Heather Anthony, age 14, of Lowell, Mass., for her question:
HOW DID THE MUSICAL COMEDY ORIGINATE?
A musical comedy is a theatrical production in which songs and choruses, instrumental accompaniment and often dance are integrated into a dramatic plot. The musical comedy or musical, developed and was refined in the United States, particularly in theaters along Broadway in New York City during the first half of the 20th century.
The musical has origins in a variety of 19th century theatrical sources including the operetta, comic opera, pantomime, the minstrel show, vaudeville and burlesque.
The native American musical actually started as early as 1786 with "The Archers" composed by Benjamin Carr. "The Black Crook," produced in 1866, is generally credited as the first musical. It combined melodrama with ballet.
In 1914, composer Jerome Kern began to produce a series of shows in which all the varied elements of a musical were integrated into a single fabric. Kern used contemporary settings and events, in contrast to operettas which always took place in fantasy lands.
In 1927, Kern provided the score for "Show Boat," which had the first serious libretto. It was also adapted from a successful novel, a technique that was to proliferate in post 1940 musicals.
Gradually the old musical formula began to change. Instead of complicated but never serious plots, sophisticated lyrics and simplified librettos were introduced. Underscoring (music played as background to dialogue or movement) was added and new American musical elements such as jazz and blues were utilized by composers.
In addition, singers began to learn how to act.
In 1932, "Of Thee I Sing" became the first musical to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize in drama. Its composer and lyricist were George and Ira Gershwin. They had succeeded in intelligently satirizing contemporary political situations.
In 1943 Richards Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II produced "Oklahoma!" which had ballets choreographed by Agrees de Mille that were an integral part of the plot. The team of choreographer director would eventually become vastly influential on the shape and substance of the American musical.
In 1949 Cole Porter, who had written provocative songs with fine lyrics for many years, came up with an equally fine book: "Kiss Me Kate." And Rodgers and Hammerstein followed Oklahoma!" with "Carousel" in 1945 and South Pacific" in 1949.
Irving Berlin, who had been writing hit songs since 1911, produced the popular but somewhat old fashioned "Annie Get Your Gun" in 1946 and Frank Loesser provided both words and music for "Guys and Dolls" in 1950 with its Damon Runyon characters.
"Brigadoon" in 1947 was the first successful collaboration of the composer Frederick Loewe and book and lyric writer Alan Jay Lerner, who were later to contribute "My Fair Lady" in 1956 based on George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion," and "Camelot" in 1960.