|
testing testing testing |
|
|
|
Throughout our history, Americans have been clear about which theatrical forms have been the most popular. Stage forms that include any type of music have always been first in our hearts, whether those pieces were ballad operas, variety shows, vaudeville or the post-Oklahoma, modern musical comedy. This project has confirmed the fact that musical theatre is the source for many theatrical innovations. Many familiar American songs were born on the lyric stage and did not simply arise from Tin Pan Alley, unnamed folk authors or transplanted, old-world classical melodies. Well-known songs are not all that found their genesis point in musical theatre. The form is a wellspring of theatrical and artistic innovation.
American theatregoers simply love Musical Theatre. Here, we focus on historical firsts. Innovation creates history, and this is a collection of innovative moments and initial appearances of popular shows, songs and performers. This is not an academic study of forms or styles or the life stories of famous contributors to American musical theatre. That has been done, and quite thoroughly, elsewhere.
On this site, you'll find first-time events associated with musicals. The occasional mention of a non-musical "first" is included, because that fact alone gives it some historical significance. Moreover, in the collaborative art form we call theatre, events are, at least to some extent, interdependent. If nothing else, events in non-musical forms may have eventually become important in lyric productions, and vice versa. Ironically, those who participate in or study musical theatre may not even know how some non-musical events relate to the musical, now or in the past. Surprises abound at every turn: well-known songs that were first performed on a stage, not in a movie; the fact that a movie or TV star got his or her start in a musical; the professional hoops jumped through by composers before achieving the opportunity to write a complete score for a musical.
The events listed on this site begin with colonial days and move toward the present. Each "historical first" appears in bold type. With only a few exceptions, the items and events chronicled here include the first occurrence only. You will not find a list of every opening of The Mikado at every theatre in America; only the first is included, with perhaps a notation about the world premiere (often outside America) of a lyrical-stage event.
Likewise, tryout performances of professional productions are not included. For the most part, the New York opening is considered the finished form of any work (even if subsequent changes occur during the run). As a result, readers will note that most of the "firsts" occurred in New York City. Given the above-mentioned focus on professional productions, this should make sense, as the city has been America's theatrical centerpoint since the mid-19th century.
As this collection approached the year 1990, a question arose: how much historical perspective do we have on events that have occurred in the last 20 years? The closer we come to the present day, the fewer "firsts" with historical significance occur. With that in mind, the site will cover events through the year 2000. If nothing else, the events between 1990 and 2000 may introduce the names of some current or future stars while mentioning other, already-famous individuals who, by circumstance or design, are still drawn to participate in the musical form.
Perhaps it is fitting that this collection ends with a musical from an earlier era. The last musical of the 1999 - 2000 season was Meredith Willson's The Music Man. Albeit a revival with nothing new except the talent that performed it, the show harks back to the Americana with which golden-age musicals were loaded.
Authors of source works from which this material was drawn frequently ended their texts with questions that essentially ask: "Where do we go from here?" The answer is not evident. The lightness, innocence and joy of American musicals may never return, but change is certain. We are left to wonder in which direction change will take the form. Musical theatre will likely survive, but we cannot be sure of its nature in future years. We simply wait and hope that we can enjoy what is offered.
Finally and in all honesty, this information is incomplete. Trivia abounds in this text, and we are bound to have missed much, given the limitless factoids that surround the topic. To those who bemoan the missing "first time Miss Angel Sweetheart from Peoria ever stepped on a New York stage," we apologize; but every first appearance of even well-known theatrical figures may be missing from this collection.
Perhaps you will find something here that will initiate your own research. You may 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. |