The Golden Age of Musical Theater

1
The Golden Age of Musical Theater

• The 1940s and 1950s

2
Where we are coming from

• The Great Depression is in its end stages
• Irving Berlin has been the most popular composer
  for the past two decades
• Shows of the 1930s were focused on good songs
  and good fun and not focused on creating works
  of art
• Jerome Kerns Showboat (1927) began to foreshadow
  a change to a more integrated musical

3
Trends of the Era

• Continued the integration of story, music, and
  dance that began with Jerome Kerns Showboat
• The first long-running blockbuster shows begin
  to emerge
• Many shows had some sort of relation to either
  WWII or the Cold War
• Importance of Americana
• Development and maturation of many of the most
  well-known composers/lyricist/writing teams
• Emergence of more serious characters and plot
  lines

4
Broadway Starts to Grow Up

• Pal Joey (1940)
• Title character is a sleazy nightclub MC who
  hustles his way to success by manipulating a
  wealthy mistress, only to lose everything when
  she dumps him
• Songs range from innocent in I Could Write a
  Book, to more adult in Bewitched, Bothered, and
  Bewildered
• Lady in the Dark (1940)
• A magazine editor using psychoanalysis to
  explore her emotional insecurities
• Music was restricted to several dream sequences
  in which the main character saw herself at events
  representing her inner turmoil -- a party, a
  trial, and a circus

5
Important People of the Era

• Richard Rodgers- Composer
• Oscar Hammerstein II- Lyricist
• Leonard Bernstein- Composer
• Frank Loesser-Composer and Lyricist
• Alan Jay Lerner- Lyricist
• Frederick Lowe- Composer
• Arthur Laurents- Writer
• Agnes de Mille- Choreographer
• Jerome Robbins- Choreographer
• Betty Comdon- Lyricist
• Adolph Green-Lyricist

6
Important Shows of the Era

• Oklahoma! (1943)
• Carousel (1945)
• South Pacific (1949)
• Guys and Dolls (1950)
• The King and I (1951)
• West Side Story (1957)
• The Music Man (1957)
• The Sound of Music (1959)