When was The Golden Age?
The Golden Age refers to a period of time when musical theatre on Broadway was going through a renaissance. Widely believed to be started in 1943 with the launch of Rodgers and Hammerstein's hit musical "Oklahoma!", and ending sometime around the early 1960's, The Golden age is known to be the beginning of musical theatre being able to weave together sweeping musical orchestration, complex dance, and deep and touching story to bring about an end product that was truly immersive and wonderful to behold. The shows often featured stories of love and hope complete with happy endings as a way of escapism in a post-WW2 world. Many argue that this was when Broadway was at its best and with a name like "The Golden Age" and the productions of the time, it's easy to see why.
Golden Age Works
The productions of The Golden age are truly legendary in the history of musical theatre with many productions of the time being some of the most well known and most cherished shows of all time. The most notable productions of the time include shows such as the aformentioned "Oklahoma!" from legendary producers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, West Side Story, which is based on Romeo and Juliet, created by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and "The Sound of Music", also by Rodgers and Hammerstein. All of these shows feature grand, rapturous orchestration and themes common to productions of the time.
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