History of Broadway Musicals
Andrew Lloyd Webber
(born 22 March 1948) is an English composer andimpresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. Several of his songs have been widely recorded and were hits outside of their parent musicals, notably "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and "You Must Love Me" from Evita, "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and "Memory" from Cats.
Judy Garland
(born Frances Ethel Gumm, June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was an American singer, actress, and vaudevillian. She was renowned for her contralto vocals[1][2] and attained international stardom that continued throughout a career spanning more than 40 years as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as arecording artist, and on concert stages.[1] Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award as well as a Special Tony Award. She was the first woman to win aGrammy for Album of the Year. She played Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" and was the mother to Liza Minnelli. She hosted her own revue show on TV.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
(born January 16, 1980) is an American actor, composer, rapper and writer, best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals In the Heights and Hamilton. Awards include the 2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score and the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. He is currently performing on Broadway in the lead role of Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton, a musical for which he wrote the book, music and lyrics—and which earned the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2016 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. The show is currently nominated for 16 Tony Awards, the winners of which will be announced on June 12, 2016. He is a 2015 recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award.
Stephen Schwartz
(born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, he has written such hit musicals as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972) and Wicked (2003). He has contributed lyrics for a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995),The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt (1998; music and lyrics) and Enchanted (2007). He has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards and has been nominated for six Tony Awards. He received the 2015 Isabelle Stevenson Award, a special Tony Award, for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent
Irving ("Israel") Berlin
1888-1989 -(Russia -NYC) Lived to be 101 years old! Wrote over 1500 songs. Only played piano in one key with a specially developed piano that would transpose for him! Influenced ALL of Broadway with so many hits: "White Christmas", "God Bless America", "There's no Business like Show Business" and MORE!
George Gershwin
1898-1937 Classical and Broadway GENIUS composer. Big Hits:" Rhapsody in Blue", "An American in Paris", "Of Thee I Sing", and the folk opera, "Porgy and Bess". Died too young of a brain tumor.
Dorothy Fields
1905-1970 Lyricist who wrote such love songs such as "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Pick Yourself Up" and went on to push for the production of a musical about Annie Oakley. She worked with Jerome Kern for years and later with Irving Berlin and her brother.
Hair
1968 quintessential Youth musical about life as a young person in the 60's and centered on topics like the Vietnam War, drugs, and sex. It was a smashing success because it connected to the crowds who were living out these issues at the time. Key songs inlcude "Let the Sunshine In", "Aquarius", "Easy to be Hard".
My Fair Lady
A 1956 musical based on the play "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw. Professor Henry Higgins finds an uneducated Cockney flower girl and teaches her how to speak English in a proper fashion and pass her off as a duchess as a bet with one of his friends. "I Could Have Danced All Night", "Why Can't the English", "The Rain in Spain", and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face".
"Porgy and Bess"
A Cross between an opera and a musical. music by George GERSHWIN. Libretto by Dubose HEYWARD about life on Catfish Row in Charleston, SC in the 1920's. Premiered in 1935 in NYC. Was not an economic success but later became a timeless American treasure. Featured songs like "Summertime" and "I Got Plenty of Nuttin".
Alan Jay Lerner
A Lyricist who worked with Frederick Loewe on such musicals as "Brigadoon", "Paint Your Wagon" and the huge successes of "Camelot" and "My Fair Lady". He married 8 . He owed 1 million dollars to the IRS at the end of his life.
"Carousel"
A Rodgers and Hammerstein bittersweet hit which dealt with the topics of domestic violence and suicide. Songs like "If I Loved You", "You'll Never Walk Alone". Featured John Raitt in the original version.
Frederick Loewe
A composer who worked with Alan Jay Lerner on such musicals as "Brigadoon", "Paint Your Wagon" and the huge successes of "Camelot" and "My Fair Lady".
Mary Martin
A leading lady in R+H's "Sound of Music", "South Pacific", and "Peter Pan". Her son, Larry Hagman later went on to become one of the world's worst villians on TV in the show "Dallas" as J.R. Ewing".
Julie Andrews
A living legend of Broadway and the movies. Born 1935, she made her Broadway debut in "The Boyfriend" and then as "Cinderella" in 1957 in the title role. She also won acclaim in the title roles in "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot" and in 1964 she won an Academy award for "Mary Poppins". Her list of credits is unbelievably long!
