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The Black Crook
The first modern musical. The Black Crook is considered a prototype of the modern musical in that the songs and dances were interspersed throughout the play and the songs and dances were performed by the actors -
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Oscar Hammerstein II
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Fred Astaire
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Richard Rogers
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Agnes de Mille
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Ginger Rogers
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Gene Kelly
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Showboat
Showboat is considered the earliest musical with the modern recipe, meaning that it had an integrated book and score and had dramatic themes told through music, dialogue, setting and movement. All parts of the musical were woven together to tell the story more seamlessly than previous musicals -
The Jazz Singer
The 1st full length feature to use recorded song and dialogue. It was still mostly silent, and when first presented, it was still completely silent in many venues because the theatres didn’t have the sound technology; nevertheless, the film was a smash hit. The success of the film pushed studio executives to see that the talking feature “fad” might not be a fad and that they should serious think about investing more into “talkies.” -
Porgy and Bess
The musical is based on the novel “Porgy” and deals with African-American life in a fictitious neighborhood called Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina in the early 20s. The cast was 100% classically trained black singers and as such, was not widely accepted in the U.S. at first; it was not considered a legitimate work until 1976 -
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
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The "Golden Age" of muscials
The musicals during this period hit the perfect cohesive balance between book, music, storyline, songs and dance. During this period, ALL the elements came together and contributed to furthering the story. -
Oklahoma
The musical Oklahoma ushered in the Golden Age and is considered to be the first musical of the period.
It finished what Showboat started by integrating all the aspects of musical theatre- cohesive plot, songs that furthered the action of the story, and dances that advanced the plot and development of the characters. -
On the Town
On the Town was based on a ballet called Fancy Free, choreographed by Jerome Robbins; it is about 3 sailors on leave for the day and their adventures exploring New York City. The music was by Leonard Bernstein and the choreography was by Jerome Robbins. -
Anchors Aweigh
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South Pacific
South Pacific was based on the book “Tales of the South Pacific” and explores issues of racism through the stories of two couples: an American nurse stationed at a U.S. Naval base during WWII and an expatriate French plantation owner (she struggles to accept his biracial children) and a U.S. Lieutenant and an Asian woman. -
The King and I
This musical was based on the book “Anna and the King of Siam,” and told the story of an English women who was summoned by the King of Siam (modern day Singapore) to be a governess to his children and to also teach him and his household (including all his wives) Western customs. Racial issues are explored through the idea that Anna has many incidents of culture shock and learns how to accept and love those who are different. -
An American in Paris
This film is the story of an American painter living in a starving artists community in Paris and his adventures trying to get his work sold and pursue love. -
Singin' in the Rain
The story of this musical is based in the transition of films from silent to talking. Kelly plays the lead male of the silent films and he falls in love with a woman who is a backup dancer for the movie studio he is a part of. He convinces his love to be a temporary voice over role for his leading lady, who has a horrible voice, in hopes that it would jumpstart her career, but they have bumps in the road along the way. -
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
This musical was choreographed by Michael Kidd and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture in 1954. -
The Sound of Music
The The Sound of Music loosely told the story of the von Trapp family (an actual family), of which Maria becomes a governess (although in real life she was supposed to be a tutor). The story explored issues of the Nazis and their takeover of Austria prior to WWII. -
The Fiddler on the Roof
This musical was based on a series of stories called “Tevye and his Daughters.” The musical focused on a Jewish family in Russia in 1905. The community is steeped in ancient traditions, including arranged marriages and orthodox Judaism. Tevye has to deal with children who are breaking from the traditions. -
Hair
Hair was racially integrated, explored issues like homosexuality and sexuality in general, drugs, the Vietnam War, questioned/made fun of the government and contained a nude seen. -
Rocky Horror Show
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Rocky Horror Picture Show
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Chorus Line
As a musical, A Chorus Line received 12 Tony Award nominations and won 9; it also won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was the 5th longest running Broadway musical. -
Evita
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The Phantom of the Opera
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The Little Mermaid
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Beauty and the Beast
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Aladdin
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Newsies
It flopped at the box office and only became popular as it became a cult classic. Newsies was an attempt to bring back the live film musical. -
The Lion King
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Rent
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Seussical
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Hamilton
This musical is based on a biography written about Alexander Hamilton. Its recently taken the musical theatre world by storm, and is known for two things- racial role reversals where people that aren’t white are playing men from U.S. history that were white, and it’s a rap musical where many of the songs are sung in a rap format vs. the traditional musical theatre or rock musical format.