Cassandra Nieves

TH235

Prof. Lauri Young

November 19, 2024

Musical Theatre History from 1935-1964

The late 1930s to 1950s marked a time of great commercial success and countless iconic

productions making their Broadway debuts. This period is known as the “Golden Age” of

Broadway. This era of theater set the standard for theater as “a force to be reckoned with under

Rodgers and Hammerstein and other trailblazers…Whether sharing a memorable moment

through a ballad or offering a comical interlude to lighten a serious topic, the musical was

reshaping the way Americans saw theater” (Robertson). This era of great innovation had been

preceded by inventive shows such as Geroge Gershwin’s 1935 production of Porgy and Bess, an

American folk opera that stood out due to its predominantly black cast and use of jazz aspects in

opera. This period was marked by several different musical writing duos that shaped the genre

that became musical theater. However, the official start of the golden age would be marked by

the partnership of Rodger and Hart.

RODGERS AND HART

Before the iconic pairing of Rodgers and Hammerstein, there were Rodgers and Hart. Lorenz

“Larry” Hart (1895-1943) and Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) had come from very different

musical backgrounds and soon became the longest-lasting musical partnership of this time,

writing songs and shows together over the course of 20 years. The pair met in 1919 and instantly

began writing together. It was in 1925 that their song “Manhattan” struck great fortune within

The Garrick Gaieties revues. The same year, the pair wrote the first of several musical comedies
that would land on Broadway: Dearest Enemy (Stempel, 276). The pair continued writing

musicals and would soon write one of their most famous shows, Babes In Arms 1937, which

contained songs such as “My Funny Valentine”, “The Lady is a Tramp”, “Johnny One Note”,

and “Where or When”, songs that are synonymous with the “Broadway Songbook”. However, it

was one of Rodgers and Hart’s last shows that became one of their most controversial shows.

Pal Joey (1940) the play focuses on the character Joey - a nightclub singer - who is trying

to get his own nightclub by seducing and having an affair with a rich, married woman. However,

in the process, he begins to date and fall in love with a young seamstress. The show was

controversial not only in the portrayal of lustful, seedy characters but for its lyrics which were

witty and lewd at times. Rodgers stated, “Here we tried something that is particularly effective in

comedic numbers - the contrast of flowing, sentimental melody with words that are

unsentimental and self-mocking” (Stempel, 286). The idea of a rough, seedy male character

being able to land with the sweet, innocent ingenue was an idea that did succeed ten years later

in Guys and Dolls (1950) a show by Frank Loesser (1910-1969) about a gambler who falls in

love with a mission girl. However, Guys and Dolls earned its success in a time when musical

theater specifically musical comedy was thriving and did so without as many lewd lyrics,

whereas Pal Joey did the opposite. With the lack of hit shows and Hart’s crippling alcoholism,

the pair felt a strain on their relationship and work and began seeking other ventures. Out of this

falling out, the most iconic and influential duo within this “Golden Age” would soon meet to

write a string of hit musicals.

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN

After a falling out with Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers sought to find a new partner to

continue his musical ventures with. He found this partnership with Oscar Hammerstein II
(1895-1960). Their eighteen-year partnership began in 1932 when, with a blessing from Hart,

Rodgers sought Hammerstein’s help to write a musical adaptation for a play called Green Grow

the Lilacs. The pair soon ventured on with the materials to write what has definitively become a

staple show within the genre of musical theater: Oklahoma!

Opening in 1943, Oklahoma! was innovative in several aspects of the show, including the

choreography, music, and opening of the show. Furthermore, Oklahoma! set the standard for

something known as the “dream ballet”, a dream sequence in theater depicted through ballet. The

show opened to much success that was unmatched by any show of this time. In an attempt to

appeal to the audience, Hammerstein changed the qualities of some of the characters to appear as

cheery and comedic. Despite this, the play still contains many of the melodramatic elements of

the original source material, including the villain Jud’s death.

