The Best Broadway Musicals of the Fifties and Beyond

by Mel Rosenberg - מל רוזנברג

After fruitful careers as a scientist and inventor I've gone back to what I love most - writing children's books Read More

Joined Oct 2013
Published Books 1500

The fifties were a big decade for Broadway musicals. The musicals brought a whole new wave of sensitive tunes and lyrics to the world.

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Jazz and swing music was declining.

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A lot of rock and roll songs used basic chord patterns, such as the blues, and the ‘Fifties Progression’, also known as “Stand by Me Changes” (1-6-4-5 or 1-6-2-5). The lyrics were often ‘dumbed down’ too. Was there a place for ‘cleverer songs’ from the musical theater?

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Let’s take a look at the Tony award winners and finalists.

1950s

Year	Musical	Book	Music	Lyrics
1950 4th Tony Awards
1950 4th Tony Awards	South Pacific †	Oscar Hammerstein II & Joshua Logan	Richard Rodgers	Hammerstein
1951 5th Tony Awards
1951 5th Tony Awards	Guys and Dolls	Abe Burrows & Jo Swerling	Frank Loesser
1952 6th Tony Awards
1952 6th Tony Awards	The King and I	Oscar Hammerstein II	Richard Rodgers	Hammerstein
1953 7th Tony Awards
1953 7th Tony Awards	Wonderful Town	Jerome Chodorov & Joseph Fields	Leonard Bernstein	Betty Comden & Adolph Green
1954 8th Tony Awards
1954 8th Tony Awards	Kismet	Luther Davis & Charles Lederer	Alexander Borodin	Chet Forrest & Bob Wright
1955 9th Tony Awards
1955 9th Tony Awards	The Pajama Game	George Abbott & Richard Pike Bissell	Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
1956 10th Tony Awards
	Damn Yankees	George Abbott & Douglass Wallop	Richard Adler	Jerry Ross
	Pipe Dream	Oscar Hammerstein II	Richard Rodgers	Hammerstein
1957 11th Tony Awards
	My Fair Lady	Alan Jay Lerner	Frederick Loewe	Lerner
	Bells Are Ringing	Betty Comden & Adolph Green	Jule Styne	Comden & Green
	Candide	Lillian Hellman	Leonard Bernstein	Richard Wilbur
	The Most Happy Fella	Frank Loesser
1958 12th Tony Awards
	The Music Man	Franklin Lacey & Meredith Willson	Willson
	West Side Story	Arthur Laurents	Leonard Bernstein	Stephen Sondheim
	New Girl in Town	George Abbott	Bob Merrill
	Oh, Captain!	José Ferrer & Al Morgan	Ray Evans & Jay Livingston
	Jamaica	Yip Harburg & Fred Saidy	Harold Arlen	Harburg
1959 13th Tony Awards
	Redhead	Dorothy, Herbert Fields, David Shaw & Sidney Sheldon	Albert Hague	D. Fields
	Flower Drum Song	Joseph Fields & Oscar Hammerstein II	Richard Rodgers	Hammerstein
	La Plume de Ma Tante	Robert Dhéry	Gérard Calvi	Ross Parker

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Rodgers and Hammerstein won in 1950 for South Pacific.

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Rogers and Hammerstein won again in 1952 with The King and I.

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In 1951 Guys and Dolls won. Frank Loesser, wrote both the amazing lyrics and the music!!

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1955 – The Pajama Game (Richard Adler and Jerry Ross) – they won again in 1956 with Damn Yankees

P.S. Jerry Ross’ birth name was Jerold Rosenberg – maybe a cousin, who knows?

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Damn Yankees 1956

Richard Adler and Jerry Ross won again in 1956 with Damn Yankees

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1957 – Lerner and Lowe won for My Fair Lady

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My Fair Lady 1957

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1958 – The Music Man (Meredith Wilson) beat out West Side Story (can you believe?)

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You might know this version:

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Compare with the original from the movie

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And, again we meet the barbershop quartet, singing so beautifully that it hypnotizes the characters.

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WEST SIDE STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHOULD HAVE WON!!!!

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And let’s not forget two other great musicals of the sixties (who won Tony’s),

Fiddler on the Roof won in 1965

Music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein

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MATCHMAKER MATCHMAKER

lyrics and chords

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Lyrics:

Matchmaker, Matchmaker,Make me a match,Find me a find,Catch me a catchMatchmaker, MatchmakerLook through your book,And make me a perfect matchMatchmaker, Matchmaker,I’ll bring the veil,You bring the groom,Slender and pale.Bring me a ring for I’m longing to be,The envy of all I see.For Papa,Make him a scholar.For mama,Make him rich as a king.Chava and Hodel:For me, well,I wouldn’t hollerIf he were as handsome as anything.Matchmaker, Matchmaker,Make me a match,Find me a find,Catch me a catch,Night after night in the dark I’m aloneSo find me match,Of my own.(Spoken)Since when are you in a match, Chava? I thought you had your eye on your books.(Hodel chuckles)Tzeitel con’t:And you have your eye on the Rabbi’s son.Well, why not?We have only one Rabbi and he has only one son.Why shouldn’t I want the best?Because you’re a girl from a poor family.So whatever Yenta brings, you’ll take, right?Of course right!Hodel, oh Hodel,Have I made a match for you!He’s handsome, he’s young!Alright, he’s 62.But he’s a nice man, a good catch, true?True.

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I promise you’ll be happy,And even if you’re not,There’s more to life than that—Don’t ask me what.Chava, I found him.Won’t you be a lucky bride!He’s handsome, he’s tall,That is from side to side.But he’s a nice man, a good catch, right?Right.You heard he has a temper.He’ll beat you every night,But only when he’s sober,So you’ll alright.Did you think you’d get a prince?Well I do the best I can.With no dowry, no money, no family backgroundBe glad you got a man!Matchmaker, Matchmaker,You know that I’mStill very young.Please, take your time.Up to this minute,I misunderstoodThat I could get stuck for good.Chava and Hodel:Dear Yenta,See that he’s gentleRemember,You were also a bride.It’s not thatI’m sentimentalChava and Hodel and Tzeitel:It’s just that I’m terrified!Matchmaker, Matchmaker,Plan me no plansI’m in no rushMaybe I’ve learnedPlaying with matchesA girl can get burnedSo,Bring me no ringGroom me no groomFind me no findCatch me no catchUnless he’s a matchless match.

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Jerrold Lewis Bock / Sheldon M Harnick

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