Broadway! For over a century, the mile long stretch of road in the Theater District near Times Square in the heart of Manhattan has been the home of America’s most cherished genre: The Musical. From famous theaters such as The New Amsterdam and The Majestic, audiences have been treated to song, dance, drama, and comedy by the world’s greatest composers and writers. Broadway musical theater is quintessentially American, its tunes an indelible part of the fabric of our culture.

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Before the musical as we know it, the popular entertainments on Broadway included burlesque and vaudeville shows. These variety shows provided disparate acts of comedy, drama, and music not unified under a common theme or plot. Although The Black Crook from 1866 could be considered the first musical because of its cohesiveness as a story, it wasn’t until the 1920s and 30s that song, dance, and plot began to coalesce into strong narratives.

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Broadway of the 1920s and 30s was a hotbed of jazz, nurturing composers like George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, and of course, Cole Porter (1891-1964). Porter’s jazz influenced style is found in his many musicals, including Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate, Silk Stockings, and Jubilee. Jubilee (1935) features arguably Porter’s most notable song, “Begin the Beguine,’ which borrows from the Caribbean ballroom dance called a ‘beguine.’ It was made famous by Artie Shaw’s instrumental swing orchestra version in 1938, but Porter’s songs were also taken up by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Fred Astaire. The Wyoming Symphony is pleased to bring you Gregory Stone’s 1948 arrangement of Cole Porter Favorites, including “Begin the Beguine,” “Love for Sale,” “Anything Goes,” and “I Get a Kick out of You.”

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By mid-century, the Broadway musical had entered what is known as its “Golden Age.” Sometimes called “book musicals,” these productions lavishly blended storytelling with music, dance, and societal themes. It is from this time that Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (1943) came to the stage. Set in Indian Territory in 1906, it tells the story of a farm girl and her two would-be suitors. The Russell Bennet arrangement of Oklahoma! performed by the WSO includes the titular song “Oklahoma!,” “Oh What a Beautiful Morning,” “Surrey with a Fringe on Top,” “Out of My Dreams,” and many others.

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Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady (1956), based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, explores themes of class and identity through the characters Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins. It includes famous songs like “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t it be Loverly,” and, performed for you by the WSO, Eliza’s giddy and delightful song “I Could Have Danced All Night.” My Fair Lady exceeded the run of Oklahoma!, and like Oklahoma!, its movie version won Academy Awards.

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The WSO brings you songs from another Golden Age musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. Premiered in 1959 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, it tells the story of the Von Trapp family and their escape from Austria and the Nazis during the Anschluss. So many tunes from this musical remain indelible parts of our musical heritage, including “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and the moving “Edelweiss.” The Sound of Music ran until 1963 and was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s last collaboration (but look for its revival at Lincoln Center in 2027!).

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Annie premiered on Broadway in 1977 and ran for six years in the Alvin Theatre (Neil Simon Theatre), eventually garnering seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Based on Harold Gray’s 1924 comic strip Little Orphan Annie, composer Charles Strouse delivered memorable songs such as “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” and “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.” The WSO will perform what could be considered the most famous tune from this musical, Annie’s song of hope, “Tomorrow,”

The 1980s and ‘90s featured the rise of large-scale musical productions with elaborate sets and jaw-dropping productions, such as Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, and, of course, Les Misérables. Les Mis is an example of a “sung through musical,” without the traditional speaking parts to bridge plot gaps that you find in a book musical. It is set during the revolutionary period of France as a group of idealists try to overthrow the government. With music by Claude-Michelle Schoenberg and a libretto by Alain Boubil (based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel of the same name), it reached Broadway only after its legacy was solidified through productions in France and London’s West End. Performed for you by the WSO is “One Day More,” the famous finale to Act I, which brings together the main characters of the story as they reflect on their fears, plans, and hopes on the eve of the 1832 Paris Uprising.

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The rock musical Rent premiered on Broadway in 1996. It is loosely based on Puccini’s La Bohème, with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. Set in Manhattan’s East Village, it follows young artists in the era of HIV/AIDS. The WSO performs “Seasons of Love,” the final song of the dark and conflicted first act, in which the main characters sing about how time should be measured by love.

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The most recent musical on tonight’s program and one of the highest grossing musicals of all time is Wicked, or as it is known by its full title, “Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz.” Essentially a prequel to Frank Baum’s book, The Wizard of Oz, and the 1939 movie, it is set in the land of Oz before Dorothy’s arrival, and tells the story of the relationship between the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba Thropp) and Glinda the Good (Glinda Upland) under the Wizard’s corrupt rule. With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, it includes many memorable tunes such as “No One Mourns the Wicked,” “Dancing Through Life,” and “Defying Gravity.”