Fiddler on the Roof
A musical about a village of Jewish residents of Anatevka, Russia who stand for tradition while the world around them seems to be changing at rapid pace. Book by Harnick and Stein and featured Zero Mostel. A Huge success in 1964. Featured songs like "Tradition", "Matchmaker", "Far From the Home I Love".
This is the Army
A musical by Irving Berlin featuring 300 men in uniform that raised money for the fight during WWII
Joel Grey
Actor, Singer, Dancer, director born in 1932 best known for his role as the Emcee in "Cabaret", both the stage and movie version
Liza Minnelli
Actress and Singer born in 1946 to Judy Garland and director Vincent Minnelli. She is most famous for her role as Sally Bowles in the acclaimed movie, "Cabaret".
Barbra Streisand
Actress who got her start onstage portraying Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl". Famous for her renditions of "Don't Rain on My Parade" and "People" from the movie based on the musical.
Jennifer Hudson
American Idol contestant who has achieved national fame for her singing. Currently starring in "The Color Purple" on Broadway, she won an Oscar for her role as Effie in "Dreamgirls" movie.
Billie Holiday
An African American Jazz singer who rose to fame singing jazz standards and broadway tunes like "My Man" and "Can't Help Lovin Dat Man"
42nd Street
Based on the 1933 movie of the same title, this is Broadway musical produced in 1980 about a young girl named Peggy Sawyer from Pennsylvania who is seeking a chance to sing and dance on the stage in NYC. Lots of silliness and tapping. Key songs include the title of the show, "Lullaby of Broadway", "Shuffle off to Buffalo", and "Go Into Your Dance".
Ethel Waters
Blues singer who made Irving Berlin's "Suppertime" famous.
Norbert Leo Butz
Born January 30, 1967) is an American actor and singer best known for his work in Broadway theatre. He is a two-time winner of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, and is one of only nine actors ever to have won the award twice as lead actor. Best known for playing Fiyero in "Wicked", Freddy in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and Edward Bloom in "Big Fish".
Stephen Sondheim
Born in 1930, this living legend of Broadway has transformed the industry with his works, especially his lyrics and his new way of using music as subtext to the story. Some of his greatest works include "Follies", "A Little Night Music", "West Side Story" (lyrics), "Into the Woods", "Company", "Sweeney Todd". He worked often with Hal Prince and James Levine.
Jennifer Holliday
Born in 1960, an African American actress and singer who is famous for her Tony award role as Effie in "Dreamgirls" and singing "And I am Telling You"
Idina Menzel
Born in 1971, She is an American actress and singer best known for "Let it Go" from the movie "Frozen". She originated the role of Maureen Johnson in the Broadway musical "Rent". Her performance earned her a Tony Award nomination in 1996. She reprised the role in the musical's 2005 film adaptation. In 2003, shel originated the role of Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She returned to Broadway in the 2014 musical If/Then, which earned her a third Tony Award nomination.
Jerome Robbins
Choreographer, director, Producer who was best known for his work on "West Side Story", "Peter Pan", and "On the Town"
Jerome Kern
Composer of more than 700 songs. His songs were used in over 100 musicals. Worked with Oscar Hammerstein II to make the most influential musical in history: SHOWBOAT. 1885-1945.
Frank Loesser
Composer who penned "Guys and Dolls" and "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying". He won the Pulitzer prize for both of these. He liked to poke at stereotypes about men and women. He also wrote "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "The Most Happy Fella". He wrote lyrics the way a commoner from Brooklyn would speak.
Leonard Bernstein
Composer, Lecturer,Educator, Pianist, and Conductor Best known in the Broadway world for his music for "West Side Story" and "On the Town".
Agnes deMille
Dancer and Choreographer with a classic ballet background. She transformed the stage with her vision to incorporate "dream ballet" segments which allowed professional dancers to tell the story, too. This is featured in "Oklahoma".
Bob Fosse
Dancer, Choreographer, Director who made "Jazz hands" famous. His style with using hats and rolled shoulders and snaps was evident in nearly every work. Best known for "Cabaret", "Chicago", "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", "All That Jazz", "Sweet Charity", "The Pajama Game", "Damn Yankees". He worked often with his wife Gwen Verdon and later Anne Reinking.
"The Sound of Music"
Featured Mary Martin and later Julie Andrews in the movie as the nun, Maria, who is beset with taking care of 7 children. She teaches them all how to sing against the background of Austria and raging growing nazism. Rodgers and Hammerstein's last collaboration before Oscar died of cancer. Songs like "Do, Re, Mi", "My Favorite Things", and "Edelweiss" were featured.
