The Globality of Musical Theatre: A Brief History

Commercial musical theatre is a global industry. Performances of this distinctive genre may be viewed from the Antipodes to the Middle East. From the earliest forms which amalgamated to form what is now known as musical theatre, international touring and international collaboration were commonplace, thereby cementing the globality of the form. I offer that this globality may be noted in workplace culture and practice.

The challenge I present is that contemporary musical theatre history subjects in higher education often focus solely on Broadway and the West End. However, there are many nations and groups which have contributed to the historical narrative of the form. More specifically, the weight of work on the history of the form, which is framed from an American perspective, is bemoaned by British scholars. More, Australia itself has a rich history of imported musical theatre productions as well as some of its own original work. Although, I must observe that the definition of what constitutes an Australian work of musical theatre may be debated.

The task at hand in this presentation is to recount a brief narrative of the history of the form through a consideration of how the musical became a musical, specifically leading to its establishment in Australia. I briefly trace the progenitors of the form through historical periods in order to lead us to Australia and considerations of how we might reframe the historical narrative of the form in higher education settings within Australia. Specifically, to include not only our own national contribution, but those nations and groups often neglected in our historical re-tellings.