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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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000079877 |
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West Side Story premiered in September of 1957. The idea for the piece was that of Jerome Robbins, who also directed and choreographed. In addition to introducing a number of hit songs, the show was also the Broadway debut of composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who wrote lyrics for Leonard Bernstein's music. Popular West Side Story songs include: "Maria," "One Hand, One Heart," "Tonight," "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere." Arthur Laurents wrote the libretto. Stephen Sondheim had a terrific advantage when, as a teenager, he decided he wanted to write musicals: his mother introduced him to Oscar Hammerstein II. At age 15, young Sondheim took a musical he had written called By George to Hammerstein and asked him to look it over and be honest in providing feedback. When they met to discuss the work, Hammerstein tore the piece apart, giving Sondheim his first lesson in how not to write a musical. Over time, Hammerstein became Sondheim's mentor. One of Sondheim's hallmarks is his experimentation with change in the form and style of his works. This may be an influence from Hammerstein, who once noted that advances in musical form historically occurred when radical change was introduced. Sondheim has written music for every type of entertainment, from early television's Topper series to pop tunes to movies. His home, however, seems to be the lyric stage, where he continues to delight many theatregoers with his experiments. Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents teamed up to create the lyrics and libretto, respectively, for Gypsy, the musical story of Gypsy Rose Lee (1911 - 1970), which opened in May of 1959. Jule Styne wrote the music and Jerome Robbins directed and choreographed. Ethel Merman starred as Gypsy's mother and Jack Klugman, in his Broadway musical debut, played Mama Rose's romantic foil. Several popular songs were introduced in the show, including "Let Me Entertain You," "Small World," "You'll Never Get Away From Me," "Together" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Gypsy is a perennial favorite among theatre folk. Gypsy Rose Lee was born Rose Louise Hovick. Two years later, her domineering stage mother Rose had another daughter, whom she named Ellen Evangeline Hovick. Ellen, portrayed as "Baby June" in Gypsy, became film star June Havoc. Ellen married a man named Bobby Reed, who was portrayed in Gypsy as the young song-and-dance man "Tulsa." Gypsy Rose Lee had a two-year marriage to actor, director and producer Alexander Kirkland, after which she began a lifelong relationship with Hollywood producer Otto Preminger, by whom she had a son, Erik Lee Preminger. After Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle opened in April of 1964, it ran for only nine performances, despite the sweet melancholy of its title song. However, Anyone Can Whistle provided a Broadway musical debut vehicle for three performers: Lee Remick (1935 - 1991), Harry Guardino (1925 - 1995) and Angela Lansbury. Arthur Laurents wrote the book and choreographer Herbert Ross received the show's only Tony nomination. Hallelujah, Baby! opened in April of 1966, providing a Broadway debut vehicle for Leslie Uggams. For her performance, Uggams won a Tony award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1967 and a Theatre World award in 1968. The book was by Arthur Laurents, the music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden. No hit songs came from the show.
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West Side Story premiered in September of 1957. The idea for the piece was that of Jerome Robbins, who also directed and choreographed. In addition to introducing a number of hit songs, the show was also the Broadway debut of composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who wrote lyrics for Leonard Bernstein's music. Popular West Side Story songs include: "Maria," "One Hand, One Heart," "Tonight," "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere." Arthur Laurents wrote the libretto. Stephen Sondheim had a terrific advantage when, as a teenager, he decided he wanted to write musicals: his mother introduced him to Oscar Hammerstein II. At age 15, young Sondheim took a musical he had written called By George to Hammerstein and asked him to look it over and be honest in providing feedback. When they met to discuss the work, Hammerstein tore the piece apart, giving Sondheim his first lesson in how not to write a musical. Over time, Hammerstein became Sondheim's mentor. One of Sondheim's hallmarks is his experimentation with change in the form and style of his works. This may be an influence from Hammerstein, who once noted that advances in musical form historically occurred when radical change was introduced. Sondheim has written music for every type of entertainment, from early television's Topper series to pop tunes to movies. His home, however, seems to be the lyric stage, where he continues to delight many theatregoers with his experiments.