The first revival

Posted: 6/14/04 at 3:16pm

I've been trying to do some research on this, but have had no luck.
Assuming that Show Boat was the "First Great American Musical" (as per my Musical Theatre History Book from college), and going from that jumping point, what was the first Broadway Revival?
Does anyone out there know?
Thanks in advance,
DT

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 3:52pm

May 19, 1932 - Oct 22, 1932
IBDB

Updated On: 6/14/04 at 03:52 PM

[ckeaton]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 3:58pm

Ah yes.
Played the same theatre as the wonderful "The Blue Kitten"

Posted: 6/14/04 at 4:27pm

I haven't had luck with that site, but I appreciate your help!
One thing I did find is that according to IBDB, Forever Tango is going into the Shubert now that Gypsy is gone.
I'm confused... rather, I heard nothing about it...
Is there a huge interest in this revival?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 4:51pm

I thought OKLAHOMA! was the first great American musical...

Posted: 6/14/04 at 5:38pm

Oklahoma came out in 1943
Show Boat in 1927

[BroadwayBound06]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 6:50pm

I heard Oklahoma was because it was the first musical to use songs to perpetuate the plot. I'm not sure. Wern't there other musicals with just random bursts of pointless songs?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 6:57pm

Wern't there other musicals with just random bursts of pointless songs?



I can now hear countless Mamma Mia jokes..........

[BroadwayBound06]

Posted: 6/14/04 at 7:25pm

HAHA

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 6/15/04 at 9:14am

I do know they revived SHOWBOAT in the 40s with Jan Clayton and Buddy Ebsen in the cast. They also revived PAL JOEY in the 50s with Vivienne Segal (the original). I don't know if these were the first revivals of Broadway shows, but it certainly shows that revivals have been around a long time.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 6/15/04 at 9:37am

Quick history lesson: Oklahoma is often considered the birthpoint of the modern musical comedy in that most historians feel that it was a blend of all three: spoken word, music and dance all used to further the plot.
The first "musical", the Black Crook, was actually nothing more than a dance troup getting wedged in between scenes from a play (which itself was called "The Black Crook"), so you can see how the genre changed.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/15/04 at 9:59am

Actually, much of the score to Showboat does move the plot. They are not just random songs stuck in to the story for popular entertainment. Showboat was the first serious dramatic book musical. Oklahoma takes credit for breaking the mold of the popular musical theatre structure with innovations such as opening the show with the singing starting offstage and ending the first act with a ballet and no singing at all. It was highly innovative for its time, yet still held some of the elements that were known for it's genre of the "well-made musical". There are disputes over which came first, The Black Crook or The Red Mill, but The Black Crook is most popularly known as the "first Broadway musical", while Showboat is known for revolutionizing the "book musical" and Oklahoma is the dawn of the "Golden age of musical theatre".

Updated On: 6/15/04 at 09:59 AM

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 6/15/04 at 10:04am

Did someone say Showboat's song don't further plot?