BROADWAY NATION

The progressive and disruptive social movements of the 1960s and 70s had a huge impact on the Broadway Musical and were reflected back into the culture by them. These include the Civil Rights movement, Women’s Liberation, Black Power, and the Gay Liberation Movement. The Stonewall Rebellion in 1969 brought gay issues into the mainstream and during the 1970s LGBTQ+ people would become “out, loud, a...

In this episode I explore the history of what is called the “Concept Musical”, including its key creators: Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Kander & Ebb, Bob Fosse, Michael Bennett and their game changing musicals Cabaret, Company, Follies, A Chorus Line, Chicago, Cats, and Dreamgirls. The central figure in the emergence of the Concept Musical is Harold Prince.  In a career that lasted more than 6...

Over the last three episodes I charted the rise of the Rock Musical – from HAIR to EVITA, - as well as the very unlikely “Nostalgia Craze” that swept Broadway and America during the 1970’s. 1970s Broadway experienced another blast from the past with the return of the Black Musical. More than a dozen hit black musicals opened during the decade, and three of them won the Tony Award for BEST MUSICAL....

In this episode I continue my review of Broadway’s Nostalgia Craze of the 1970s and beyond. Many of the musicals that emerged in the late 60s and very early 70s were also influenced by the incipient Nostalgia Craze, even if overall their shows were decidedly modern. HAIR, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Applause  all included musical sequences that recalled the Vaudevill...

In the last episode I outlined how a new wave of brash young songwriters swept aside the Golden Age and ushered in Broadway’s Modern Era with shows such as Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell and Two Gentleman of Verona.  But surprisingly, in the midst of this ongoing triumph and ascendance of the Rock Musical, the biggest hit of 1971 was a revival of the Silver Age musical comedy, NO, NO, NANE...

Although nobody knew it at the time, in April of 1968 “The Golden Age of Broadway” came to an abrupt end on the opening night of the “tribal rock musical” HAIR, which took America by storm and created a shocking jump cut into what I call “The Modern Era" of the Broadway Musical. In this episode I share the story of the emergence and rise of the so called “Rock Musical”. To many HAIR, and the "Rock...

As the 1950’s came to a close, Broadway Musicals were at the very center of American culture. Then in 1960, as if on cue, two immensely popular shows – The Fantasticks, and Bye, Bye Birdie – kick off the decade by foreshadowing several major changes in American culture that will dramatically affect the Broadway Musical, and by the end of the decade, leave its very future in doubt.  The brilliant c...

The 1950s were crowned by four legendary musicals that went head to head for the “Best Musical” prize at the TONY Awards. In the last episode we looked at the 1958 contest of West Side Story vs. The Music Man,. In this episode I focus on the 1959–1960 which brought us Gypsy vs. The Sound Of Music. And you could subtitle this episode Ethel Merman vs. Mary Martin! Spoiler alert: There was a tie for...

Every Broadway theater season during the 1950’s gave us at least one great, classic Golden Age musical – and a number of seasons produced several. The decade was crowned by four legendary musicals that went head to head for the “Best Musical” prize at the TONY Awards. During the 1957–1958 season it was West Side Story vs. The Music Man, and 1959–1960 brought us Gypsy vs. The Sound Of Music. Of cou...

This is the second part of my discussion with Tony Award winning Costume Designer Ann Hould-Ward in which we trace the legacy chain of Broadway costume design expertise that was handed down directly over a 100 year period from Aileen Bernstein to Irene Sharriff to Patricia Zipprott to Ann Hould-Ward, herself. If you missed the previous episode you may want to listen to that first. During our discu...

Irene Sharraff is the legendary Broadway costume designer whose incredible 56 year career spanned from 1933 to 1989. She designed the costumes for more than 52 Broadway musicals including As Thousands Cheer, Jubilee, On Your Toes, The Boys From Syracuse, Lady In The Dark, The King And I, West Side Story, Flower Drum Song, Funny Girl, Sweet Charity, and Jerome Robbins Broadway. She was nominated fo...

You may not know the name, Trude Rittman, but you have certainly heard her music. During the "Golden Age of Broadway" (and beyond) she composed music for 33 Broadway musicals including Carousel, Brigadoon, South Pacific, Fininan’s Rainbow, The King and I, My Fair Lady, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Peter Pan, The Sound of Music, and Camelot.  In this episode Albert Evans and I tell the story of one of...

Over the last few episodes we explored how Oklahoma! and Carousel created a groundbreaking disruption that changed the Broadway Musical forever, and ushered in the “Golden Age of Broadway” -- which in my estimation began on the opening night of Carousel and extended through the 1960’s. However, not all of the credit for can be given to Hammerstein and Rodgers for inspiring this revolution. In this...

Stephen Sondheim considers "The Bench Scene" in Rodgers & Hammerstein's CAROUSEL to be “the singular most important moment in the evolution of contemporary musicals.”  In this episode the amazing Albert Evans takes us inside the music with a fascinating, in-depth look at this landmark musical sequence, and explains how and why it was such a crucial and important development in the invention of the...

In this episode Albert Evans and I continue our exploration of the amazing "legacy chain" during which the art and craft of writing Broadway Musicals was handed down directly from Otto Harbach to Oscar Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim to Lin-Manwell Miranda. The shows of these four great artists encompass nearly the entire 125 year history of the Musical and demonstrate how the Musical evolved from...

The art and a craft of creating Broadway Musicals has been passed down directly from one artist to the next, generation to generation, for more than 125 years. We can literally trace the first-hand connections between composers, lyricists, bookwriters, directors, producers and performers from the earliest days of the musical right up to those working on Broadway today. In this episode and the next...

Most historians have labeled the entire period from the 1920’s through the 1960’s, “The Golden Age of Broadway”, but I find it much more useful to call the era that spans from the end of WWI to the opening of Carousel in 1945, “The Silver Age of Broadway”. During this vibrant time more than 300 musical comedies, operettas, and revues opened on Broadway, and overwhelmingly they were the creation of...

Women have played a much more significant role in the history of the Broadway Musical than they are generally given credit for. In this episode, I share the often overlooked stories of Broadway's groundbreaking female choreographers, including Aida Overton Walker, Gertrude Hoffman, Albertina Rauch, Hanya Holm, Onna White, and especially Agnes DeMille, who may be the most important woman in the his...

Women have had a much more significant impact on the Broadway Musical than has generally been reported or acknowledged. In fact, talented, dynamic women have been a major force in the creation and development of the American musical theater from the very beginning and right up to today. In this episode my special guest Albert Evans and I will share the often overlooked stories of songwriters and b...

From its earliest days, the Broadway Musical has to a very large degree, been a Queer creation. In this episode David Armstrong shares the fascinating stories of early queer producing and life partners Charles Frohman and Charles Dillingham; the first great gay director Hassard Short; drag superstars Julian Eltinge & Bert Savoy; the "Pansy Craze"; and the delightful, delicious and delovely Cole Po...

In this episode David Armstrong and special quest Albert Evans continue the amazing story of how Jewish, Irish and other immigrants invented the Broadway Musical -- including the immortal contributions of Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, McCarthy & Tierney, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, and Florenz Ziegfeld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, host David Armstrong, along with special guest, Albert Evans, begin to tell the amazing story of how Immigrants, Jews, Queers, and African-Americans invented America's signature art form -- the Broadway Musical. The Broadway Musical was born around the turn of the last century and it emerged out of what we used to call “the melting pot” – that simmering confluence of cultures and...