One of the most notable elements was the opening of the show. The top of the show

opens with the character Aunt Eller sitting alone on her porch singing the tune “Oh, What a

Beautiful Mornin’,” something very unlike the large spectacle of opening chorus numbers that

audiences were used to. The show was considered especially modern in its use of different

genres within both the music and dance. The choreographer, Agnes de Mille “avoided the

jazz-based movements of musical comedy dancing in favor of a blend of folk dancing and the

abstractions of ballet and modern dance” (Stempel, 303). Furthermore, the music functioned as

emotional subtext and to further dialogue. The characters were unaware and unphased by any

singing or even the orchestra playing. This technique worked so well that Rodgers and

Hammerstein utilized it in their next big project: Carousel.

Empowered by the need to find a “truly American art form”, Rodgers and Hammerstein

opened Carousel in 1945. The show was greatly emotionally charged, especially considering the
very unorthodox fact that the main character dies during the first act of the show. Furthermore, as

done in Oklahoma!, Hammerstein implemented the use of dialogue throughout a song so that the

characters could transition smoothly between words and music, something that had not been

considered before in theater. The context of the show and the pure spectacle of the set and music

caused audiences to replace what they knew as musical comedy and now named it “musical

theater.” Their works continuously set the standard and used influences from different cultures

both national and international, such as in Oklahoma!, with Western American music influences,

South Pacific (1949), addresses topics such as racism and slavery in South Pacific (1949) with

the song “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught” and The King and I (1951) within its dream

ballet. Some of the emotionally profound songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein contained such

musical depth to carry the lyrics that they called for legitimate singers, such as “You’ll Never

Walk Alone” and “Climb Every Mountain”, however, at times to convey the emotions and have

audiences connect with characters, songs were specifically tailored to actors and the characters to

make them feel more genuine. Also, King and I, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music (1959)

were similar to Carousel and Oklahoma! In the sense that all these shows contained comedy and

light-hearted numbers and scenes despite carrying dark, somber topics and undertones, similar to

operettas and morality plays. This also branded the theming and standards for musicals of this

time, cementing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s signature in this golden age.

Rodgers and Hammerstein were also entrepreneurs within the theater world, producing

many shows such as the 1946 show Annie Get Your Gun. Unlike Oklahoma! which “used show

business to celebrate America,” Annie Get Your Gun was the all-American musical about the

fictional love story of the true story of Annie Oakley (Stempel, 312). This and their show Kiss
Me, Kate (1948) were considered the pair’s first big blockbuster to follow Oklahoma!, without

abandoning the basic elements and traditions of musical comedy.

LERNER AND LOWE

Another major partnership that came out of the Golden Age was Lerner and Lowe. Alan Jay

Lerner (1918-1986) and Frederick Lowe (1901-1988) were the earliest showwriting duo to

achieve success on Broadway along with Rodgers and Hammerstein. The pair met by chance in

1942 in a New York City nightclub and achieved their first major success with their show

Brigadoon (1947). The show contained an original script by Lerner about two New Yorkers who

stumble upon an old Scottish village that only appears every hundred years. The show was

similar to many Golden Age shows with serious love plotlines within humorous stories. Lerner

and Lowe also found success by creating a musical version of the Geroge Shaw play Pygmalion,

which they titled My Fair Lady (1956).

My Fair Lady, based on Pygmalion, which is based on the Greek myth of the same name,

ridicules the English class system with its two main characters: Professor Henry Higgins, a

phonetics professor, and Eliza Doolittle, a poor Cockney flower girl. The play takes place over

months in which Higgins makes a bet that he can pass Eliza off as a duchess simply correcting

her speech. Lerner and Lowe have stated that the play is very much not a love story, but rather, a

comedy of ideas. The show ends after the two main characters are left alone on stage, simply

standing in silence as the orchestra reprises “I Could Have Danced All Night,” leaving an

ambiguous ending to the show as audiences wonder what is truly left between Eliza and

Professor Higgins. The show also followed the pattern of having legit singers sing the more

emotional songs of the show, with Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle, who sings “I Could Have

Danced All Night”, and John Michael King as Freddy, who sings “On the Street Where You
Live.” Though these musical styles had become their own, another genre would find its place in

the Golden Age: opera.

