Chicago Gangs

From the late 1800's up through the present date, musical theater has changed. Though customs and love for the theater will always be carried on, origins, trends, and styles will change throughout time.

"The American musical was born long before European operetta crossed the Atlantic. In The American Musical Stage Before 1800. Julian Mates tells us that "America's early theatres were essentially lyric theatres...In America, no earlier dramatic forms existed, and the musical stage became our only tradition (musicals101.com)". During America's first hundred years, the favorite musical entertainments during the time were variety musical shows. In the 1860's and 70's, Pantomime was a the main Broadway staple. In these types of shows, clown characters were taken and placed in plots based on Mother Goose stories. Also seen was the insertion of popular songs whenever the audience needed a breather. The Pantomime form disappeared completely from American stages by 1880.

From 1879 until 1884 the variety team of Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and performed in musical farces set on the streets of New York. The main focus of the shows was on lower class immigrant life, depicting real-life problems as interracial tensions, political corruption and gang violence. Harrigan and Hart are best known as the creators of musical comedy. They made these problems into harmless humor. "Harrigan and Hart's shows had scores in the style of contemporary popular music with simple melodies and lyrics, lots of sentiment and a wry sense of street-smart humor (musicals 101.com).

In 1878, Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore premiered in the United States. Their arrival sparked an overwhelming response from the people, the craze that was, was known as "Pinafore-Mania". The songs that were sung in the show became the language of the people, and became part of everyday conversation. Even though it seemed all was good, some were not pleased and happy with the two "invaders". "In the century since Gilbert and Sullivan, people on both sides of the Atlantic have bitched about "invasions" coming from the other side. America and Britain have continually sent each other their best shows for over a hundred years. If the balance tilts a bit every now and then, no matter: it will shift again (musical 101.com)". With the growth of the American cities and with the Industrial Revolution going on, the theater-fans were becoming more sophisticated. With this, the homegrown musical entertainment, due to the success of Gilbert and Sullivan, looked second rate. The standards of the American Theater began to change. Variety, musical shows, did not disappear immediately, but an ambitious new breed of musicals developed.

One of the crucial factors in the development of musical theater in America was the formation of several repertory theater companies based on the D'Oyle Carte model. "The Boston Ideal Opera Company, later known as The Bostonians, toured the country for over a quarter of a century giving top-quality professional performances. Most troupes were centered around a particular star, but The Bostonians made their mark as an ensemble. Their repertory included Gilbert & Sullivan as well as American musicals (Musicals 101.com). Now that it had learned to have a good laugh and sing a catchy, the American was ready for what the 1900's would bring.

By 1904, the American musical became far more profitable in the early twentieth century. Before 1880, American Theater companies could only travel to a few large cities. Expanding railroads made touring smaller towns easier and less expensive. Nearly 20 years later, there were over 400 troupes bringing plays and musicals to every corner of the nation. Despite a continuing European influence, several outstanding American composers (George M. Cohan, Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern) saw to it that the Broadway musical began to develop a voice of its own. Since most theater-goers came from the growing middle and working classes, shows had to appeal to the "common man". The resulting musical comedies were glamorous, funny and decidedly in toe-as were the songs. When World War I ended in 1918, the boys came home in the mood to party. That attitude and the tremendous prosperity of the 1920's created a cultural environment in which the musical could enter its golden age.

"This is the Broadway musical of the 1920's as we recall it: recklessly built upon the despotism of performing talent, dotty with corny humor of a bygone era, riddled with clichй and convention, it's storyline ceaselessly humiliated by irrelevant songsand specialty acts...Yet the 1920's as a whole saw the form so refine and transform itself that, by the decade's finish, the "Tee-Oodle-Um-Bum-Bo" chorus line, the Bubble Dances, the nineteenth-century comedy, and the unmotivated star shot would be virtually extinct, unknown to the better writers and the unpopular even with second raters(Ethan Mordden)". A major period for the theater was when the Shubert Brothers took control. They took control of 75% of the theaters in America, demanding outrageous fees and punishing those who did not obey their ever-changing whims. They became famous for suing actors, writers, producers, and even each other. For better and for worse, their family's business sense and artistic instincts shaped the commercial American Theater for the next half-century. Considering the dramatic changes the musical would undergo in the 1940's, audiences might have done better to catch their breath.

In the 1950's, Broadway musicals were not just big news in New York--they were big news all across America. The showtune was America's popular music. Public demand, a booming economy and an abundance of creative talent made a constant parade of new Broadway musicals possible. "What sets the best of these musicals apart from all that came before? Simple: great storytelling and great songs. Recognizable characters sang in fresh stories told with wit and genuine sentiment--in short, the Rodgers & Hammerstein formula (musicals 101.com)". Famous shows from the 50's include The King and I, The Sound of Music, Paint Your Wagon, and My Fair Lady. A major influence for this era was Oscar Hammerstein II. His career spanned the history of the musical theater; he worked with Romberg and Rodgers, and eventually coached young Stephen Sondheim. Hammerstein perfected the Broadway lyric as a dramatic tool, enriching and enhancing his characters. As a result, his work is very mush alive decades after his death. Note-4 Hammerstein musicals appeared on Broadway during the 1995-1996 season: State