Ginger Rogers
Female dancer in the movies who performed so many of the great numbers by Porter, Berlin, Gershwin, and Kern, always as a debonaire gentleman and almost always with Fred Astaire by her side
Showboat
First musical to tell a story from beginning to end. Based on the book by Edna Farber, it dealt with controversial issues of race and miscegenation laws of that time.
Of Thee I Sing
George and Ira Gershwin wrote the music and lyrics for this smash hit musical in 1931 (2 years into the national Depression), and began to revive the feeling of the optimism in the economy. FDR was elected soon after! The show was the first to tackle political matters and make light of them!
George M. Cohan
He did it all! Act! Dance! Sing! Compose! Direct! He began in Vaudeville and changed American musicals forever. 1878-1942. Passionate Patriotism. Wrote "You're a Grand Old Flag", "I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy", and "Give My Regards to Broadway"!
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Irving Berlin's first big hit in 1911 and it started a national dance craze!
Kathryn Grayson
Known for her fast "hummingbird" vibrato and lead actress in the movie renditions of "Showboat" and "Kiss Me Kate"
Oscar Hammerstein II
Legendary Lyricist who wrote the lyrics for the musicals: "Showboat", "The Sound of Music", "Oklahoma", "The King and I", "South Pacific", "Carousel"; wrote BOOK musicals and made the STORY the most important aspect (not the songs nor the singers). Died of cancer before "Sound of Music" premiered (1895-1960)
Lorenz Hart
Lyricist who wrote most of his songs with Richard Rogers. Together they wrote "My Funny Valentine", "I'll Have Manhattan", "I Could Write A Book", "Where or When". So many good love songs. Unfortunately he died from complications from alcholism and Richard Rodgers was forced to find a new partner.
Fred Astaire
Male dancer in the movies who performed so many of the great numbers by Porter, Berlin, Gershwin, and Kern, always as a debonaire gentleman and almost always with Ginger Rogers by his side
Cole Porter
Musical Aristocrat, Yale and Harvard grad who wrote over 1000 songs -most for the Broadway stage. Many of his songs were about love and some were banned from radio play for years. "Love for Sale", "De-Lovely", "Night and Day", "Let's Do It", "Begin the Beguine", etc. He married his best friend and held many parties for the rich and talented in the business of Broadway and the movies. His last big musical was "Kiss Me Kate".
"The King and I"
Musical about Anna Leonowens and how she was hired by the King of Siam to teach his many, many, many children about the ways of the edcuated world, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
"Guys and Dolls"
Musical about a group of gamblers from Brooklyn trying to find a place for their next big game and the women they pursue. Songs like "Sue Me" used the common everyday way of talking.
Fanny Brice
One of Ziegfeld's most famous stars. A singer. A comedienne. A stage and film actress. She broke the mold with her wit and finesse and performed "My Man"
Oklahoma
Originally titled "Away We Go", this glorious book musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein started the "Golden Age" of the theatre and featuring the ingenious choreography of Agnes de Mille. It tells the tale of a young girl, Laurie, who is wooed by a local boy named Curly and farmhand, Judd, as well. The opening number features a woman churning butter.
Stephanie Mills
Played Dorothy in "The Wiz" and Aunt Em in the revival live version in 2015. She resides in Charlotte, NC, currently. Known for singing "Home" from this musical. She is also a gospel and R+B performing artist.
Howard Keel
Played the dashing male counterpart to Kathryn Grayson in both "Showboat" and "Kiss Me Kate" movies.
Yul Brynner
Played the role of the King of Siam in "The King and I" 4625 times!
"South Pacific"
Rodgers and Hammerstein's third big smash, in 1949, based on James Michener's novel, which told the story of subtle and not-so-subtle racism while American soldiers fought the Japanese during WWII. Songs like "You've Got to be Taught", "Younger than Springtime", "Bali Hai", and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair" were big hits. Featured Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza.
Paul Robeson
Singer, Lawyer, Actor, Civil Rights Activist -most famous for his deep rendition of "Ol Man River" which brought crowds to London for years.
Richard Rodgers
This amazing composer worked with Lorenz Hart and also the great Oscar Hammerstein II. With Hart, they composed musicals such as "Babes in Arms" and "Pal Joey". With Oscar, they became legends with "Oklahoma", "Carousel", "South Pacific", "The King and I", and "The Sound of Music". 1902-1979
Sutton Foster
Won 2 Tonys for her portrayal of Millie in 2002 "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and her role as Reno Sweeney in "Anything Goes" revival in 2011. Has been in Shrek, Bunheads, Drowsy Chaperone, etc.
