 20, 1994) was a British born United States songwriter. ... The Screaming Mimi (1958) Gypsy Rose Lee (February 9, 1911 - April 26, 1970) was an American actress and burlesque entertainer. ... Angela Lansbury CBE (born October 16, 1925) is a British-American actress and the granddaughter of politician George Lansbury. ... Ellen Tyne Daly (born February 21, 1946 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American Tony and Emmy Award winning actress. ... Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters is the stage name of Bernadette Lazarra (born February 28, 1948 in Ozone Park, Queens, New York), an actress and singer. ...

Stephen Sondheim would be one of the most important composer/lyricists from 1960 on. His first project for which he 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. Sondheim was not one to concentrate on the romantic plots typical of productions of the time; his work tended to be darker, exploring the grittier sides of life both present and past. Some of his earlier works are Anyone Can Whistle (1964, which - at a mere nine performances, despite having star power in Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury - is a legendary flop), Company (1970), Follies (1971), and A Little Night Music (1973), which featured the only standard ever to emerge from the extensive Sondheim catalogue, Send in the Clowns. He has found inspiration in the most unlikeliest of sources - the opening of Japan to Western trade for Pacific Overtures, a legendary murderous barber - Sweeney Todd - seeking revenge in the Industrial Age of London, the paintings of Georges Seurat for Sunday in the Park with George, and a collection of individuals intent on eliminating the American President in Assassins. His works are generally known for their lyrical sophistication and musical complexity, which many critics argue has led to his works receiving very little popularity among the general public. Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 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 Gelbart. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Titus Maccius Plautus was a comic playwright of the Roman Republic. ... Burt Shevelove (1915 - 8 April 1981) was an American musical theater writer, lyricist, librettist, and director. ... Larry Gelbart (b. ... Zero Mostel in Ulysses in Nighttown, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1958 Zero Mostel (February 25, 1915 â€“ September 8, 1977) was a Tony Award-winning stage actor. ... Anyone Can Whistle is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Arthur Laurents. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Lee Remick Lee Remick (December 14, 1935 - July 2, 1991), was an American actress admired for her versality and her great beauty. ... Angela Lansbury CBE (born October 16, 1925) is a British-American actress and the granddaughter of politician George Lansbury. ... Company is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth. ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler. ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... Pacific Overtures was an ambitious 1976 musical by Stephen Sondheim, with a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler, set in 1853 Japan. ... Sweeney Todd is a fictional barber and serial killer appearing as a character in various English-language works starting in the mid-19th century. ... Industrialisation (or industrialization) or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state . ... Le Chahut was painted by Seurat from 1889 to 1890. ... Sunday in the Park with George is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine. ... The President of the United States is the head of state of the United States. ... Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman and was based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. ...

Jerry Herman, too, has played a significant role in American musical theater, 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). 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). Writing both words and music, many of Herman's showtunes have become popular standards, including "Hello, Dolly!", "If He Walked Into My Life", "We Need a Little Christmas", "I Am What I Am", "Mame", "Shalom", "The Best of Times", "Before the Parade Passes By", "Put On Your Sunday Clothes", "It Only Takes a Moment", "It's Today!", "Open a New Window", "Bosom Buddies", "I Won't Send Roses", and "Time Heals Everything", recorded by such luminaries as Louis Armstrong, Eydie Gorme, Barbra Streisand, Petula Clark and Bernadette Peters. Herman's songbook has been the subject of two popular musical revues, Jerry's Girls (Broadway, 1985), and Showtune (off-Broadway, 2003). Jerry Herman is to traditional musical comedy what Stephen Sondheim is to the avant-garde. Jerry Herman (born Gerald Herman on July 10, 1933 in New York City) is an American composer/lyricist of the Broadway musical theater. ... Milk And Honey is a posthumous album by John Lennon first released in 1984. ... Hello, Dolly! is a Broadway musical with a book by Michael Stewart and a score by Jerry Herman. ... Mame is a Broadway musical. ... La Cage aux Folles is both a 1978 French film and a 1983 Broadway musical. ... Dear World is a Broadway musical, set in Paris, produced in 1969, with book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. ... Mack & Mabel is a Broadway musical play. ... Mack & Mabel is a Broadway musical play. ... Hello, Dolly! is a popular song, first introduced to the public in the play of the same name in 1964. ... Bosom Buddies was an American sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari. ... Louis Armstrongs stage personality matched his flashy trumpet as captured in this photo by William P. Gottlieb. ... Eydie Gorme (real name Edith Gormezano) (born August 16, 1931 in The Bronx, New York City, United States), is an American singer, and wife of Steve Lawrence. ... Barbra Streisand - The Movie Albumcover. ... Petula Clark on the cover of her latest DVD/CD release Petula Sally Olwen Clark (born 15 November 1932), CBE, is a British singer, actress, and composer best known for her upbeat popular international hits of the 1960s. ... Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters is the stage name of Bernadette Lazarra (born February 28, 1948 in Ozone Park, Queens, New York), an actress and singer. ... Jerrys Girls is a Broadway musical revue based on the songs of composer Jerry Herman. ... Showtunes are songs written for musical theater productions, such as: The Phantom of the Opera Jesus Christ Superstar Oklahoma! Guys and Dolls Cabaret See also Musical theater Categories: Stub ...

