Broadway: The American Musical Tradition: 1957-1979 (Season 1, Episode 5)
TV Episode | Documentary, Music

Broadway: The American Musical

Tradition: 1957-1979 (Season 1, Episode 5)

TV Episode | Documentary, Music

The new innovative musical on Broadway starting this era was "West Side Story", the first musical to integrate dance movement into the everyday movement of the characters. The movement was matched by Leonard Bernstein's frenetic score. It ...See moreThe new innovative musical on Broadway starting this era was "West Side Story", the first musical to integrate dance movement into the everyday movement of the characters. The movement was matched by Leonard Bernstein's frenetic score. It also marked the start of the renown of the choreographer/director Jerome Robbins. The era also introduced a plethora of some of what are now considered the most popular but what would have then been also considered traditional musicals, such as "Bye Bye Birdie", "Camelot", "Funny Girl", "Gypsy", "Hello, Dolly!", "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", "The Music Man" and "Fiddler on the Roof". Of these, the latter may have been the most profound in its subject matter - the breaking of tradition - as the Vietnam War and rock music had the effect of needing to rethink the presentation of the traditional musical. There were a few shows which embraced the culture of the time, most notably "Hair". But on the most part, Broadway musicals had been, and still were, geared toward the upper middle class. The parting of the cultures meant that Broadway was no longer the primary source for popular music. Shows morphed into direct or indirect commentaries of the times and that were brazen in their presentation, shows such as "Cabaret" and "Company". New behind-the-scenes names included: director/choreographer Bob Fosse, with such shows as "Pippin" and "Chicago"; composer John Kander/lyricist Fred Ebb, with such shows as "Cabaret" and "Chicago"; and composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim/director Harold Prince, with such shows as "Company", "A Little Night Music", "Pacific Overtures" and "Sweeney Todd". The latter pairing was renowned for taking unconventional stories, even deemed uncomfortable for the audience, and turning them into musicals. Undoubtedly, the most successful musical of the era and up to that time in Broadway's history was one that started out as an experimental project on the life of the dancer: Michael Bennett's "A Chorus Line". Written by Huggo See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
71 cast members

