When Did Musical Theater Begin To Evolve As A Specific Genre Of Its Own?

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When did musical theatre begin to evolve as a specific genre? 1930-1980 : The first classical sound era or First Musical Era. The 1930s through the early 1950s are considered to be the golden age of the musical film, when the genre’s popularity was at its highest in the Western world.

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What is the evolution of musical theatre?

Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre developed from several lines of antecedents that evolved over several centuries through the 18th century when the Ballad Opera and pantomime emerged in England and its colonies as the most popular forms of ...

What music genre did musicals evolve from?

Origins in Nineteenth Century Popular Entertainment

Also important are the evolution of ragtime and jazz music , which are the original musical styles of musical comedy. Both ragtime and jazz grew out of the melding of European music of the 19th century with African American music.

Why did musical theater change in the 1970s?

Changing Climate

Musicals had become a sort of subculture, and the potential sales for cast albums fell so low that major labels stopped recording them altogether. ... In this unsettled environment, two important musicals came to represent the forces that would compete for the soul of musical theatre in the decade to come.

When did musicals start?

WHERE DID MUSICALS ORIGINATE? Musicals began in England in the late 19th century by combining the comic stories of operetta (short operas) with the songs and dances of the music hall.

When did Broadway musicals start?

Broadway, the street running the length of Manhattan in New York City, has been associated with American theatrical activity since 1735 , when the first theatre opened on the street.

How did Broadway begin?

The origins of Broadway date to the mid- 1700s with the formation of a theater company on Nassau Street to perform operas and Shakespearian plays for audiences as large as 280 patrons .

What other genres influenced the development of musical theater?

In fact ‘contemporary could cover the last 50 years in musical theatre as defined by its being influenced by popular music styles (and the number of revivals), ranging from Motown, Rock & Country (The Wiz, Hair, Tommy) to Pop, Bollywood & Jazz (Rent, Aida, Bombay Dreams).

How did opera influence musical Theatre?

The dramtic music scores Operetta inherited from Opera rubbed off on Musicals as well as its witty speech and performance. While competing people realized musicals could combine light, popular entertainment with continuity between its story and songs.

What is the history of musicals?

The antecedents of the musical can be traced to a number of 19th-century forms of entertainment including the music hall, comic opera, burlesque, vaudeville, variety shows, pantomime, and the minstrel show. These early entertainments blended the traditions of French ballet, acrobatics, and dramatic interludes.

What type of musicals were made in the 1970?

  • Applause (1970)
  • Company (1970)
  • Purlie (1970)
  • The Last Sweet Days of Isaac (1970)
  • The Me Nobody Knows (1970)
  • The Rothschilds (1970)
  • 70, Girls, 70 (1971)
  • Follies (1971)

When was the golden age of musical theatre?

The exact dates of the “golden age” of musical theatre are fuzzy, but many agree on the years between 1940 – 1959 , which is listed chronologically below. Also, there are of course some other musicals that came out during the golden age.

What was musical theatre like in the 1970s?

The 1970s marked an interesting time for musical theatre; the sound was clearly changing. Shows with rock scores like Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Show, Godspell and Evita , popped up alongside the funkier scores of The Wiz and Pippin.

What was the first music genre?

“Hurrian Hymn No. 6” is considered the world’s earliest melody, but the oldest musical composition to have survived in its entirety is a first century A.D. Greek tune known as the “Seikilos Epitaph.” The song was found engraved on an ancient marble column used to mark a woman’s gravesite in Turkey.

How was music originated?

Our early ancestors may have created rhythmic music by clapping their hands . This may be linked to the earliest musical instruments, when somebody realized that smacking stones or sticks together doesn’t hurt your hands as much. ... So, we know that music is old, and may have been with us from when humans first evolved.

What influenced musicals?

The Musical, like jazz, is a quintessentially American art form; and like our country, it has been forged from many influences: comic opera, operetta, English music hall, minstrel shows, vaudeville and others .

Who invented Broadway?

Damon Runyon, the writer who, in Jimmy Breslin’s words, “practically invented at least two entire decades of his times, and had everybody believing that his street, Broadway, actually existed,” was born 130 years ago today in Manhattan—the one in Kansas.

How did Broadway become Broadway?

The Park Theater, which opened in 1798 just east of Broadway near City Hall, ushered in a new era, offering seating for 2,000. As the city grew to the north, the industry followed. ... By the time Broadway became “Broadway,” the nexus of New York theater was Union Square, at the time a major transportation hub.

What came first Broadway or West End?

If a show opens on Broadway and it’s advertised that it was a “West End hit !” that means it played London’s West End first before making the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to open in a Broadway house.

What was the first Broadway musical ever?

The Black Crook , the “First” Broadway Musical, Is Headed Back to NY. A tiny production of the massive spectacle will coincide with the show’s 150th anniversary. On September 12, 1866, a happy accident occurred that changed Broadway forever.

When did West End start?

Performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisle’s Tennis Court. The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Bridges Street, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It opened on 7 May 1663 and was destroyed by a fire nine years later.

Where does Broadway start and end?

Broadway runs from State Street at Bowling Green for 13 mi (21 km) through the borough of Manhattan and 2 mi (3.2 km) through the Bronx, exiting north from New York City to run an additional 18 mi (29 km) through the Westchester County municipalities of Yonkers, Hastings-On-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, and Tarrytown ...

