History on
Broadway
An overview of musicals
that coincide with
historical events
High School General Music
Created by: Mr. Wolff
Musicals have been entertaining audiences for over
a century. In that time, there have been shows
that not only reflect the environment, but the
times of its creation as well as the ideals and
attitudes of America
Sometimes musicals integrate actual events into
their shows, allowing the audience to
understand how life may have been during a
particular era
South Pacific
Richard Rodgers & Oscar
Hammerstein II, wrote
“South Pacific” in 1949,
four years after World
War II
This musical was based on a
book called “Tales of the
South Pacific” by James
A. Michener
The plot of “South Pacific” is
derived from two
chapters which revolve
around two love affairs
while still offering lessons
in human understanding
South Pacific
“South Pacific” went against the
stereotype of most musicals
by not having a choreographer
Without having any
choreographed songs, it
enhanced the shows realism
Hammerstein’s lyrics made the
show racial, poetic, and tragic
Michener’s stories were dramatic,
real and contemporary, which
portrayed life in the South
Pacific during World War II
The show was more about telling
the story and less about the
music of the show, which is
why it won a Pulitzer Prize for
Drama
South Pacific
The characters’ main problems integrate race, age and
class
Nellie, a nurse from Arkansas, meets Emile, an older
French man
‘Some Enchanted Evening’ is sung by Emile, at the end of
his first date with Nellie
The song begins appropriately and poetically and is about
forgetting everything, such as age and race, while
being in love
In the meantime, Lt. Joe Cable, who has met a native girl
of his own, is on a mission to monitor the Japanese and
needs help from Emile
South Pacific
At first, Emile declines, but
when Nellie refuses to marry
him, knowing that he has
children of another decent,
Emile decides to risk his life
to help Lt. Cable
Emile sings ‘This Nearly was
Mine,’ which is the soul of
the record and was the
substitute for the reprise of
‘Some Enchanted Evening’
‘Honey Bun’ helps add musical
comedy to the show with its
drag act and subtle dancing
The photograph of Nellie
dressed as a sailor in white
became on of the signature
pictures for the show
Hair
With music by Galt
MacDermot and lyrics by
Gerome Ragni and James
Rado, “Hair” was the first
‘rock-opera’ ever written
It is subtitled as the
“American Tribal LoveRock Musical”
The musical questions
ethics and ideals of
individualism, violence,
morality, sexuality,
racism, drug use, religion
and social acceptance
Hair
The music was unfamiliar to
most theater-goers
The rock-style format went
against what traditional
musicals in America had
been.
The director thought of it as
being a revival to
Broadway, which he
considered to be
theatrically dead
“Hair” started a trend for
musicals, adding new
themes, styles and an
opportunity for more
rock-operas
Hair
The story line was adapted by
actual events from friends the
lyricists met on the streets of
Greenwich Village
The plot revolves around Claude
and the group of hippies he
meets while sight seeing in
New York City, before he goes
to basic training for the
Vietnam War
In the 60’s, hippies were always
on the streets, demonstrating
their idea of non-conformism
and to protest against the war
The show contains popular songs,
including ‘Aquarius’ as the
opener and ‘Let the Sun Shine’
as the closer as well as other
songs about the hippies
addictions and personalities
“Hair” broke boundaries and led
the way for more rock-operas
like “Godspell” & “Jesus Christ
Superstar”
Miss Saigon
Claude-Michel Schonberg &
Alain Boublil originally
premiered the show in
London before bringing
the score and story to
America in 1988
The show is a remake of
Puccini’s “Madame
Butterfly,” yet reinstated
during the Vietnam War
“Miss Saigon” is an intense
and personal story of the
losses we suffer and the
sacrifices we make in a
world gone mad
Miss Saigon
Schonberg & Boublil started
designing the show in their
minds, when they saw a
picture of a Vietnamese girl
leaving her mother to join
her father, an ex-GI, who
she had never seen
The creators saw the mother’s
silence and the child’s tears
as a condemnation of all
wars that shatter the lives of
people who love each other
This is an epic and daring
musical that is universal in its
emotional power even as it
deals with controversial,
contemporary issues
It is a sung-through, popinflected score that gives all
members of the cast an
opportunity to shine
Miss Saigon
“Miss Saigon” includes a
cinematic structure, giving
the directors and designers a
field day
The technically complex show
requires 266 to work behind
the scenes, while only 47
cast members appear on
stage
Miss Saigon
“Miss Saigon” tells the story of a
romance between a strong
Vietnamese woman, Kim, and
an American soldier, Chris.
The couple sing ‘Last Night of the
World’ where they express
their love for one another
before Chris invites Kim to
return home to America
together
Unaware of Kim being pregnant,
Chris is forced to retreat
without Kim, during the fall of
Saigon. Chris returns home
and eventually marries
Miss Saigon
Three year later, Chris
comes back to Saigon
with his wife to find Kim,
who is determined to
make Chris take their son
back to the America
Their struggles to find each
other ends in tragedy for
Kim and a fighting chance
for the child Chris never
knew was born
Rent
“Rent” was composed by
Jonathan Larson, who spent
seven years making a
modern rock-opera version
of the classic opera “La
Boheme” by Puccini
The show is inspired by
“Godspell” and “Jesus Christ
Superstar”
Larson wanted “Rent” to be ‘a
Hair for the 90’s’
Rent
“Rent” ended up being a reflection
of the way Larson lived his life
His mission was to celebrate art
and art-makers
He was intensely passionate about
living life, creating music and
changing his part of the world,
which was Broadway and
musical theater
Larson wanted to combine
Broadway’s traditional music
and lyrics with rock by marrying
the MTV generation with
theater
Unlike all musicals, “Rent” is not
accompanied by an orchestra,
but instead by a rock n roll
band
The show became so popular, that
it had groupies known as ‘RentHeads’
Rent
The story of “Rent” is Larson’s own singular vision and drive
He kept the plot closely related to Puccini’s of “La Boheme”
Instead of the characters dying from Tuberculosis in Paris, their
disease is AIDS and is set in New York’s
East Village, a popular bohemian area
All of the characters are faced with
situations happening in the 90’s,
especially life
The musical is not about death, it is
more so about the celebration of life
Rent
Larson makes “Rent” so unique by translating his love for his
friends in to the music. He wanted the audience to feel the
way he felt about his friends. A few of the characters are
named after his friends that have died from AIDS
It is ironic that Larson died the night before his show, about
life, premiered with such huge success
The show ends with the cast singing ‘No Day but Today’ which
was Larson’s main theme for his life and the musical
Reference
Cook, Anita M. "Why Music?." Triad November 2004: 1.
Ganzl, Kurt. The Musical A Concise History. Boston: Northeastern
University Press, 1997.
Larson, Allan S. Rent by Jonathan Larson. New York: Rob Weisbach
Books, 1997
Lynch, Richard Chigley. Musicals! A Complete Selection Guide for Local
Productions. Chicago: American Library Association, 1994.
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Michener, James A. Tales of the South Pacific. New York: The Curtis
Publishing Company, 1947.
Mordden, Ethan. Beautiful Mornin’: The Broadway Musical in the
1940’s. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1999.