West Side Story
Written by playwright Arthur Laurents, Composed by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), this 1957 musical beautifully illustrates the "Romeo and Juliet" story by Shakespeare set to music and extraordinary dancing. Jerome Robbins' Directing and Choreography was a watershed moment for the theatre world. The movie later earned 10 academy awards. Some of the popular songs are "Tonight", "I Feel Pretty", "Maria", "Something's Coming", and "America". It deals with the issues of racism towards hispanics.
Grease
a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey with additional songs written by John Farrar. Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers, the musical is set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School (based on William Howard Taft School in Chicago, Illinois and follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values, and love. The Movie featuring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta is a classic.
A Chorus Line
a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, Centred on seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line, the musical is set on the bare stage of a Broadway theatre during an audition for a musical. Provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.
Annie
a Broadway musical based upon a popular Harold Gray comic strip with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan.The musical's songs "Tomorrow" and "It's the Hard Knock Life" are among its most popular musical numbers.
Dreamgirls
a Broadway musical based upon the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,[1] the musical follows the story of a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called who become music superstars. It won 6 Tony awards in 1981
Pippin
a Tony Award-winning musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directedthe original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto. The musical uses the premise of a mysterious performance troupe, led by a Leading Player, to tell the story of a young prince on his search for meaning and significance. Key songs include "Corner of the Sky", "Magic to Do", "War is a Science"
Eva Noblezada
a high school student from Charlotte who has played the title role in "Miss Saigon" on West End and also now on Broadway.
Hamilton
a musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The show, inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow, has achieved both critical acclaim and box office success. The musical made its Off-Broadway debut at The Public Theater in February 2015, where its engagement was sold out. The show transferred to Broadway in August 2015 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. On Broadway, it has received enthusiastic critical acclaim and unprecedented advance box office sales, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Off-Broadway production ofHamilton won the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical as well as seven other Drama Desk Awards out of 14 total nominations, while the Broadway production has been nominated for an all-time record-setting 16 Tony Awards. Key Songs: title song, "My Shot", "Satisfied", "Helpless", "The Room Where it Happens"
Annie Get Your Gun
a musical about the sharpshooter, Annie Oakley, by Irving Berlin and Dorothy Fields featuring Ethel Merman
Cabaret
a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit, inspiring numerous subsequent productions in London and New York, as well as the 1972 film by the same name. It deals with the issues of the rise of the Nazi movement in the 1930s in Germany while the soldiers attend the Kit Kat Club for entertainment. The classic songs were "Wilkommen", "Money", Maybe this Time".
Miss Saigon
a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. The setting of the plot is relocated to the 1970s Saigon during the Vietnam War, and Madame Butterfly's story of marriage between an American lieutenant and geisha is replaced by a romance between an American GI and a Vietnamese bargirl. The musical was premièred at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on 20 September 1989, closing after over four thousand performances, on 30 October 1999. Features a GIANT helicopter on the set. It opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre in 1991 and subsequently played in many other cities and embarked on tours. Prior to the opening of the 2014 London revival, it was claimed that Miss Saigon had set a world record for opening day ticket sales, with sales in excess of £4m. The original featured Lea Salonga in the title role. Currently Eva Noblezada from NWSA in CHARLOTTE, NC plays her and is likely to play her in the future MOVIE. Movie date TBA! Key songs: "The Heat is On Saigon", "I'd Give My Life for You",
Cats
a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh. The musical tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as "the Jellicle choice" and decide who will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. Introduced song standard "Memory". The first performance of was in 1981 in London and 1982 on Broadway.
La Cage Aux Folles
a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein[1] and lyrics and music by Jerry Herman.[1] Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, it focuses on a gay couple: Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic partner and star attraction, and the farcical adventures that ensue when Georges's son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet them. The movie version features Robin Williams and Nathan Lane and is called "The Birdcage".
In the Heights
a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving an ensemble cast of characters in the largely Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. After productions in Connecticut (2005) and Off-Broadway (2007), the show opened in a Broadway production in March 2008. This production was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, winning four: Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler), and Best Orchestrations (Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman). It won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. It was also nominated for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The songs all feature freestyle rap,bodegas, and salsa numbers.
Wicked
a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. It tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda, who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace.