When did opera become popular?

The mid-to-late 19th century was a golden age of opera, led and dominated by Giuseppe Verdi in Italy and Richard Wagner in Germany. The popularity of opera continued through the verismo era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Giacomo Puccini and Richard Strauss in the early 20th century.

Who created the first musical?

The musical as we know it has some of its roots in the French and Viennese Operettas of the 1800s. The satiric works of Jacques Offenbach (Paris) and the romantic comedies of Johann Strauss II (Vienna) were the first musicals to achieve international popularity.

What are the 3 origins of Theatre?

The theatre of ancient Greece consisted of three types of drama: tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play . The origins of theatre in ancient Greece, according to Aristotle (384–322 BCE), the first theoretician of theatre, are to be found in the festivals that honoured Dionysus.

Is musical Theatre a genre or style?

Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole.

Why is musical theater important?

Most importantly, musical theatre fosters a social awareness through exposure to the social issues, events and cultures that are portrayed in the scripts . These very things help students to develop an ability to understand works of literature, performance and expression in general.

Why is musical theater so popular?

As for why musicals are so popular, Friedman said, “ It’s a fun entertainment ,” and, “People want to be entertained.” He said musicals have happy endings and offer escapism adding, “Fantasy is part of it.”

What was on Broadway 1970?

Musical Year Performances Applause 1970 896 Company (Threes) 1970 706 Me Nobody Knows, the 1970 861 Purlie 1970 689

How is musical Theatre different from opera?

An opera is primarily sung, whereas in a musical, the songs are interspersed with passages of dialogue. In both instances, it is drama and words that drive the action. ... There can often be bigger dancing numbers in musicals. In opera, the singing is split between arias, recitatives and bigger chorus numbers .

When and where did opera originate What kind of stories provided the basis for the earliest operas?

It is believed that opera originated in Italy in the 16th century . It was only in 1597 that the first opera composition was written, however, that the term “opera” was used for the first time. Using classical Greek drama as the basis for this first opera, “Dafne” hopes to revive the classical Greek drama tradition.

What Broadway shows in 1970s?

  • A Place for Polly – 4/18/70.
  • Applause – 3/30/70.
  • Beggar on Horseback – 5/14/70.
  • Blood Red Roses – 3/22/70.
  • Bob and Ray – the Two and Only – 9/24/70.
  • Borstal Boy – 3/31/70.
  • Brightower – 1/28/70.
  • Camino Real – 1/8/70.

What was the most successful rock musical of the 1970s?

An ongoing favorite with community theatres and school groups, Grease remains one of the most popular musicals of all time. The Wiz (1975 – 1,672 performances), an all-black retelling of The Wizard of Oz, had a score brimming with rock and rhythm & blues.

Was Broadway popular in the 70s?

The 1970s proved to be a great time for change and growth on Broadway. Gone were the days of Oklahoma! and other conventional Broadway styles. ... Musical Broadway in the 70s also saw the rise of two famous composers, Andrew Lloyd Webber (Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar) and Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd).

What musical came out in 1975?

year best musical 1975 The Wiz (book, William F. Brown; music and lyrics, Charlie Smalls) 1976 A Chorus Line (book, James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante; music, Marvin Hamlisch; lyrics, Edward Kleban) 1977 Annie (book, Thomas Meehan; music, Charles Strouse; lyrics, Martin Charnin)

Who makes it in a chorus line?

The final eight dancers are selected: Mike, Cassie, Bobby, Judy, Richie, Val, Mark, and Diana . “One” (reprise/finale) begins with an individual bow for each of the 19 characters, their hodgepodge rehearsal clothes replaced by identical spangled gold costumes.

What started the golden age of musical Theatre?

After lean times on Broadway in the 1930s, the 1943 production of Oklahoma!, by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein , ushered in a phase on Broadway now known as the “Golden Age.” Highlighted by great shows, costumes, and stars, this period brought Broadway back to life.

Why is the golden age of musical Theatre called the Golden Age?

The “Golden Age” of musicals, encompassing the years between 1940 and 1960, is called this because of the many musicals that debuted during that time . Composers like Rodgers + Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim found their start and their fame during this time period.

When did the golden age of musical Theatre end?

The golden age of the American book musical came to an end in the 1960s . It had started with Show Boat in 1927 and ended almost forty years later with the premiere of Fiddler on the Roof.

When were genres of music created?

Its mainstream popularity began in the mid 1920s , when record companies and radio stations began marketing the genre to the masses. I n the 1940s, Afro-American expressions of gospel, blues and rhythm and blues converged to form rock and roll, the genre from which rock and its many, many subsidiary genres were born.

When was the first music genre created?

Music first arose in the Paleolithic period , though it remains unclear as to whether this was the Middle (300,000 to 50,000 BP) or Upper Paleolithic (50,000 to 12,000 BP). The vast majority of Paleolithic instruments have been found in Europe and date to the Upper Paleolithic.

What music genre was popular in 1900?

In the early 1900s, opera was the most popular music category. A little more than a century later, Hip Hop/Rap dominated the charts. Various forms of rock, pop, soul, jazz and house music peaked in between.

Emily Lee
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Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.