The musical started to diverge from the relatively narrow confines of the 1950s. Rock music would be used in several Broadway musicals, perhaps the most significant of which was Hair, which featured not only rock music but also nudity and controversial opinions about the Vietnam War. Other important rock musicals of the 1960s and 1970s included Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, and Two Gentlemen of Verona. The musical also went in other directions. Shows like Raisin, Dreamgirls, Purlie, and The Wiz brought a significant African-American influence to Broadway. More and more different musical genres were turned into musicals either on or off-Broadway. Automotive companies and other types of corporations hired Broadway talent to write corporate musicals, private shows which were only seen by their employees. Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... The original poster for the show. ... Nudity or nakedness is the state of wearing no clothing. ... Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. ... Godspell is a musical based on the Gospel of Saint Matthew with music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by John Michael Tebelak. ... The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by Shakespeare from early in his career. ... Raisin was a musical theatre adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun, and was first performed on Broadway on October 18, 1973. ... Dreamgirls is an award-winning Broadway musical, which opened on December 20, 1981 at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway and ran for 1522 performances. ... Purlie is a Broadway musical with music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell and book by Ossie Davis, Peter Udell and Philip Rose. ... The Wiz is both a 1975 Broadway musical and a 1978 film urbanized adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, featuring an all-African-American/Latino cast. ... Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ... An industrial musical is a musical performed for the employees of a business, intended to create a feeling of being part of a team, and/or to educate and motivate the management and salespeople to improve sales and profit. ...

More recent eras

1976 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. From hundreds of hours of tapes, James Kirkwood 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. With music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, A Chorus Line first opened at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in lower Manhattan. 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 Theater 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. 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Chorus Line is a Broadway musical that opened at the Shubert Theatre July 25, 1975 and closed there April 28, 1990 after 6,137 performances. ... Michael Bennett (April 8, 1943 - July 2, 1987) was an American musical theater director, choreographer, and dancer. ... James Kirkwood (August 22, 1930 - April 22, 1989) was an American playwright and author. ... Marvin Hamlisch (born June 2, 1944) is one of the most successful composers of the twentieth century. ... Edward Kleban (circa 1939-1987) was an American musical theatre composer and lyricist, best known for writing the lyrics to A Chorus Line, which featured music by Marvin Hamlisch. ... Joseph Papp (1921 - 1991) was an American theatre producer and director. ... The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization. ... Manhattan is an island bordering the lower Hudson River. ... Shubert Theatre, Boston The Shubert Organization was founded by the Shubert brothers, Sam Shubert, Lee Shubert, and Jacob J. Shubert of Syracuse, New York in the late 19th century in upstate New York, entering into New York City productions in 1900. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-04-13, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

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. Pippin, by Stephen Schwartz, was set in the days of Charlemagne. Federico Fellini's autobiographical film 8½ became Maury Yeston's Nine. But old-fashioned values were embraced, as well, in such hits as Annie, 42nd Street, My One and Only, and popular revivals of No, No, Nanette and Irene. John Kander (born March 18, 1927) is the composer of a series of musical theatre successes as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb. ... Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 - September 11, 2004) was a lyricist for a series of musical theatre successes as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Cabaret is a 1966 Broadway musical, based on John Van Drutens play I Am a Camera, based in its turn on stories by Christopher Isherwood, with book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, produced and directed by Hal Prince and starring Bert Convy... Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol. ... Chicago is a musical, first performed in 1975, based on the play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins. ... Vaudeville was a style of multi-act theater which flourished in North America from the 1880s through the 1920s. ... Pippin is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Roger O. Hirson. ... This article is about the American lyricist and composer. ... Charlemagne is also the name of a column in The Economist on European affairs Charlemagne (c. ... Federico Fellini (January 20, 1920 â€“ October 31, 1993) was a famous Italian film-maker and director. ... 8Â½ is a 1963 film by Italian director Federico Fellini. ... Maury Yeston is a composer and lyricist educated at Yale and Clare College, Cambridge. ... Annie is a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie. ... 42nd Street is a hugely successful Broadway stage musical, loosely based on the movie of the same name. ... Irene is a musical/comedy play that first opened on Broadway at the Vanderbilt Theatre November 18, 1919, and ran for 670 performances. ...

