Eras of Broadway

Golden Age

The Golden Age refers to a period of time when musical theatre on Broadway was going through a renaissance. Widely believed to be started in 1943 with the launch of Rodgers and Hammerstein's hit musical "Oklahoma!", and ending sometime around the early 1960's, The Golden age is known to be the beginning of musical theatre being able to weave together sweeping musical orchestration, complex dance, and deep and touching story to bring about an end product that was truly immersive and wonderful to behold. The shows often featured stories of love and hope complete with happy endings as a way of escapism in a post-WW2 world. Many argue that this was when Broadway was at its best and with a name like "The Golden Age" and the productions of the time, it's easy to see why.

The productions of The Golden age are truly legendary in the history of musical theatre with many productions of the time being some of the most well known and most cherished shows of all time. The most notable productions of the time include shows such as the aformentioned "Oklahoma!" from legendary producers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, West Side Story, which is based on Romeo and Juliet, created by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and "The Sound of Music", also by Rodgers and Hammerstein. All of these shows feature grand, rapturous orchestration and themes common to productions of the time.

Pre-Contemporary Age

Strictly speaking, when talking about then Pre-Contemporary age of broadway, most people are referencing a time between the Golden Age and the Modern Age. So that falls between about the mid 1960' to about the year 2000. This was a time of transformation on broadway and in musical theatre in general. The medium was falling out of the public eye after the renaissanceof the Golden Age so musical theatre had to adapt to an ever-changing cultural landscape. This change in the zeitgeist precipitated a massive change in the style of shows put on regularly on broadway. The scene shifted from uplifting, traditionally composed shows to more shows in the style of the "mega musical", shows that featured massive orchestras, even more complex stories, heavier themes, and massive and beautiful sets. As the times changed to accommodate larger then life music, as did the musical theatre world, bringing with it two of the most legendary composer the medium has ever seen.

One cannot discuss the Pre-Contemporary age of musical theatre without talking about two men in particular. Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber. These two men are on the proverbial Mount Rushmore of musical theatre creators. They even share the same birthday. There is no overstating just how much influence these two men had on the broadway world that continues to be felt today. In this era, Stephen Sondheim produced numerous legendary shows such as "Sweeney Todd", "Company", "Sunday in the Park with George", and som many others. Andrew Lloyd Webber is responsible for the longest running brodway show of all time, "The Phantom of the Opera", "Jesus Christ Superstar", and "Cats". However, many other mythical shows debuted during this era such as "Les Miserables", "Little Shop of Horrors", and "Miss Saigon".

Modern Age

Musical Theatre has undergone quite alot change from the times of the 1920's into the Golden Age to the Pre-Contemporary era of the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. Never has there been a more dramatic shift in the musical theatre landscape than was experienced at the turn of the century when the world was thrust in the Modern Age of Broadway. Modern times require modern stories and as audiences were growing tired of the mega musical, almost operatic style of some of the shows of previous decades, the need for more grounded, emotionally demanding work came to be. Musicals of the Modern Age typically (but not always) feature a smaller cast and orchestra, but much more emotionally rich and complex stories. This is also the time when more pop sound was making its way to the stage and Broadway started appealing to a much younger audience than ever before.

Whereas alot of Golden Age and Pre-Contemporary shows are considered legendary in stature and reputation, Modern Age shows have been lauded for their ability to relate to their audience and leave them feeling fulfilled and impressed by the immersive experience that has been at the forefront of the time. Some of the most heralded Modern Age shows include the likes of "Hamilton", created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, which was Broadway's first real foray into including rap music onto a Broadway stage and tells the story of Alexander Hamilton and his role in creating and shaping the United States government, "Rent", created by Jonathan Larson, which tells the story of a gang of artists and misfits who are down on their luck and just tryng to survive in New York City amidst the AIDS epidemic, and "Wicked", created by Stephen Schwartz, which tells the story of the early life and times of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. All of these shows are not only musically impressive, but resonate on an emotional level as well.

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Elements

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