Category Archives: Reference

Today in Musical History: Carmen

Posted on March 3, 2021 by boz

On Mar. 3, 1875, Carmen premiered at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, with music by Georges Bizet and libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on Prosper Mérimée’s 1845 novella. Its depictions of working class life and the death of its … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: The Sound of Music

Posted on March 2, 2021 by boz

On March 2, 1965, the film adaptation of the 1959 stage musical The Sound of Music premiered in New York. The story began with Maria von Trapp’s 1949 memoir, which was adapted for a 1956 German film. Paramount bought the … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: A Little Night Music

Posted on February 25, 2021 by boz

On Feb. 25, 1973, A Little Night Music opened at the Shubert Theatre, running on Broadway for 601 performances. After the success of She Loves Me, Hal Prince asked Stephen Sondheim about writing a romantic musical. Their first choice to … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Posted on February 19, 2021 by boz

On Feb. 19, 1964, the sung-through musical film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg was released in France, premiering in the U.K. that October and in the U.S. that December as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. It is the second in an informal … Continue reading →

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Today in Musical History: “Hello, Dolly!”

Posted on February 15, 2021 by boz

On Feb. 15, 1964, Louis Armstrong’s cover of the musical title song “Hello, Dolly!” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, one month after the show premiered on Broadway, where Carol Channing had introduced the tune. Armstrong’s recording spent 22 weeks … Continue reading →

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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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