If you've ever been to a play or musical, you're probably familiar with musical theater. Musical theater is an art form and type of entertainment that combines acting, dancing, and singing. Musical theater productions, also known as musicals, are performed around the world. From plays at your school to Broadway in New York City, many people enjoy musical theater performances.
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Historians believe that musical theater began in ancient Greece about 2,500 years ago. The ancient Greeks staged comedies and tragedies that included music and dance in open-air amphitheaters.
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Later, Roman comedies also included song and dance routines performed with orchestra music. They used special effects to make their shows more exciting, a method that's still used in modern musicals. In medieval times, traveling entertainers sang songs and performed comedies.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, churches used musical theater to set their services to religious chants. In the Renaissance period, clowns would act out stories using song and dance while wearing masks. The use of backdrops to set the scene also became popular.
By the 1700s, opera, or the use of singers and orchestras to tell a story, became popular in Great Britain, France, and Germany. Operas could be funny, romantic, or tragic.
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The first musical theater performance to come to America took place in 1735, before the United States was even technically a country. Flora, an English opera, was performed in both America and Europe, and is even still popular today.
Modern musical theater began in the mid- to late-1800s, the result of major social and technical changes. Transportation was improving, so it was easier for people to travel to theaters. Better jobs and better salaries meant people had more money to spend on entertainment. And the invention of electricity led to street lights, which made it safer for people to go out at night.
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The Black Crook was the first modern musical in New York, performed in 1866. It was 5 1/2 hours long and ran for 474 performances. It told a story of black magic.
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Broadway in New York City was originally farmland. As the land was cheap and the invention of the streetcar made it more accessible, it turned out to be the perfect place to build theaters. Some of the most famous Broadway theaters of the early 1900s included the Palace and the Victorian. Some popular comic operas at the time included El Capitan and Robin Hood.
As the light bulb became more common, the famous electrical signs found on Broadway earned it the name the ''Great White Way''. In the 1920s, song and dance performers became even more popular, and some of the most famous musical composers created shows during this time period.
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Broadway entered its ''Golden Age'' after the Great Depression in the 1940s, where many hits ran for more than a thousand shows. Broadway shows continue in popularity with well-known musicals like Beauty and the Beast, Cats, Chicago, Grease, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked.
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Let's review. Musical theater began in ancient Greece and has evolved to include a variety of forms over the centuries. These include opera, which originated in the 1700s. The first musical theater performance to come to America took place in 1735. Flora, an English opera, was performed in both America and Europe, and is even still popular today. Burlesque, a new type of musical theater known for its fancy costumes and large dance numbers, became popular. Burlesque shows were mostly parodies, or imitations used to make fun of famous people or plays. The Black Crook was the first modern musical in New York. Modern musical theater began in the mid- to late-1800s, the result of a lot of major social changes, like better-paying jobs, electricity, and transportation. Broadway, known as the ''Great White Way'', entered its Golden Age after the Great Depression in the 1940s. It remains a popular destination for theater lovers today.
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This lesson taught you all about the history of musical theatre, from its origins in ancient Greece to its popularity around the world today. Check out the following activities to learn more about this famous theatre style.
In this lesson, you learned about several different historical periods' approaches to musical theatre. Choose just one of them and do some more research into how plays were performed during that time period. What did sets look like? How many actors were in a typical performance? Was there instrumental accompaniment? Write a paragraph based on your findings.
Do you have a favorite musical? If so, this activity is for you. Find out who wrote your favorite musical and when it was first performed. Has it ever been adapted into a film? Has it been translated into different languages? Is it being performed on Broadway right now? If so, who is acting in it? Write your own playbill based on your favorite musical. Illustrate the front cover, add in the actors' names, and write a paragraph about the history and plot of the show. You can choose different actors to play the roles if you want!
You know all about musical theatre from the ancient past until the present day. Imagine now that it is the year 2179 and you are going to see a musical. How do you think musicals will change in the coming years? What will stay the same? Be creative with this prompt, as there are no wrong answers! Musical theatre in the future could be whatever you want it to be. Write a journal entry as though you are a person in 2179 going to see a musical at a theatre.
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