Musicals combine acting, singing, and often dance. They originated from French opera comique and evolved from burlesque shows. Broadway and London stages became famous for musicals in the 19th century. Gilbert and Sullivan brought popularity to the form with their hit The HMS Pinafore. Classic musicals emerged in the 1930s, and composers like Rodgers and Hammerstein left an indelible impression on the genre. Musicals range from comical to socially conscious and have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the 2000s with films like Moulin Rouge, Chicago, and Dream Girls.
A musical, at least in the modern sense, is a play or film that combines acting with singing (and often dance). It derives from the French opera comique, which alternated dialogue with singing and usually ended on a happy note, and from operetta and light operas, which did the same. In operettas, comic opera and light opera songs often included arias and were often composed specifically for opera singers. Early versions of the musical knew no such limitations and were heavily influenced by the various burlesque shows that were so popular. The first musical is considered to be The Black Crook, which premiered in New York in 1866.
Broadway and the London stage both became famous for the presence of this form of drama, with numerous musicals premiering and enjoying success in the mid to late 19th century. They appealed to a much more general audience than opera, since they were typically lighter in tone, more blunt and sometimes bawdy, and more generic in subject matter. Many believe, however, that it was composers WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan (more often known simply as Gilbert and Sullivan), who really brought popularity to the form with their 1900s hit The HMS Pinafore. While more operetta than a true modern musical genre, the opera was well suited for a family audience. The later works of Gilbert and Sullivan have been met with great interest and remain popular.
Several musicals in the early 20th century conform more to the modern style. For example, Babes in Toyland from 20, remains a real hit. Early musical composers include George Gershwin and Irving Berlin. The first musical theater filmed, and also one of the first “talkies” is the remarkable The Jazz Singer which had a great impact in the world of cinema, not only for being one of the first films to combine both audio and visual experiences , but also because it was a musical.
In the 1930s classic musicals began to emerge including Porgy and Bess, Anything Goes and Babes in Arms. Interest became significant in the making of these films, and many of the 1930s musicals became popular films, influencing some of the theater “giants” who would nearly run the genre in the 1940s through the 1960s.
It is impossible to discuss musicals without discussing the significant contributions of composers such as Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein (Rodgers and Hammerstein), whose series of musicals was often filmed and left an indelible impression on the form in general. Their most famous works include Oklahoma, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music, all of which have been made into immensely popular films. Other composers such as Leonard Bernstein who wrote West Side Story, Jerry Bock who wrote Fiddler on the Roof and Meredith Wilson who wrote The Music Man are mentioned.
As the musical became more modernized, the theme could range dramatically from the overtly comical, to the dark and murderous, as in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, or to the socially conscious like Rent and The Color Purple. Musicals were no longer just entertaining, even though they still existed and weren’t for all general audiences. Comedies such as Cabaret, Chicago, Sweeney Todd, Funny Lady, Gigi, Hair, Rent and Godspell were designed for a more mature audience and lingered on much more mature and serious thematic elements, although they also had some comedic elements.
Additionally, some composers, such as Andrew Lloyd Weber, all but created a comeback to opera with musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera, Evita, and Les Miserables, where far more singing in true operatic form emerged and dialogue was minimal. On the other hand, the comedic style of the form still existed in relatively pure form, especially with Walt Disney films. Most of Disney’s animated films have been musicals, and some have even inspired Broadway hits like the well-received The Lion King.
For a time, the musical form fell out of fashion in movies, with the last truly successful film being an adaptation of Grease in 1978. Although Disney musicals enjoyed popularity, the A Chorus Line adaptation of the 1985 fell flat. Some leftist films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Little Shop of Horrors have become cult classics.
However, the popularity of filmed forms of the genre in the 2000s is attributed to the resounding success of the 2001 film Moulin Rouge. Other filmed musicals soon followed, meeting with much critical and popular praise. These include Chicago, Dream Girls, Hairspray and Sweeney Todd. Television also bowed to the musical’s popularity by producing “sung” episodes, with varying degrees of success. Stephen Bochco’s Cop Rock was an instant failure, but the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Once More with Feeling is considered one of the best episodes of the series.
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