As described by Christine Young-Gerber, the concept musical is distinguished by its focus on theme, as opposed to narrative. The concept musical emphasizes theme through “a non-linear structure employing related situations instead of an overarching linear storyline, unique use of character and self-commentary through song” (332). The intertwining elements of the concept musical- situations surrounding a particular theme, song and characters that comment on the thematic issue, and a non-linear structure- are difficult to separate since “the inter-reliance of the attributes defines the category, replacing a linear storyline with episodic situations that are circular in nature” (341). Gerber, using the examples of Company (1970) and A Chorus Line (1975), details the ways in which a concept musical’s unifying themes “provide a focal point for the audience, moving the emphasis away from a traditional linear plot, thus enabling the theme to become the most important organizational element as each situation addresses the issues raised” (336). Through the highlighting of theme, concept musicals went beyond the original light entertainment that popular in the late nineteenth century (Young-Gerber 336).
While concept musicals proliferated in the 1970s, Bertolt Brecth and Kurt Weill planted the seed for concept musicals in the early 1940s (Hischak 166). Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin, and Moss Hart collaborated on Lady in the Dark, which premiered on Broadway in 1941. The show revolves around Liza Elliot, who is the editor of a fashion magazine. She is also deeply unhappy and unable to make any decisions in her life. She is undergoing psychoanalysis to try to unearth why she is so unhappy. All of the music in the show happens during three dream sequences in the show, not within the plot itself. This show could be considered a concept musical because of the way it focuses on the development of the character and her psyche rather than the plot. This show was one of the stepping stones towards developing concept musicals. The actual title of the first concept musical is an often debated topic among scholars. One option is Allegro (1947) created by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The show is about a young doctor who is following his father’s career path. The show was very experimental. There was no set, props and projectionsere to suggested the setting. There was also a greek chorus in the show. The show’s focus on the theme of struggle for success in a modern world is what makes it a concept musical. Critics state that it is not a concept musical because the plot is still linear. The other option is Love Life (1948) by Weill and Alan Jay Lerner. This show is about a married couple who never ages. The play starts in 1791 to 1948, and the audience watches as they encounter struggles in their marriage. It is similar to Cabaret because there are small vaudeville inspired performances scattered throughout the show. The plot is not linear and it focuses on the theme of marriage. Both shows were considered failures in their time. Audiences preferred the plot driven musicals they were used to seeing on Broadway.
In Our Musicals, Ourselves, John Bush Jones attempts to discover when the term “Concept Musical” first came into usage and traces an early combination of the terms to a 1968 review by Martin Gottfried (J. Jones 2003: 270). Although Gottfried refers to Zorba (1968), which, according to Young-Gerber, is not considered a concept musical (332), he references Harold Prince’s ‘directorial concept’ for the musical stating: ‘Conception is the big word here – it is what is coming to replace the idea of a “book”’ (J. Jones 2003: 270). As Jones and Young-Gerber state, this linkage of the words ‘concept’ and ‘musical’ is as close as scholarship has come to discovering the origination of the term. According to Young-Gerber, the term “Concept Musical” took hold in the musical theatre lexicon “primarily in connection with A Chorus Line because of Michael Bennet’s use of ‘conceived by’ preceding his name and by Richard Kislan (1980) and Foster Hirsch (1985) in their respective discussions of Company (1970)” (332).
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Jones, John B. Our Musicals, Ourselves : A Social History of the American Musical
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Jones, Tom (2004). Making Musicals: An Informal Introduction to the World of Musical
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McMillin, Scott. The Musical as Drama: a Study of the Principles and Conventions
behind Musical Shows from Kern to Sondheim. Princeton University Press, 2014.
Young-Gerber, C. (2010), ‘‘Attention must be paid’, cried the balladeer: The concept
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doi: 10.1386/smt.4.3.331_1