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Significant Broadway Musicals
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Oklahoma! opens on Broadway
Oklahoma opens as the first Rodgers and Hammerstein collaborationat the St. James Theater. It ran its original production on Broadway for 5 years running over 2,000 performances. -
Guys and Dolls Becomes a Broadway Hit!
Guys and Dolls becomes a Broadway hit, opening at the 46th Street Theater and running for over 1,200 performances. It featured the well known songs, "Luck Be A Lady" and the "A Bushel and a Peck". -
My Fair Lady Succeeds
Lerner and Lowe's "My Fair Lady" hits the Broadway stage and becomes the biggest hit to date, running over 2,717 performances. The show makes Julie Andrews career and is a new beginning for actor, Rex Harrington. -
Sondheim makes his debut with West Side Story!
West Side Story opens on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre. It was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The book, based on the play "Romeo and Juliet", was written by Arthur Laurents. Music was composed by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics were written by Stephen Sondheim, marking his Broadway debut. -
Ethel Merman is GYPSY!
The Tony Award winning musical "Gypsey" opens on Broadway with Ethel Merman in the title role. Angela Lansbury would later takes part in the role in the 1960's. The show opens at the Broadway Theater and was later transferred to the Imperial Theater. -
Carol Channing performs Dolly!
Although the role was written for Ethel Merman, she turned it down and the role of Dolly Levi in “Hello Dolly!”. The role was then offered to Carol Channing, who played it in its original Broadway opening. Mary Martin would later play the role in the Broadway tour in 1965. -
A CHORUS LINE opens and beats box office records!
ONE! Performed by the Chorus Line Revival CastThe work of Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, and James Kirkwood, Jr. are put together to feature a show that centers on the lives of 17 Broadway dancers auditioning for a role in the chorus. The show focuses on the events in their lives that have led them in the direction to become dancers. The original Broadway production ran for over 6,000 performances, and for a long time, held the record for the longest running production on Broadway until it was later beat by “The Lion King”.
