About Us
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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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October of 1927 brought an important development to popular American entertainment. The Jazz Singer was the first full-length film to use the human voice, which created tremendous interest among American audiences. It also was a subject of interest among theatrical performers, who saw possibilities for their futures. In fact, many stars of the theatre were looking toward film for their futures. During the twenties and thirties, performers who might never have been known outside the New York theatre district moved from the lyric stage to the silver screen. Here are some examples, each followed by his or her first Broadway musical credit: Arthur Treacher (1894 - 1975), who started out as a chorus boy in England and New York, then wound up as the king of butler-and-servant-role players in film and on TV; he also lent his name to a famous fish and chips fast-food enterprise (The Madcap, January of 1928). Sydney Greenstreet (1879 - 1954) appeared with Treacher in Madcap before he went West to play the corpulent villain in movies with Humphrey Bogart and others. Frank Morgan (1890 - 1949) began his career as a stage clown and evolved into the quintessential character actor; he was immortalized when he played the Wizard and four other roles in the 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz (Rosalie, January of 1928). Patsy Kelly (1910 - 1981) was one of the most sought-after female clowns in 1920s musicals before she took her Brooklyn accent and mannerisms to the movies (Harry Delmar's Revels, November of 1927). Another veteran of vaudeville and musicals who had a fabulous film career was Archibald Leach, (1904 - 1986), later known to audiences the world over as Cary Grant (Golden Dawn, November of 1927). The career of William Demarest (1892 - 1983) moved from the lyric stage (Earl Carroll's Sketch Book, July of 1929) to the movies and finally to television; he is best remembered for his portrayal of Uncle Charlie in TV's My Three Sons. Barbara Stanwyck (1907 - 1990) followed in Demarest's footsteps with a lengthy film and television career (appeared under the name Ruby Stevens in a revue called Keep Kool in May of 1924). Even Henry Fonda (1905 - 1982) appeared in a musical revue designed for future stars (New Faces, March of 1934).
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October of 1927 brought an important development to popular American entertainment. The Jazz Singer was the first full-length film to use the human voice, which created tremendous interest among American audiences. It also was a subject of interest among theatrical performers, who saw possibilities for their futures. In fact, many stars of the theatre were looking toward film for their futures. During the twenties and thirties, performers who might never have been known outside the New York theatre district moved from the lyric stage to the silver screen. Here are some examples, each followed by his or her first Broadway musical credit: Arthur Treacher (1894 - 1975), who started out as a chorus boy in England and New York, then wound up as the king of butler-and-servant-role players in film and on TV; he also lent his name to a famous fish and chips fast-food enterprise (The Madcap, January of 1928). Sydney Greenstreet (1879 - 1954) appeared with Treacher in Madcap before he went West to play the corpulent villain in movies with Humphrey Bogart and others. Frank Morgan (1890 - 1949) began his career as a stage clown and evolved into the quintessential character actor; he was immortalized when he played the Wizard and four other roles in the 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz (Rosalie, January of 1928). Patsy Kelly (1910 - 1981) was one of the most sought-after female clowns in 1920s musicals before she took her Brooklyn accent and mannerisms to the movies (Harry Delmar's Revels, November of 1927). Another veteran of vaudeville and musicals who had a fabulous film career was Archibald Leach, (1904 - 1986), later known to audiences the world over as Cary Grant (Golden Dawn, November of 1927). The career of William Demarest (1892 - 1983) moved from the lyric stage (Earl Carroll's Sketch Book, July of 1929) to the movies and finally to television; he is best remembered for his portrayal of Uncle Charlie in TV's My Three Sons. Barbara Stanwyck (1907 - 1990) followed in Demarest's footsteps with a lengthy film and television career (appeared under the name Ruby Stevens in a revue called Keep Kool in May of 1924). Even Henry Fonda (1905 - 1982) appeared in a musical revue designed for future stars (New Faces, March of 1934).