May 15, 2026
And so, with a seemingly endless wash from the cymbals, we enter the modern era. It's 1966, Hal Prince has taken to directing instead of producing, and John Kander and Fred Ebb are going to give life to his vision of a musical about Weimar-era Berlin that would be unlike anything Broadway had ever seen. Cabaret was the...
May 1, 2026
The 1960s would eventually completely revolutionize huge swaths of the American cultural landcape, including Broadway. But as is often the case, the early part of the decade looks a lot like the decade before: talented young writers, composers, directors, and producers pushing at the boundaries of what Rodgers &...
Apr 18, 2026
As the 1950s came to a close, Broadway continued to push and expand what could be done in a musical and what was expected of a night at the theater. Stars were becoming less powerful and less of a draw, though some stars found ways to maintain their status by proving that they had a place in the new style of show tha...
Apr 1, 2026
As the 1950s moved on, new talents were emerging, taking up the challenge laid down by Rodgers and Hammerstein to create integrated musicals featuring real characters dealing with real issues. Among others, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, and Stephen Sondheim heard that challenge and rose to meet it,...
Mar 18, 2026
Rodgers & Hammerstein ushered in a new style with Oklahoma! in 1943, and soon, the old styles died away, putting up various degrees of resistance as they did so. Irving Berlin and Cole Porter both adopted a more R&H approach with their late 40s musicals, but it wasn't only existing masters who were influenced by the new...