Show of the Decade — Page 3

I think the main thing that "Hurt" musical theatre was TIME. I mean, the world changed drastically in such a short amount of time that broadway was badly hurt by it. I don't think it was exactly a show that did it (in my opinion)

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Doesn't have to be one show....

like Oklahoma and Sweeney, we agree, helped the theatre...what shows may have turned people off from theatre?

If we're talking influential and not necassarily "favorite"

Totally off the top of my head

20s -- Showboat
30s -- Porgy and Bess
40s -- Oklahoma
50s -- West Side Story/Threepenny Opera (the FIRST off-Broadway hit show that spurred the creation of hundreds of downtown companies and changed the American Theatre forever)
60s -- Cabaret/Hair
70s -- Company/JCS/ACL (introduced the workshop concept that EVERYONE uses now)
80s -- Dreamgirls (the state of the art computerized light board they invented for the show changed how shows were produced and the kind of effects you can have on the stage)/Cats
90s -- Not sure. Chicago revival? (there have been a bunch of smaller, more minimalist revivals of classics as a result of it)
00s -- Mamma Mia

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Updated On: 2/9/05 at 11:39 PM

Then what shows did you walk out of, or do you think people may have left, saying, "I hate theatre - I hate Bway."

If that makes sense - it's hard, for me, to explain...

Margo: Nothing from the 90's from my list? I wasn't talking about particular productions, but actual shows, so CHICAGO would be excluded. I can't imagine that you wouldn't have said either RENT or THE LION KING, both incredibly influential.

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Not sure how either is all that influential. Rent didn't strike me as terribly original itself and has only given us Brooklyn and a few other failed rock-oriented shows. Not sure how Lion King INFLUENCED other shows, unless you're arguing that it begat the "Disneyfication" Broadway -- but then Beauty and the Beast was prior to that and its success led to Lion King.

The 90s was less notable for new shows and much more notable for literally dozens of revivals that were smaller than their original productions (Cabaret, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy et al). The Tonys didn't even have a separate category for musical revival until 1994 (revivals still weren't very frequent on Broadway until the 80s). Now that's half the shows we see. I nominated the Chicago revival, not because it was first, but the fact that a cheap, stripped down rethinking of once lavish musical became so successful (one of the top ten longest running shows in Broadway history) spawned dozens of other revivals.

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Margo - are you a voter?

As much as I hate jukebox musicals, I won't deny the success and influence (albeit negative in nature in my opinion) of Mamma Mia.

Wait a sec...I think I'm confused...

Are we picking one show that changed the course of Musical Theatre?
Because if that is so, then there isn't just one show.
Every decade, there is always one or two shows that make a change to the format.

Showboat being the first.

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My bad...I thought we were doing fave shows...
Well, I'm a hafta go back n change my list now...

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You did...

This thread should be called "Most influential Show of the Century"

40's-OKLAHOMA - the first of the genre

50's tie - GUYS AND DOLLS & WEST SIDE STORY - one of the first great true musical comedies and then the first musical to successfully challenge the form as it existed.

60's - GYPSY - in my humble opinion, it took a form that was always somewhat fluid, and perfected it.

70's - A CHORUS LINE - the first major Broadway musical to chronicle backstage life onstage. something genius about being able to pull that off.

80's - LES MISERABLES - Clearly the king of the British imports, defined an era in musical theatre.

90's - RAGTIME - Brought contemporary writing to an art form that was suffering greatly and made it accessible without compromising it's roots.

This Decade (though we're only halfway through it) - I have to say (though this is based on my belief that the musicals which contribute greatest to the form are those that take that form and find a way to continue it and give it new life most effectively without compromising too much)...that being said, I'll have to say WICKED.

there's my 2 cents.

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*1940's*
Kiss Me, Kate

*1950's*
My Fair Lady


*1960's*
Cabaret


*1970's*
Jesus Christ Superstar

*1980's*
The Phantom of the Opera


*1990's*
Rent


*2000's*
The Producers