| In this article we're going to present a brief | | | | George M. Cohan and Victor Herbert gave |
| history of musical theater from its early | | | | musicals a new sound and style that is still popular |
| beginnings right up to the present day.Musicals | | | | to this very day. This style was then updated by |
| actually started with the ancient Greeks who put | | | | composers such as Jerome Kern, Guy Boulton |
| on plays with songs. While they weren't called | | | | and P.G. Wodehouse.By the 1930s the American |
| musicals at the time, that is indeed what they | | | | musical had reached popularity the like of which it |
| were. The music was crude by today's standards | | | | had never seen before, with composers such as |
| and the stories were not very well done, again by | | | | Rogers and Hart and Cole Porter dominating the |
| today's standards, but this was the early beginning | | | | era.By the 40s and 50s we were treated to |
| of what was to become the modern musical.In | | | | some of the greatest musicals in what was called |
| the 1700s there were many stage | | | | the modern era. These musicals included such |
| entertainments, though again they were not called | | | | classics as Oklahoma, Annie Get Your Gun, Kiss |
| musicals. The first English language work that had | | | | Me Kate, The King and I, My Fair Lady, and the |
| any lasting value was The Beggar's Opera which | | | | list goes on for miles.In the 1960s we saw such |
| was done in 1728. It was a satirical spoof of the | | | | great musicals like Hello Dolly, Fiddler On The |
| times. This was typical of the type of | | | | Roof, and Hair, which was the first musical in the |
| entertainment one would find up until the | | | | United States to feature nude actors.By the |
| 1800's.Musicals, as we know them today, started | | | | 1970s musical theater had become pretty |
| in the 1800s with the French and Viennese | | | | extravagant with the advances in technology and |
| Operettas. The works of Offenbach and Strauss | | | | design. The 70s brought us such great shows as |
| were the first musicals to achieve international | | | | A Little Night Music, A Chorus Line, No No |
| popularity.The contemporary Broadway musical, | | | | Nanette, Sweeney Todd and Evita.But the hits |
| as we know it today, took its form from these | | | | kept coming and would continue to come, many |
| operettas and was done in what we call Minstrel | | | | from Britain. In the 80s we saw such great |
| Shows. These eventually gave way to a new | | | | shows like Cats, Les Miserables and Phantom Of |
| form of musical known as Vaudeville.It wasn't until | | | | The Opera.In the 25 years since, literally hundreds |
| 1860 with the success of The Black Crook that | | | | of musicals have hit the stage. Some great, some |
| the American musical really began to take off. | | | | not so great. But what was once a humble |
| During this time we were treated to the great | | | | beginning is now one of the major forms of |
| works of Gilbert and Sullivan from 1871 to | | | | entertainment, not only in the United States but all |
| 1896.During the early 1900s, composers like | | | | across the world. |