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shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

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#2

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:26pm

Showboat.

I believe it is credited with being the first to use its music to advance the story.
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A click for life.
mamie4 5/14/03

Updated On: 11/23/08 at 11:26 PM

#6

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:31pm

You'll have to 'first' Oklahoma. I meant to type Showboat but Oklahoma was playing in the background and once again I proved I'm unable to chew gum and walk (or hear music and type) at the same time.
www.thebreastcancersite.com
A click for life.
mamie4 5/14/03
#8

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:31pm

Whatever the first Disney show on Broadway was...
Seeing as Disney helped to reshape the Times Sq. area and make Broadway a family tourist destination.
"As we all should probably have learned by now, to be a Stephen Sondheim fan is to have one's heart broken at regular intervals" - Frank Rich

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#10

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:32pm

I don't want to start a fight on this board too, but I don't know how you could say Hairspray made an impact... the definition of impact is to change, influence, something different that was followed. What musical(s) did Hairspray pave the way for??

I would say Hair. Hair was the first Rock Musical (yes Bye Bye Birdie had a rock feel but only on Conrad's music... I wouldn't consider it a Rock Musical). Hair paved the way for all of the 70's rock shows to come the Andrew Lloyd Webber, Concept Record, Steven Schwartz.
#14

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:38pm

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

That so actually DID revitalize Broadway during an artistically and financially bleak period.


What great ones do the less will prattle of

Updated On: 11/23/08 at 11:38 PM

#16

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:39pm

Hair for one generation and Rent for another.

A Chorus Line - One of the first shows that truly required practically all of its cast members to be triple threats.
"Smart! And into all those exotic mystiques -- The Kama Sutra and Chinese techniques. I hear she knows more than seventy-five. Call me tomorrow if you're still alive!"

Updated On: 11/23/08 at 11:39 PM

#17

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:45pm

This one may seem strange to most people but:

Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris

It was one of the first Jukebox musicals and as we know, many more were to come after that one.
"Smart! And into all those exotic mystiques -- The Kama Sutra and Chinese techniques. I hear she knows more than seventy-five. Call me tomorrow if you're still alive!"
#18

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:50pm

pab, was it really one of the first jukebox musicals?? wow

that is a good question to think about/look into.. what was the first Broadway/off-broadway musical to solely be made out of one composer's pre-existing music??

Updated On: 11/23/08 at 11:50 PM

#19

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:53pm

Though this is NOT a reliable source, Wikipedia lists Jacques Brel as the first Jukebox Musical! That is incredible, I never thought about that! I loved the Jacques Brel revival a few years ago.
#22

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:57pm

haha yeah... i love RENT but its def NOT the beginning of broadway, and its end was NOT the end of broadway


but question, does anyone know what the first west end musical that transferred to broadway was?
#23

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/23/08 at 11:58pm

The usual ones come to mind, Show Boat, Oklahoma, Lady in the Dark (to a lesser degree), West Side Story, Cabaret (the first of the Hal Prince style concept musicals--Company as well), Chorus Line

Was golden Boy a joke? I'm confused by that choice :P
#24

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/24/08 at 12:01am

Perhaps the inter-racial love story.... especially taboo between a Black man with Nordic blonde woman.

For some reason a white man with a black, mixed-race or Asian woman wasn't as off putting back then.
What great ones do the less will prattle of

Updated On: 11/24/08 at 12:01 AM

#25

re: shows that have ACTUALLY changed the face of broadway

Posted: 11/24/08 at 12:31am

Showboat
Oklahoma!
West Side Story
Company
Chicago
A Chorus Line
Hair
The Phantom of the Opera/Cats/Les Miserables (ushered in the synth-rock opera era, also noteworthy for concentrating on the show itself and not about who was in the cast, started the advertising movement where the logo was most important)
RENT
The Lion King/Beauty and the Beast
Wicked


I don't think these have been around long enough to determine that they've made an impact
Urinetown/Avenue Q/Spamalot - irreverent comedy bringing in non-theatre people
Spring Awakening - teen rock musical
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