History of Musical Theatre

[DIVA1955]

I am doing a retrospective of Musical Theatre dating back to 1850. Does anyone
know where I can find information on the names of plays that incorporated music
in them dating back to the 1850's? Any suggestions on where to find info
would be appreciated.

[EMoore1975]

definitely start with Ken Bloom's "American Song" and then head over to Gerald
Bordman. He has several books.

[Melanie Lynch]

DIVA1955 wrote:

> I am doing a retrospective of Musical Theatre dating back to 1850. Does anyone
> know where I can find information on the names of plays that incorporated music
> in them dating back to the 1850's? Any suggestions on where to find info
> would be appreciated.

I think you may have set your timeline beginning too early. My several reference
books start anywhere from 1888 to 1890. That would infer to me that there wasn't
any significant (or documented) musical theatre as we know it before that time.

--
Melanie

"Allow me to explain about the theatre business: The natural condition is one of
insurmountable obstacles on the road to immanent disaster"
"So what do we do?"
"Nothing. Strangely enough it all turns out well."
"How?"
"I don't know. It's a mystery!"
-- Shakespeare in Love

[Melanie Lynch]

[Doc Bender]

>> I am doing a retrospective of Musical Theatre dating back to 1850. Does
>anyone
>> know where I can find information on the names of plays that incorporated
>music
>> in them dating back to the 1850's? Any suggestions on where to find info

The New York Library for the Performing Arts would be a superb start.

Doc Bender

[Karen Horn]

DIVA1955 (diva...@aol.com) wrote:
: I am doing a retrospective of Musical Theatre dating back to 1850. Does anyone

: know where I can find information on the names of plays that incorporated music
: in them dating back to the 1850's? Any suggestions on where to find info

: would be appreciated.

I agree with some of the others that you may have started a bit
soon [unless you are going to cover minstrel shows.]

Start with Gerald Bordman's AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE.

"The Black Crook" is thought to be the first American Musical, in
the sense we use it today. Plot, songs, dancing. It was a fluke in
the sense that the dancers came to about quite by accident. A
French dance troupe got stuck in the US when their planned engagement
fizzled out. A producer said something like: "Wow, sexy French dancers,
let's put them in a show and make a mint." They did.

Karen

[WS BAB]

<<The New York Library for the Performing Arts would be a superb start.
>>

I agree-also I would go ahead and let your studies start at 1850 just as you
had thought to do. The fun of this particular line of history is to back up to
before the beginning and then track how producers added music in inappropriate
ways through a sort of commercial improvisation to see where the most money
would flow. People started writing musical-theatre for the 'art' of it only
AFTER the form had established the ability to make a buck. You would have to
start earlier than 1888(earlier suggestion)if only to pick up the moment when
NY had 8 or 9 concurrent bootleg productions of "Pinafore" running. The impact
both popularly and financially of G&S on the development of the form
artistically is incalculable.
Start with Bordman's "American Musical Theatre". Have fun.
wsbab

[Euclid Peltier]

As others have reported Gerald Boardman's
"American Musical Theater; a Chronicle.
2nd ed. Oxford Univ. Press is perhaps the
best. It has a prologue entitled Origins to
l866. and continues on to l990.

Also, briefer, but inforative is "Broadway
Musicals: Show by Show" 5th edition by
Stanley Green ( reviised and up dated by
Kay green. It is in paperback, and covers
most shows from " The Black Crook" to
l992 and is most informative. If you wish
a copy of a bibliography I use with my
classes please send me your address.
ej...@webtv.net

Ed-Boston