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Years ago, while teaching college courses in the History of American Musical Theatre, my research exposed numerous instances of innovation in the art form (“this was the first time…”) as theatrical technologies, along with musical styles and forms, evolved. I began to “collect” such phrases, which later included people, theatrical venues and other occasional oddities, into the collection and organized the data chronologically. |
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At this site, we focus on historical firsts. Innovation creates history, and this is a collection of innovative events, decisions and inventions. Among other things, the collection includes initial appearances of popular shows, songs and performers. Here, you’ll find descriptions of theatrical firsts in America from 1665 to 2000. Each “historical first” appears in bold type. |
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Generally, the New York opening is considered the finished form of any work (even if subsequent changes occur during the New York run). For the sake of maintaining some historical perspective, this site covers events through the 1999-2000 season. |
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Ongoing additions to the site include textual entries and pictures of people and theatrical venues. One project will soon offer links to audio files of songs in the public domain; other improvements may occur as they are invented or suggested. |
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We owe much to those who have assisted in the development and presentation of this material. Please see our “Cast & Crew” page. To everyone who appears there, I offer my deepest thanks. |
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Perhaps you will find something here that will initiate your own research. You might want to have an item considered for inclusion at the site (if so, please contact me). You might wish to correct an error that you find here (if so, by all means contact me). You may even find items that will pique your curiosity and motivate you to seek answers. We hope that this site will bring you closer to the theatrical art form that has proven time and again to be our most beloved: the musical. |
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Wayne Hamilton, MFA 2009 |
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Thank you for visiting FirstOnStage.com, a web site that was literally decades in the making. We hope you find the information here useful in your classes, in your research or in exercising your intellectual curiosity. If so, we hope you’ll make a donation to help support FirstOnStage. This information comes to you quickly and easily without the cost of expensive textbooks or hours of searching for the proverbial needle in the digital haystack. Your gift will enable site developers to provide ongoing enhancements, including additional textual content, pictures and audio files. PayPal will safely and securely process the transaction. Thanks for your interest and your generous support! |
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000079849 |
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Steve Allen (1921 - 2000), a very talented man who excelled at almost every undertaking, wrote the music and lyrics for a show based on the life of Sophie Tucker that opened in April of 1963. Understandably, the show was called Sophie. He had already appeared in a Broadway non-musical (The Pink Elephant) as a performer, but this was Allen's debut as a Broadway composer. To say that Steve Allen was talented is a decided understatement. The following is a list of some of the man's accomplishments during his career:
October of 1979 brought some old-style entertainment in a new musical called Sugar Babies. The pranks, puns and pratfalls of burlesque were all there, along with tap queen Ann Miller and, in his Broadway debut, Mickey Rooney. The piece was conceived by Ralph G. Allen and Harry Rigby. Lyrics were provided by Dorothy Fields and Al Dubin. Jimmy McHugh, along with a committee of 13 other composers, provided music. Rooney and Miller were nominated for Tony awards and Rooney received a Theatre World special award in 1980. Sugar Babies was also the Broadway debut of actress/singer Ann Jillian, who had already appeared in two movie musicals. Mickey Rooney was less than two years old when he first appeared on stage as part of his family's vaudeville act. He made his first movie at age six, and by age 13 he had completed more than 50 two-reelers. Between his 17th and 27th birthdays he played the title role in 15 Andy Hardy movies. After that, he made a series of movie musicals opposite Judy Garland. Though his career started in the theatre, he only appeared in two Broadway shows (Sugar Babies and The Will Rogers Follies as a replacement player). Meanwhile, he completed more than 200 films, received an Honorary Oscar Award for Lifetime Achievement, a special Juvenile Oscar Award he shared with Deana Durbin in 1939, five Oscar Award nominations, one Emmy Award, five Emmy Nominations and two Golden Globe awards.
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Steve Allen (1921 - 2000), a very talented man who excelled at almost every undertaking, wrote the music and lyrics for a show based on the life of Sophie Tucker that opened in April of 1963. Understandably, the show was called Sophie. He had already appeared in a Broadway non-musical (The Pink Elephant) as a performer, but this was Allen's debut as a Broadway composer. To say that Steve Allen was talented is a decided understatement. The following is a list of some of the man's accomplishments during his career: