About Us
Cast & Crew
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Years ago, while teaching college courses in the History of American Musical Theatre, my research exposed numerous instances of innovation in the art form (“this was the first time…”) as theatrical technologies, along with musical styles and forms, evolved. I began to “collect” such phrases, which later included people, theatrical venues and other occasional oddities, into the collection and organized the data chronologically. |
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At this site, we focus on historical firsts. Innovation creates history, and this is a collection of innovative events, decisions and inventions. Among other things, the collection includes initial appearances of popular shows, songs and performers. Here, you’ll find descriptions of theatrical firsts in America from 1665 to 2000. Each “historical first” appears in bold type. |
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Generally, the New York opening is considered the finished form of any work (even if subsequent changes occur during the New York run). For the sake of maintaining some historical perspective, this site covers events through the 1999-2000 season. |
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Ongoing additions to the site include textual entries and pictures of people and theatrical venues. One project will soon offer links to audio files of songs in the public domain; other improvements may occur as they are invented or suggested. |
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We owe much to those who have assisted in the development and presentation of this material. Please see our “Cast & Crew” page. To everyone who appears there, I offer my deepest thanks. |
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Perhaps you will find something here that will initiate your own research. You might want to have an item considered for inclusion at the site (if so, please contact me). You might wish to correct an error that you find here (if so, by all means contact me). You may even find items that will pique your curiosity and motivate you to seek answers. We hope that this site will bring you closer to the theatrical art form that has proven time and again to be our most beloved: the musical. |
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Wayne Hamilton, MFA 2009 |
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Thank you for visiting FirstOnStage.com, a web site that was literally decades in the making. We hope you find the information here useful in your classes, in your research or in exercising your intellectual curiosity. If so, we hope you’ll make a donation to help support FirstOnStage. This information comes to you quickly and easily without the cost of expensive textbooks or hours of searching for the proverbial needle in the digital haystack. Your gift will enable site developers to provide ongoing enhancements, including additional textual content, pictures and audio files. PayPal will safely and securely process the transaction. Thanks for your interest and your generous support! |
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000078860 |
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Cats opened in October of 1982. Andrew Lloyd Webber created a fantasy world, taking his lyrics from a T.S. Eliot piece, with additional lyrics provided by Trevor Nunn (who also won a Tony for Best Director of a Musical, his first Broadway musical) and Richard Stilgoe. Cats was the first megamusical, requiring a complete gutting and reconstruction of the stage at the Winter Garden Theatre, including the installation of a crane. Cats ran for eighteen years and nearly 7500 performances, garnering 10 Tony nominations and winning seven, including Best Score, Best Book and Best Musical. It also won the Outer Critics Circle award for Best Broadway musical. Starlight Express, which opened in March of 1987, was the first Broadway musical to cost eight million dollars to mount. Another megamusical, it was the most expensive musical production to that date. Directed by Trevor Nunn, the show featured music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It ran for 761 performances but did not repay its investors. Like Phantom of the Opera, the musical Les Miserables had originated in London. Les Miserables opened on Broadway in March of 1987 and ran for more than 16 years (almost 6,700 performances). Three days after it opened, its director, Trevor Nunn, opened Starlight Express. Remarkably, Nunn received Tony nominations as Best Director of a Musical for both shows and won for Les Miserables. Les Miserables won seven other Tony awards, including Best Musical. The Drama Critcs' Circle, the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama Desk all named Les Miserables Best Musical.
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Cats opened in October of 1982. Andrew Lloyd Webber created a fantasy world, taking his lyrics from a T.S. Eliot piece, with additional lyrics provided by Trevor Nunn (who also won a Tony for Best Director of a Musical, his first Broadway musical) and Richard Stilgoe. Cats was the first megamusical, requiring a complete gutting and reconstruction of the stage at the Winter Garden Theatre, including the installation of a crane. Cats ran for eighteen years and nearly 7500 performances, garnering 10 Tony nominations and winning seven, including Best Score, Best Book and Best Musical. It also won the Outer Critics Circle award for Best Broadway musical.