1950's

"The Sound of Music"

1959 | Rodgers and Hammerstein

Story

The Sound of Music is about a young Austrian woman studying to become a nun in Salzburg in 1938 who is sent to the home of a retired naval officer and widower to be governess to his seven children. After bringing love and music into the lives of the family through kindness and patience, she marries the officer and together with the children they find a way to survive the loss of their homeland through courage and faith.

Broadway Production

The original Broadway production opened in 1959 and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Movie Production

The movie Sound of Music was released in 1965. It starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.

Movie Trailer

Songs

"The Sound of Music"

"My Favorite Things"

"So Long, Farewell"

"The Lonely Goatherd"
*** student favorite ***

"Do-Re-Mi"
* student favorite *

"Sixteen Going on Seventeen"

"Guys and Dolls"

1950 | Frank Loesser

Story

Considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy, Guys and Dolls ran for 1,200 performances when it opened on Broadway in 1950. Nathan Detroit is New York’s most infamous dice game organizer. Hoping to win a lot of money, he challenges notorious gambler Sky Masterson to a bet he’s sure he’ll win: Sky has to take Sarah Brown to dinner in Havana, Cuba. Sky accepts the bet and convinces Sarah to go to Cuba with him. Meanwhile, Nathan deals with his own situation - his 14-year fiancée, Adelaide, who’s tired of waiting for a wedding.

Broadway Production

Considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy, Guys and Dolls ran for 1,200 performances when it opened on Broadway in 1950.

Movie Production

Guys and Dolls is a 1955 musical film starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine.

Songs

"Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat"
*** student favorite ***

"Guys and Dolls"

"Fugue for Tinhorns"
*** student favorite ***

"Adelaide's Lament"
*** student favorite ***

"Luck Be a Lady"

"My Fair Lady"

1956 | Lerner and Loewe

Story

My Fair Lady is a musical about Eliza Doolittle, a flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist (someone who specializes in the study of words), so that she may pass as a well-born lady.

Broadway Production

The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a hit, setting what was then the record for the longest run of any major musical theatre production in history. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals. It has been called "the perfect musical".

Songs

"I Could Have Danced All Night"

"The Rain in Spain"

"Loverly"

"Get Me to the Church on Time"
* student favorite *

"Just You Wait"
* student favorite *

"The Music Man"

1957 | Meredith Wilson

Story

1912: Harold Hill is a fast-talking traveling salesman. He tricks the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boy's band he vows to organize - despite the fact he doesn't know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian, the librarian, who transforms him into a respectable citizen.