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534 BCE
Classical (534 BC – AD 900)
Greek and Roman Theater: During this time, the city-state of Athens became a cultural hub. The Greeks valued the use of spoken word for story telling and preformances were either distinctly comedies or tradgies. The Theatre of Dionysus was also created during this time and is considered the world's first theatre. Theater in Rome was was an enjoyable past time and famous playwrights included Plautus (254 BC-Died184 BC) and Lucius Livius Andronicus (284 BC
-205 BC) -
900
Medieval (AD 900 - AD 1500)
Medieval: During this time there was many genres developed such as liturgical drama, mystery plays, morality plays, farces and masques.Contributions to modern theater include vernacular, spectacle, stage direction and the use of farce which is still used today. -
Modern (1900-1960)
Modern:
Modern theater developed new forms of theater such as modernism, Expressionism, and Impressionism.
Influential composers consist ofRodgers and Hammerstein; Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 – 1960) for Oklahoma! (1943)The King and I (1951) and The Sound of Music (1959) and Stephen Sondheim(1930-) for West Side Story (1957) -
Contemporary (1961-present)
Contemporary: Musicals have dominated contemporary theater. Broadway plays such as The Lion King and Hamilton are very popular. Other Influential plays and composers include Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948--) for Cats (1981) and The Phantom of the Opera (1986)
Claude-Michel Schönberg (1944--) and Alain Boublil (1941--) for Les Misérables (1980)