Millie Taylor is Emeritus Professor of Musical Theatre at the University of Winchester, UK, and Endowed Professor of the Musical at the University of Amsterdam. She has published books and articles on British pantomime, musical theatre and theatre music.

Adam Rush is Senior Lecturer in Musical Theatre at the University of Winchester, UK. His research has been published in Studies in Musical Theatre and in several edited collections.

'Why We Tell the Story': Introduction
Historiography and Context(s)
Deciphering Multiple Histories
How to Read this Book

Chapter 1 - 'Do You Hear the People Sing?': From Operetta to Poperetta
European Origins
Musical Comedy and Broadway Operetta (1900-1940)
American Origins
Into the Twentieth Century
The Musical Play and Beyond (1940-1960)
Fragmentation and the Concept Musical
The Megamusical, or Poperetta
Conclusion

Chapter 2 - 'New Music': From Ragtime to Rap
Ragtime and Early African American Music
Early African American Musical Theatre
Shuffle Along, And All That Jazz
The Rise of Minstrelsy and 'Coon Songs'
Dreamgirls and Motown
Rap, Hip-Hop and Hamilton
Conclusion

Chapter 3 - 'Waving Through A Window': From Intertext to Instagram
Literary Adaptations
Stage and Screen Interactions
The Wonderful World of Oz
Singin' in the Rain and the Hollywood Film Musical
Disney and the Animated Musical
Cast Recordings
You Already Know You're Gonna Love It.
Television Musicals
Social Media and the Worldwide Web (of Showtunes)
Conclusion

Chapter 4 - 'Easy to be Hard': From Censorship to Sex
Legal Censorship in Britain, 1485-1843
A Changing Landscape, 1843-1968
Censorship in America, 1620-1967
Politics meets Finance
Hair (and all that followed)
Self-Censorship and Political Correctness
Conclusion

Chapter 5 - 'Stand Up': From Gender Duality to Diversity
Late Victorian Britain
Music Hall and Variety
Early Twentieth Century Transatlantic Transfers
The 'Golden Age' - Post-World War II
Diversity and Difference - After the 1960s
Into the Twenty First Century
Conclusion

Chapter 6 - 'Another National Anthem': From Ourselves to the Other
Before the Great War
World War II and Post-War Reconstruction
1990s British Resurgence (as Mythologised in American Musicals)
Challenging American Mythology
Hybrid Influences in Musical Theatre
Conclusion

Chapter 7 - 'A Whole New World': From The Mikado to the Megamusical
Colonialism
Culture within Colonialism
The Cultural Dimension of Globalisation
Global Producers and International Productions
Conclusion

Chapter 8 - 'Journey to the Past': From Revival to Revisal
Reviving Gypsy
1970s American Revivals
New Models and Styles
(Concert and Small-Scale Productions, Actor-Musicianship, Opera House Productions)
Revision and Reinvention
Conclusion

Abstracts + Keywords

Bibliography