Name	Known for
Julie Andrews Self - Host Self - Host See fewer	The Sound of Music (1965)
Louis Armstrong Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	High Society (1956)
Pearl Bailey Dolly Levi (in 'Hello, Dolly!') (archive footage) Dolly Levi (in 'Hello, Dolly!') (archive footage) See fewer	The Fox and the Hound (1981)
The Beatles Themselves (archive footage) Themselves (archive footage) See fewer	The Beatles: Get Back (2021)
Michael Bennett Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	A Chorus Line (1985)
Susan Browning April (archive footage) April (archive footage) See fewer	The World According to Garp (1982)
Yul Brynner King Mongkut of Siam (in 'The King and I') (archive footage) King Mongkut of Siam (in 'The King and I') (archive footage) See fewer	The King and I (1956)
Kitty Carlisle Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	A Night at the Opera (1935)
Diahann Carroll Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Julia (1968)
George Chakiris Bernardo (archive footage) Bernardo (archive footage) See fewer	West Side Story (1961)
Carol Channing Dolly Levi (archive footage) Dolly Levi (archive footage) See fewer	Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
Ted Chapin Self Self See fewer	The Smithsonian Salutes Disney Music (1987)
Graciela Daniele Self Self See fewer	Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Stanley Donen Self Self See fewer	Charade (1963)
Fred Ebb Self Self See fewer	Chicago (2002)
Bob Fosse Self / Frank Lippincott / Mambo Dancer (archive footage) Self / Frank Lippincott / Mambo Dancer (archive footage) See fewer	Cabaret (1972)
David Frost Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Retreat (I) (2011)
Meg Gillentine Performer (in 'Fosse') (archive footage) Performer (in 'Fosse') (archive footage) See fewer	The Producers (2005)
Joel Grey Self / Emcee Self / Emcee See fewer	Cabaret (1972)
Marvin Hamlisch Self Self See fewer	The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Stephen Hanan Self (as Stephen Mo Hanan) Self (as Stephen Mo Hanan) See fewer	Malcolm X (1992)
Sheldon Harnick Self Self See fewer	Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
Jill Haworth Sally Bowles (in 'Cabaret') (archive footage) Sally Bowles (in 'Cabaret') (archive footage) See fewer	Exodus (1960)
George Hearn Sweeney Todd (in 'Sweeney Todd') (archive footage) Sweeney Todd (in 'Sweeney Todd') (archive footage) See fewer	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982)
Beth Howland Amy (in 'Company') (archive footage) Amy (in 'Company') (archive footage) See fewer	Alice (1976)
Dean Jones Robert (in 'Company') (archive footage) Robert (in 'Company') (archive footage) See fewer	The Love Bug (1969)
John Kander Self Self See fewer	Chicago (2002)
Jacqueline Kennedy Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	A Tour of the White House (1962)
John F. Kennedy Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Profiles in Courage (1964)
Larry Kert Tony (in 'West Side Story') (archive footage) Tony (in 'West Side Story') (archive footage) See fewer	New York, New York (1977)
John Lahr Self Self See fewer	Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
Angela Lansbury Mrs. Lovett (archive footage) Mrs. Lovett (archive footage) See fewer	The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Arthur Laurents Self Self See fewer	Rope (1948)
Carol Lawrence Maria (in 'West Side Story') (archive footage) Maria (in 'West Side Story') (archive footage) See fewer	Death to Smoochy (2002)
Baayork Lee Self Self See fewer	Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Patti LuPone Eva Perón (archive footage) Eva Perón (archive footage) See fewer	Beau Is Afraid (2023)
Galt MacDermot Self Self See fewer	Hair (1979)
Mary Martin Dolly Levi (in 'Hello, Dolly!') (archive footage) Dolly Levi (in 'Hello, Dolly!') (archive footage) See fewer	Peter Pan (1960)
Donna McKechnie Self / Cassie (in 'A Chorus Line') Self / Cassie (in 'A Chorus Line') See fewer	Dark Shadows (1966)
Ethel Merman Mama Rose (in 'Gypsy') (archive footage) Mama Rose (in 'Gypsy') (archive footage) See fewer	It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Liza Minnelli Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Cabaret (1972)
Jerry Mitchell Self Self See fewer	Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Dana Moore Performer (in 'Fosse') (archive footage) Performer (in 'Fosse') (archive footage) See fewer	The Producers (2005)
Rita Moreno Anita (archive footage) Anita (archive footage) See fewer	West Side Story (1961)
Zero Mostel Tevye (in 'Fiddler on the Roof') (archive footage) Tevye (in 'Fiddler on the Roof') (archive footage) See fewer	The Producers (1967)
Bebe Neuwirth Velma Kelly (in 'Chicago') (archive footage) Velma Kelly (in 'Chicago') (archive footage) See fewer	Cheers (1982)
Jerry Orbach Self / Billy Flynn (in 'Chicago') Self / Billy Flynn (in 'Chicago') See fewer	Law & Order (1990)
Mandy Patinkin Che (in 'Evita') (archive footage) Che (in 'Evita') (archive footage) See fewer	Homeland (2011)
Elvis Presley Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)
Robert Preston Harold Hill (in 'The Music Man') (archive footage) Harold Hill (in 'The Music Man') (archive footage) See fewer	The Music Man (1962)
Harold Prince Self (as Hal Prince) Self (as Hal Prince) See fewer	West Side Story (1961)
Tommy Rall Chick Clark (in 'My Sister Eileen') (archive footage) Chick Clark (in 'My Sister Eileen') (archive footage) See fewer	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Ann Reinking Roxie Hart (in 'Chicago') (archive footage) Roxie Hart (in 'Chicago') (archive footage) See fewer	Annie (1982)
Frank Rich Self Self See fewer	Succession (2018)
Chita Rivera Self / Velma Kelly Self / Velma Kelly See fewer	Chicago (2002)
Jerome Robbins Self Self See fewer	West Side Story (1961)
Mary Rodgers Self Self See fewer	Freaky Friday (2003)
Gerald Schoenfeld Self Self See fewer	Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
Michael Serrecchia Headband Boy Headband Boy See fewer	Darker Than Black (2007)
Jonathan Sheffer Self Self See fewer	Sphere (1998)
Stephen Sondheim Self Self See fewer	Dick Tracy (1990)
Peter Stone Self Self See fewer	Charade (1963)
Barbra Streisand Fanny Brice (archive footage) Fanny Brice (archive footage) See fewer	Yentl (1983)
Elaine Stritch Joanne (in 'Company') (archive footage) Joanne (in 'Company') (archive footage) See fewer	30 Rock (2006)
Ed Sullivan Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
Julie Taymor Self Self See fewer	Frida (2002)
Tommy Tune Self Self See fewer	Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Gwen Verdon Lola / Roxie Hart (archive footage) Lola / Roxie Hart (archive footage) See fewer	Cocoon (1985)
Ben Vereen Self Self See fewer	All That Jazz (1979)
Renée Zellweger Roxie Hart (archive footage) Roxie Hart (archive footage) See fewer	Chicago (2002)
Catherine Zeta-Jones Velma Kelly (archive footage) Velma Kelly (archive footage) See fewer	Chicago (2002)