Timeline of shows about youth that pushed the limits...

[bwayfan4life]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 4:25pm

With the buzz around Spring Awakening it is apparent that once again a show about young people with very talented young performers is pushing the limits. It seems that every 10 years are so this happens and broadway and entertainment grows and is all the better for it. It allows us all to look back and appreciate that time in our lives and in a unique way it helps to bridge the gap between generations. Shows that have done this in the past are now looked upon as groundbreaking. I thought it would be interesting to put together a timeline of these shows. I need your help, this is what I have so far:

West Side Story
Hair
Grease
Rent
Spring Awakening

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 4:27pm

I wouldn't put Grease on that list myself at all..

Updated On: 1/12/07 at 04:27 PM

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 4:49pm

I agree. Grease is nostalgia, but it isn't really the authentic look at youth culture that the others in your list are.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 4:56pm

I would add Bye Bye Birdie as I believe it was the first show to introduce "Rock and Roll" into a Broadway musical score.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 4:58pm

Not to mention, the original cast of GREASE wasn't all that young -- most were late 20s-early 30s.

[bwayfan4life]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 5:02pm

Just make a new list the way you see it, maybe with everyone's input we can get a good one.

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 7:20pm

I would have A Chorus Line on that list. The cast wasn't as young as other shows you have listed but, ACL has done everything else you have listed.

Can you take Grease of the list an replace it with ACL?Grease was not any of the things you listed in your post. It was not groundbreaking and the cast wasn't very young.
Updated On: 1/12/07 at 07:20 PM

[Sally]

Posted: 1/13/07 at 1:47am

One of the earliest, maybe the earliest, has to be HAIR. It pushed the limits in more than one way.

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 1/13/07 at 2:09am

What about Bare? Can it still be considered even though it's off-broadway?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 1/13/07 at 7:51am

I started singing My Junk as soon as I got onto this thread.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/13/07 at 11:01am

Runaways was a musical in 1978 that pushed the limits. Although it only had a short Broadway run, it had started downtown at New York Shakespeare Festival. It pushed the limits because it was a musical about kids that ran away from their homes and what they encountered in the real world. It was more social commentary than Broadway musical. While it doesn't fit all of your criteria, it certainly didn't make the huge mark that the others on your list have made, it could be considered a footnote on your timeline.