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, a helicopter landing on stage - as they were by anything else in the production. Many were based on novels or other works of literature. The most important writers of mega-musicals include the French team of Claude-Michel Schoenberg and Alain Boublil, responsible for Les Misérables and Miss Saigon (inspired by Madame Butterfly); and the British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote Evita, based on the life of Argentina's Eva Perón, Cats, derived from the poems of T. S. Eliot, The Phantom of the Opera, and Sunset Boulevard (from the classic film of the same name). These decades also saw the influence of large corporations that produced musicals. The most important has been Disney, which adapted some of their animated movie musicals - such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King (which is said to have been responsible for the revitalization of 42nd Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, previously a strip of tourist trap souvenir shops, arcades, peep shows, and porn theaters) for the stage - and also created original stage productions like Aida with music by Elton John. Alain Boublil is a librettist, best known for his collaborations with the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg. ... Les MisÃ©rables programme from Palace Theatre purchased for Â£3 in July 2003. ... Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel SchÃ¶nberg and Alain Boublil. ... Madama Butterfly (or sometimes Madame Butterfly in English) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set in Japan. ... Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born March 22, 1948) is a highly successful British composer of musical theatre. ... Madonna as Evita in the 1996 movie adaptation of the musical Evita is a musical/rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the life of Eva PerÃ³n. ... Evitas image appeared on a wide variety of products, including stamps, coins, postcards and calendars. ... CATS The Musical is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber (ALW) in 1981 based on Old Possums Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. ... T.S. Eliot (by E.O. Hoppe, 1919) Thomas Stearns Eliot (September 26, 1888 â€“ January 4, 1965) was an Anglo-American poet, dramatist, and critic. ... Original poster for The Phantom of the Opera. ... Sunset Boulevard is a musical play based on the movie of the same title. ... The Walt Disney Company (most commonly known as Disney) (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ... Beauty and the Beast is a traditional folktale (type 425C -- search for a lost husband -- in the Aarne-Thompson classification). ... The Lion King is the 32nd film in the Disney animated feature canon, and it also was the highest-grossing traditionally animated feature film ever released in the United States. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born March 25, 1947) is a highly successful British pop singer, pianist, and songwriter. ...

The growing scale (and cost) of musicals led to some concern that musicals were eschewing substance in favor of style. The 1990s and 2000s have seen many writers create smaller musicals (Falsettoland, Passion); the topics vary widely and the music ranges from Sondheimesque to pop, but they generally are produced off-Broadway and feature much smaller casts (and thus much lower costs). This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... Les MisÃ©rables is an 1862 novel by the famous French novelist Victor Hugo, set in the Parisian underworld. ... Passion is a musical play, first staged on Broadway in 1994, adapted from Ettore Scolas film Passione dAmore (which was, in its turn, based on Igino Tarchettis novel Fosca). ...

There also had been the concern that the musical had lost touch with the tastes of the general public in America and that the musical was increasingly doomed to be something viewed by a smaller and smaller audience. One of the most important writers who attempted to increase the popularity of musicals among a younger audience was Jonathan Larson, whose musical Rent (based on the opera La bohème) featured a cast of twentysomethings and whose score was heavily rock-influenced. The musical would be a smash success, but its composer died of an aortic aneurysm before he could ever see it reach Broadway. Other writers who have attempted to bring a taste of modern rock music to the stage include Jason Robert Brown. Another trend has been to create a plot to fit a collection of songs that have already been hits (a so called "jukebox musical")- thus Mamma Mia! (featuring songs by ABBA), Movin' Out (based on the tunes of Billy Joel), Good Vibrations (the Beach Boys), and All Shook Up (Elvis Presley). Jonathan Larson (February 4, 1960 - January 25, 1996) was a composer from New York City who created musicals including Rent and tick, tick. ... David Nederlander Theatre during the run of Rent. ... La bohÃ¨me (The BohÃ¨mian Girl) is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on La Vie de BohÃ¨me by Henri Murger. ... Jason Robert Brown is a musical theater composer and lyricist. ... The Prince Edward Theatre on Old Compton Street Mamma Mia! on Broadway (Winter Garden Theatre, New York City, February 2003) Mamma Mia!, a musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, is based on the songs of ABBA. It includes such hits as Super Trouper, Dancing Queen, Thank You for the... ABBA (clockwise from top: Benny, BjÃ¶rn, Frida, Agnetha) on the cover of their album The Definitive Collection (2001) ABBA (1970 - 1982) was a Swedish pop music group. ... Movin Out is a hit song written and recorded by Billy Joel. ... Billy Joel was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. ... For the song by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, see Good Vibrations (Marky Mark song). ... The Beach Boys, 1963 (L to R, David Marks, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, Brian Wilson) The Beach Boys are a pop music group formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, whose popularity has lasted into the twenty-first century. ... All Shook Up is one of the many hit songs of Elvis Presley. ... Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 â€“ August 16, 1977), also known as The King of Rock and Roll or The King, was an American singer and actor. ...