OPERA IN GOLDEN AGE

Another major contribution to the Golden Age was opera and opera influences in theater and

Broadway. Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess is credited with beginning the trend of opera influence in

theater and starting what was known as the Broadway-opera. The show contained purley

American elements of Jazz and black culture within an opera. Many composers of the Golden

Age took part in this Broadway-opera, including Oscar Hammerstein II for his production of

Carmen Jones, a modern retelling of the opera Carmen that starred an all-black cast. Kurt Weill’s

Street Scene (1947) participated in this modern opera setting with its New York City backdrop

and used spoken dialogue with musical underscoring rather than being purely sung. Furthermore,

the music took inspiration from both traditional European opera and jazz, as many operas from

this time did. The show was also innovative in its musical structure, containing both standard

AABA songs as well as arioso and recitatives. Another composer who would take American

influences in his Broadway-opera was the composer, conductor, pianist, teacher, and ambassador

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990).

Bernstein came from a classical music background and was most famous for conducting

the New York Philharmonic. He was also well known for his “Young People’s Concerts” and his

work on the musical On the Town (1944) and the score for the movie “On The Waterfront,”

making him a household name. Bernstein ventured to write his opera with the show Candide

(1956). Candide was a comic operetta that drew both historical and American influences. The

show did not reach as much success as Bernstein had hoped, however, he quickly moved on to

his next great Broadway-opera: West Side Story (1957).

 West Side Story was a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet with the backdrop of gang

warfare between the Puerto Rican sharks and the white jets and the star-crossed lovers Tony and

Maria. The show incorporated ballet in the gangs’ movements and fight choreography without

making the movements seem unserious. The book was unlike most shows of this time telling a

serious story that lacked any comedy, demanding more than the musical comedy. Bernstein used

inspiration from jazz, Latin, and neo-classical music to score this show. Furthermore, he

skillfully used motifs and inverted motifs to not only change the meaning of songs but also leave

a hidden message of what the characters may be feeling or thinking. The choreographer, Jerome

Robbins (1918-1998) choreographed the show as if it were a ballet, leading to scenes where

dialogue would immediately lead into dance, blurring the boundaries between what was acting

and what was dance. The music, dance, and modern book led to the musical being a great

success and one of Bernstein’s most famous works. Furthermore, it fully launched the young

composer Stephen Sondheim into the Broadway scene. However, soon this golden age would

come to an end and with that would come its final show.

HARNICK AND BOCK

Sheldon Harnick (1924-2023) and Jerry Bock (1928-2010) are considered the last collaborative

duo from the Golden Age period. Both came from musical backgrounds, pursuing theater in

college and met to pursue a career in many Broadway shows, including Fiorello! (1959), She

Loves Me (1963), and Fiddler on the Roof (1964). Harnick and Bock were famous for their use

of musical scenes rather than writing music that was purely songs. Fiorello!, a musical comedy

about New York politician Fiorello La Guardia utilized the idea of musical scenes or musical

soliloquies to act as dialogue within a scene. Fiddler on the Roof, considered the final Broadway

Golden Age show, contains songs that act more as dialogue to scenes than a character merely
singing a song. For example, the song “Do You Love Me?” acts as a conversation between the

character Tevye and his wife as they look back on their arranged marriage, and the song is an

example of musical-play songwriting, limiting the song to the context of the show. That show

continued the trend of light-hearted characters and comedic numbers within a show with somber,

dark tones and plots. The show truly does not have one singular plot but many sup plots as the

daughters of Tevye fall in love with three very different men. The show, created by an almost

entirely Jewish creative team, uses both traditional elements of Jewdism in both dance in

choreography, such as the iconic “Bottle Dance” and within songs such as “Sabbath Prayer.”

Although the show is rooted in its Jewish culture, the show resonated with several different

audiences, even audiences in Japan as the show became a global phenomenon. Truly, Fiddler on

the Roof incorporates several different pieces of the shows that came before it with music

integrated into dialogue, serious topics made lighthearted by characters and songs, and cultural

influences in both music and dance. The show’s message of traditions, assimilation, and love of

one’s culture truly is an homage to what the Golden Age of Broadway is and its impact on

theater.

CONCLUSION

The Golden Age of Broadway was a time of great success and great innovation in theater.

Musicals that were created during this time have been continuously revived time and time again

and have been praised as the pinnacle of Broadway.

 Works Cited

Robertson, A. (n.d.). The golden age of Broadway | DPLA. Digital Public Library of America.

https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-golden-age-of-broadway

Stempel, L. (2011). Showtime: A history of the Broadway musical theater. W.W. Norton.