by Jenny Hann

Created on: April 14, 2010

Musical Theatre is one of the few American Art forms to still be established today. When taking a glimpse at American theatre, a lot of the genres and forms were copies from other cultures. Musical Theatre was something that Americans could call their own. Broadway was the arena for such an artistic form. The bright lights glowed with new performers that were a triple threat: could act, sing, and dance. Musicals left audiences tapping their feet and wanting more, and they would always get more.

      How did this art form come to be? There had to be some formula for such a creative artistic venture. So what were the ingredients that mixed together to create Musical Theatre? Vaudeville was definitely a great contributor. These random shows with a kaleidoscope of performers wowed audiences with their creativity. Singers, dancers, freak shows, actors, comedy troupes glorified the vaudevillian stages. They were a cultural explosion of entertainment. Minstrel acts also shared a contribution to Musical Theatre. Black faced and singing their hearts out, such as Al Jolson, these actors would put on encore worthy little acts that would make the audience laugh and cry. Usually the songs sung were that of their character's hometown. These story songs may have been a light bulb to the creation of Musical Theatre. Another act of vaudeville stage was pantomime. Pantomime encompasses a lot of forms of entertainment such as story-telling, slap stick, and song and dance. Some of the first musicals were comedies. It was not until later when musicals moved to the “dark side” of tragedy. Barber shop quartets also had an influence on the development of Musical Theatre. These quartets would sing and dance in perfect harmony, and these acts helped inspire the songwriters of the times, as well as the style of pure entertainment. Burlesque was also another form that influenced this new American art form. Burlesque was not at all what comes to mind today. It was an art form making fun of just about everything. It was not until Livia Thompson, one of the big names of Burlesque, that “leg shows” (Ziegfeld Follies much?) were put on at venues, along with the usual parodies.

      One of the biggest influences of Musical Theatre was that of the operetta. Operetta differs from that of the opera in that operettas have a lighter feel than that of operas. This light often comedic overtone helped shape Musical Theatre.

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