Category Archives: History

Today in Musical History: The Big Broadcast of 1938

Posted on February 11, 2021 by boz

On Feb. 11, 1938, Paramount Pictures released The Big Broadcast of 1938, the third (and last) of its Big Broadcast variety anthologies and the only one in the series that has been released on VHS or DVD. The film marked … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: Disney’s Peter Pan

Posted on February 5, 2021 by boz

On Feb. 5, 1953, RKO released Disney’s 14th animated feature, Peter Pan, based on the 1904 play by Sir James M. Barrie. The seeds of the film began in 1935, when Walt Disney expressed interest in adapting the story as … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: Pump Boys & Dinettes

Posted on February 4, 2021 by boz

On Feb. 4, 1982, Pump Boys & Dinettes opened on Broadway. Friends Jim Wann and Mark Hardwick began writing the show while working at New York’s Cattleman restaurant. “Our mission was to play country standards to entertain the ‘tired businessman’ … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: No Man Can Tame Me

Posted on February 1, 2021 by boz

On Feb. 1, 1959, host Ronald Reagan introduced the first original musical presented in seven seasons of the CBS anthology series General Electric Theater: the half-hour Western-themed No Man Can Tame Me. In the vein of Annie Get Your Gun, the story revolves … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: Sarafina!

Posted on January 28, 2021 by boz

The South African musical Sarafina! opened Jan. 28, 1988, at Broadway’s Cort Theatre and ran for 597 performances. The show was inspired by the 1976 Soweto Riots, led by black high school students protesting the white Afrikaner government’s decree that … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: Joseph

Posted on January 27, 2021 by boz

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opened Jan. 27, 1982, on Broadway, more than a dozen years after its British premiere. The sung-through musical, with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is based on the Biblical … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: Jacques Brel

Posted on January 22, 2021 by boz

The revue Jacques Brel Is Alive & Well & Living in Paris debuted Off-Broadway on Jan. 22, 1968, at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village and ran 1,847 performances over the next four years, before transferring to Broadway for a … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: The original Wizard of Oz

Posted on January 21, 2021 by boz

The first musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz opened Jan. 21, 1903, on Broadway. Novelist L. Frank Baum had asked his friend Paul Tietjens (a composer) to help him bring his book to the stage. They completed the script … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: High School Musical

Posted on January 20, 2021 by boz

The made-for-TV film High School Musical premiered Jan. 20, 2006, on Disney Channel. The plot is a modern version of Romeo and Juliet about high school juniors Troy and Gabriella from rival cliques. Troy, a basketball team captain, and Gabriella, … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: 7 Rings

Posted on January 18, 2021 by boz

Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings,” the second single from her album Thank U, Next, was released Jan. 18, 2019. Grande and several others cowrite the song, which contains an interpolation of “My Favorite Things” from the 1959 Broadway show The Sound … Continue reading →

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