With an introductory chapter discussing the very earliest productions--The Beggar's Opera (1750), The Archers (1796), Tom and Jerry (1823), and The Bohemian Girl (1844)--A Chronology of American Musical Theater offers in-depth coverage of Broadway musicals from 1850-2001. The book's entries span more than 5,000 shows, including not only "book musicals" but also revivals, revues, burlesques, operettas, farce comedies, comic operas, ice skating shows, rock operas, and other musical spectacles that appeared on Broadway stages.
Drawing on primary documents--playbills, newspaper reviews,...