History of Broadway Musicals - Broadway Musical Nut
History of Broadway MusicalsA Combined Overview
There are many different versions or the History of Broadway Musicals and how it all began. I will attempt to combine some of these versions to give a broader picture of how many of these origins culminated into what we now refer to as a Musical Play. The Broadway Musical has gone through many transformations throughout the years and continues to evolve or at least be redefined in the 21st century. If you'd like a great book that has photos of the History of Broadway Musicals I recommend: Historic Photos of Broadway: New York Theater: 1850-1970 (Historic Photos.)
 To really look at the History of Broadway Musicals, we should probably define what is generally considered a “musical”. So, for the sake of this article, we will simply say that a musical is a stage production of a play (a story) that has songs, singing and sometimes dancing, that helps to move the story along. Some musicals may be entirely sung, or may have dialogue in between the musical numbers. We’ll discuss these styles of musicals at another time.
Some recorders of history will claim that Vaudeville was the early precursor to the modern musical. Most Vaudeville productions consisted of several single acts, that did not have a running theme. They could be comedy scenes, dramatic scenes, song and dance numbers, etc. Usually these were all done by separate performers that had their own “act” they had put together, and then were hired by a particular vaudeville theatre or touring group. Depending on the performers popularity or box office draw, would determine where their names were placed on the “billing” of that particular theatre’s marquis or show poster. The Black CrookThe Black Crook is considered to be the first piece of musical theatre that conforms to the modern notion of a "book musical". The book is by Charles M. Barras (1826-1873), an American playwright. The music is mostly adaptations, but some new songs were composed for the play, notably "March of the Amazons" by Giuseppe Operti, and "You Naughty, Naughty Men", with music by
George Bickwell and lyrics by Theodore Kennick.
It opened on September 12, 1866 at the 3,200-seat Niblo's Garden on Broadway, New York City and ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. It then toured for decades and revived on Broadway in 1870-71, 1871-72 and many more times after that. It was originally produced by the theatre's manager, William Wheatley, who also directed. The cast also included Annie Kemp Bowler, Charles Morton, Marie Bonfanti, J.W. Blaisdell, E.B. Holmes, Millie Cavendish and George Boniface. The Black Crook gave America claim to having originated the musical. It is considered a prototype of the modern musical in that its popular songs and dances are interspersed throughout a unifying play and performed by the actors. Vaudeville and George M. CohanSome would claim that the history of Broadway Musicals all began with the songwriter George M. Cohan. Born on the fourth of July in 1878 to an Irish family of traveling stage entertainers – the Four Cohans, “America’s Favorite Family” – Cohan made his way in
Vaudeville. He acted, danced, sang , wrote and composed, directed and produced. At the age of 13 he broke out on his own by landing a lead role in Peck’s Bad Boy in which he was a hit. Cohan’s real fame came with the 1904 hit Little Johnny Jones in which we can hear the classic song Give My Regards to Broadway for which the audience went wild.
Cohan inspired a whole new generation of American stage composers that add to the rich history of Broadway musicals. Among them was Jerome Kern, (Very Good Eddie), Harry Tierney (Irene) and others. Many of these new composers hailed from the “Tin Pan Alley” group of songwriters that incorporated a lot of what was called “ragtime” music that added more toe tapping and finger snapping numbers rather than the sentimental sappy songs from the European operettas of the past. Ragtime music would help usher in the jazz age that was just ahead.
George Balanchine was probably the first person to incorporate balletic choreography into Broadway musicals. This started in 1936, when he choreographed for the Ziegfeld Follies and the show 'On Your Toes.' The newer shows on Broadway show a return to vibrant choreography that has been a part of the history of Broadway musicals. The Golden Age - Rodgers and HammersteinProbably two of the most popular names in the History of Broadway Musicals that most people associate with “the musical” are, Rogers and Hammerstein or Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Together, they created a string of immensely popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the musical. Their partnership began as students at Columbia University, where they met working on the Varsity Show. Five of their shows, Oklahoma!(their first post-collegiate collaboration), Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and the ever popular The Sound of Music, were outstanding successes. In all, among the many accolades their shows (and their film versions) garnered were thirty-four Tony Awards,[1] fifteen Academy Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, and two Grammys. If you'd like to have a great collection of some of their best, I recommend : The Golden Songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein, 1943-1959
 Here I have only touched on the rich history of Broadway Musicals. There are many great books and resources that give more detail and theories as to the origins of the great american musical. The Broadway musical is such loved medium that can become an addiction as well as a love affair to last life time. A great book to start with is: Broadway: The American Musical  and The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television (Oxford Companions) I encourage everyone who loves this artform to continue to learn more about the rich and wonderful History of Broadway Musicals! |