Rent
a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's operaLa Bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life inNew York City's East Village in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Key songs "Will I", "Seasons of Love", "One Song Glory", "La Vie Boheme", "Take Me or Leave Me"
Les Miserables
a sung-through musical based on the novel by French poet and novelist Victor Hugo. Premiering in Paris in 1980, it has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. The London production has run continuously since October 1985. It is the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his quest for redemption after serving nineteen years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for his sister's starving child. Key songs are "Do You Hear the People Sing?", "On My Own", "One Day More", "Castle on a Cloud", "Master of the House". The movie won 3 Academy Awards in 2012 and featured Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried.
Julie Taymor
an American director of theater, opera and film. She is best known for directing the stage musical, The Lion King, for which she became the first woman to win the Tony Award for directing a musical.
Hairspray
an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, and meets a colorful array of characters. She then launches a campaign to integrate the show. It is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the 1960s. The musical's original Broadway production opened on August 15, 2002. Winner of 8 Tony's. Key songs "Good Morning, Baltimore", "I Can Hear the Bells", "Welcome to the 60's", "You Can't Stop the Beat"
The Lion King musical
based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements byLebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollowpuppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. It is Broadway's third longest-running show in history and the highest grossing Broadway production of all time, having grossed more than $1billion. In September 2014, it became the top-earning title in box-office history for both stage productions and films, surpassing the record previously held by Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, of which was the first to gross over $6 billion. Key songs like "I Just Can't Wait To Be King", "Hakuna Matata", and "Circle of Life" played on the radio as well.
Cameron Macintosh
is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York Times. He is the producer of shows such as Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins,Oliver!, Miss Saigon and Cats. Mackintosh was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1996 for services to musical theatre.
The Wiz
is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is an urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of modern African-American culture.
The Phantom of the Opera
is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Charles Hart with additions from Richard Stilgoe and produced by West End's musical mogul, Cameron Mackintosh. Based on the French novel, its central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius. It is the longest running show in Broadway history by a wide margin, and celebrated its 10,000th Broadway performance on 11 February 2012, the first production ever to do so. With total estimated worldwide gross receipts of over $5.6 billion. Key songs: "Think of Me", title of musical, "Past the Point of No Return", "The Music of the Night".
Kristin Chenowith
is an American actress and singer, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. In 1999, she won a Tony Award for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown on Broadway. In 2003, she received wide notice for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked, including a nomination for another Tony. Her television roles have included Annabeth Schott in NBC's The West Wing and Olive Snook on the ABC comedy-drama Pushing Daisies, for which she won a 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also starred in the ABC TV series GCB in 2012.
Chicago
is an American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Prohibition-era Chicago, the musical is a satire on corruptionin the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal." Choreographed by Bob Fosse, the best known songs from this show are "All That Jazz", "Funny Honey", "Roxie", "Cell Block Tango", "When you're Good to Mama", "Razzle Dazzle". The Broadway revival holds the record as the longest-running musical revival and the longest-running American musical in Broadway history.
Hal Prince
is an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century. He has garnered twenty-one Tony Awards, more than any other individual, including eight for directing, eight for producing the year's Best Musical, two as Best Producer of a Musical, and three special awards. He has worked often with Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Camelot
musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the King Arthur tales. Jackie Kennedy referred to her time as First Lady as this musical title shortly after her husband, the 35th President, was murdered. "What Do the Simple Folk Do?", "It's May!", "If Ever I Would Leave You" are some of the big hit songs. Julie Andrews and Richard Burton along with Robert Goulet starred in the stage production in 1960.
Florenz Ziegfeld
produced lavish shows featuring beautiful women dancing, singing, and modeling bizarre and dazzling costumes. Each year he created new shows from 1907-1931.
Ethel Merman
the first great brassy "Belter" who made hits like "There's No Business Like Show Business" really famous. 1908-1984. Had to shortenher name to fit the marquee' for her first show. Her big break came in Cole PORTER'S "ANYTHING GOES".
Jonathan Larson
was an American composer and playwright noted for exploring the social issues of multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia in his work. He received three posthumous Tony Awards and a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the rock musical "Rent". He died suddenly of an aortic dissection when he was only 35, believed to have been caused by undiagnosed Marfan syndrome, the night before the Off-Broadway premiere. He brought the Rock musical back to Broadway.
Ira Gershwin
wrote the lyrics to a lot of his brother's greatest hits like "Fascinating Rhythm", "Of Thee I Sing", and songs from "Porgy and Bess".
