Musical

B

Irving Berlin

Russian-born American composer Irving Berlin began writing for musical revues in the early 1920s, eventually producing hits for shows such as As Thousands Cheer (1933) and This Is the Army (1942). Later in his career, when the revue era came to an end after World War II (1939-1945), Berlin switched to writing songs for the modern musical. His greatest success was Annie Get Your Gun (1946), which included the Berlin songs “The Girl that I Marry,” “Doin’ What Comes Naturally,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (which became the unofficial anthem of the musical theater). A prolific composer, Berlin penned about 1,500 songs during his long career.

C

Rodgers and Hart

The composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist-librettist Lorenz Hart combined to provide the tunes for a number of musical successes, including Jumbo (1935), On Your Toes (1936), Babes in Arms (1937), and Pal Joey (1940). Their songs included such captivating melodies as “My Funny Valentine,” “My Heart Stood Still,” and “The Lady Is a Tramp.” Their works even provided Broadway audiences with relaxed introductions to classical ballet—George Balanchine choreographed the electrifying “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” ballet for On Your Toes—and the drama of William Shakespeare, as with The Boys From Syracuse (1938), based on The Comedy of Errors.

D

George Gershwin

American composer George Gershwin, who wrote most of his songs to the lyrics of his brother Ira, made his mark with musical comedies such as Lady Be Good (1924), Oh, Kay (1926), Funny Face (1927), Rosalie (1928), and Girl Crazy (1930). The political satire Of Thee I Sing (1931), with a Gershwin score and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, became the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Gershwin’s operatic Porgy and Bess (1935), a folk play with music based on the novel by DuBose Heyward, is considered one of the great works of musical theater.

E

Cole Porter

American songwriter Cole Porter was the sophisticated musical composer among the giants of the era. Porter’s musical comedies—Gay Divorcee (1932), Anything Goes (1934), and Red, Hot and Blue! (1936), for example—were smart in tone and featured his smooth and inventive music and lyrics. Among Porter’s most enduring songs are “Begin the Beguine,” “Anything Goes,” “Night and Day,” “You’re the Top,” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.” His masterpiece, Kiss Me, Kate (1948), is a “show within a show” about an acting troupe’s production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. It features songs that range from the operatic “Wunderbar” and “So in Love” to the finger-snapping “Too Darn Hot.”

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V

Post-World War II to 1990

As the nation emerged from the austerity of World War II (1939-1945), entertainment became a growing part of the American lifestyle. With television still in its infancy during the late 1940s and 1950s, live theater played a major role in the entertainment industry. Some of the most memorable shows of the century were produced during this period, musicals that not only drew huge audiences to the theater but also spawned hit recordings and successful film versions.

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