Below are several outlines about the history of stage and screen musicals, from larger historical trends to important individual events. It is a work-in-progress, and I will be regularly adding entries to each section. The first outline focuses on the broad trends of important eras or decades. The next one, “Today in Musical History,” provides short looks at important shows. The final two outlines provide detailed background about the shows I believe are most important in the development of stage and screen musical history.
1. Introduction
2. European Roots
3. American Roots
4. First Golden Age
5. Hollywood Beckons
6. Broadway Goes Bust
TODAY IN MUSICAL HISTORY
Jan. 1: Forty-five Minutes from Broadway (1906)
Jan. 4: Galavant (2015)
Jan. 5: The Wiz (1975)
Jan. 6: Yentl (1984)
Jan. 8: High Hat (1978)
Jan. 11: An American in Paris (1952)
Jan. 15: Forbidden Broadway (1982)
Jan. 18: “7 Rings” (2019)
Jan. 20: High School Musical (2006)
Jan. 21: The Wizard of Oz (1903)
Jan. 22: Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well … (1968)
Jan. 27: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1982)
Jan. 28: Sarafina! (1988)
Feb. 1: No Man Can Tame Me (1959)
Feb. 4: Pump Boys & Dinettes (1982)
Feb. 5: Peter Pan (1953)
Feb. 11: The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)
Feb. 15: “Hello, Dolly!” (1964)
Feb. 19: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Feb. 25: A Little Night Music (1973)
Mar. 2: The Sound of Music (1965)
Mar. 3: Carmen (1875)
Mar. 4: Cinderella (1950)
Mar. 8: “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (1969)
Mar. 10: The Threepenny Opera (1954)
May 12: Carrie (1988)
May 19: Glee (2009)
Oct. 30: Wicked (2003)
Nov. 5: Into the Woods (1987)
Nov. 23: Fiorello! (1959)
Nov. 24: Guys and Dolls (1950)
Dec. 4: Dear Evan Hansen (2016)
Dec. 10: Spring Awakening (2006)
Dec. 11: City of Angels (1989)
ESSENTIAL STAGE MUSICALS
Show Boat (1927)
Oklahoma! (1943)
Guys and Dolls (1950)
My Fair Lady (1956)
West Side Story (1957)
Gypsy (1959)
The Fantasticks (1960)
Fiddler on the Roof (1964)
Cabaret (1966)
A Chorus Line (1975)
Sweeney Todd (1979)
Hamilton (2015)
ESSENTIAL SCREEN MUSICALS
42nd Street (1933)
Top Hat (1935)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
An American in Paris (1951)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
A Star Is Born (1954)
Mary Poppins (1964)
All That Jazz (1979)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Frozen (2013)