Familiarity may breed contempt - but it's also embraced by producers anxious to guarantee they recoup their very considerable investments, if not show a healthy profit. Some are willing to take chances on the new and unusual, such as Avenue Q (which utilizes puppets to tell its very adult-themed story) or Bombay Dreams (about the "Bollywood" musicals churned out by Indian cinema). But the majority prefer to hedge their bets by sticking with the familiar - revivals of family fare like Wonderful Town or Fiddler on the Roof or proven hits like La Cage aux Folles. Today's composers are finding their sources in already proven material - cult films like The Producers or Hairspray; classic literature such as Little Women and Dracula - hoping they'll have a built-in audience as a result. The Broadway Musical Avenue Q won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical (it also won Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Book of a Musical), defeating the much bigger-scale musical of the season, Wicked. ... Bombay Dreams is a musical with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black. ... Logo for the New Broadway Revival Overview Wonderful Town is a musical written by Leonard Bernstein (music), and Betty Comden and Adolph Green (lyrics), and Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov (book). ... Fiddler on the Roof Poster 1964 Fiddler on the Roof is one of the great stage and film musicals. ... The Producers is a 1968 feature length comedy film set in New York City in which two con-men attempt to cheat theatre angels (investors) out of their investment money. ... This article is about Hairspray, the musical that started performances on Broadway in 2002. ... Little Women is a novel by Louisa May Alcott published on September 30, 1868, concerning the lives and loves of four sisters (from oldest to youngest: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy) growing up during the American Civil War. ... Bela Lugosi as Dracula United States stamp Dracula is a fictional character, inarguably the most famous vampire in literature. ...

At the present time (late 2004), the musical is being pulled in a number of different directions. Gone are the days when a sole producer - a David Merrick or a Cameron Mackintosh - backs a production. 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. Typically, off-Broadway and regional theaters tend to produce smaller and therefore less expensive musicals, and in recent times more and more development of new musicals has taken place outside of New York. Wicked, for example, first opened in San Francisco, and its creative team relied on the mostly mediocre reviews to assist them in retooling the show before it reached Broadway, where it ultimately became a healthy hit. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... David Merrick (November 27, 1911 - April 25, 2000) was an American producer and director, associated with both musicals and dramas, brilliant successes and embarrassing flops. ... Sir Cameron Mackintosh (born October 17, 1946) is a British theatrical producer. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical comedy. ... Wicked is a musical that premiered on Broadway in October 2003. ... The downtown San Francisco skyline, looking east from the central part of the city. ...

Famous choreographers

George Balanchine - Michael Bennett - Gower Champion - Agnes de Mille - Ron Field - Bob Fosse - Peter Gennaro - Michael Kidd - Jerry Mitchell - Susan Stroman - Tommy Tune - Jerome Robbins - Onna White George Balanchine (January 9 (O.S.) = January 22 (N.S.), 1904–April 30, 1983) was one of the 20th centurys foremost choreographers, and one of the founders of American ballet. ... Michael Bennett (April 8, 1943 - July 2, 1987) was an American musical theater director, choreographer, and dancer. ... Gower Champion (1919 - 1980) was an American director, choreographer, and dancer. ... Agnes de Mille in “3 Virgins and a Devil”, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1941 Agnes George de Mille (September 8, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. ... Ron Field (1934 - 1989) was an American choreographer, director, and dancer. ... Bob Fosse (June 23, 1927 - September 23, 1987) is known as one of musical theaters greatest choreographers and directors. ... Peter Gennaro (1919-2000) was a Tony Award-winning American dancer and choreographer. ... Michael Kidd (b. ... Jerry Mitchell is a three-time Tony nominated choreographer. ... Susan Stroman is a Broadway director, choreographer, and performer. ... Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is a famous actor, dancer, singer, and choreographer. ... Jerome Robbins (October 11, 1918–July 29, 1998) was an American choreographer whose work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater. ... Onna White (March 24, 1922 – April 8, 2005) was a Canadian choreographer and dancer, nominated for eight Tony Awards. ...

Contents

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