The theme for the first playlist is:
The next 14 songs (and weeks) will come from shows that defined and expanded the very concept of a Broadway Musical as an art form (and, for better or worse, a business) over the past 120 years. The form is always evolving (though not necessarily in a linear fashion), and it’s important to look at the key turning points that lead us to where we are today.
What makes a show a Broadway Turning Point?
I see a turning point as a moment that changed something fundamental about what a Broadway Musical could be or do, or introduced new ways of creating one. It may be the first musical to ____, or it maybe be the show that takes a fledging idea to a higher, undeniable level.
What is the selection criteria for these songs?
I chose these specific songs to represent their shows because they fit one of these criteria:
The song itself has historical or cultural significance
The song encapsulates the show’s theme or energy particularly well
It’s my personal favorite
More broadly speaking, I think a great song in a Broadway musical has one job: take a big idea (or emotion, event, etc.) and condense into something refined, specific, and memorable. If it’s done well, something magical happens in which a big thing becomes a compact thing that then—though the power of music and performance—expands into something more immense than it was in the first place.
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