A musical innovation of the 20th century period was the American musical theater.

According to Kristine Forney and Joseph Machlis, he American musical theater of today
developed from the cosmic opera, or operetta, tradition of late!nineteenth!century "uropean
composers such as Johann #trauss Jr., and the team of $il%ert and #ullivan &Pirates of Penzance,
'()*+ The Mikado, '((,-. he genre was revamped to suit American tastes, first %y immigrant
composers such as .ictor /er%ert &Babes in Toyland, '*00-, %ut was soon ta1en up %y American
musicians li1e Jerome Kern &Snow Boat, '*2)- &200(, 000-.2 American musical theater was
important %ecause it came from operetta. 3t continues to %e important today for the same reason.
Kristine Forney and Joseph Machlis also state, 4hile plots for early musicals were often
silly and contrived, this changed when composers loo1ed to sophisticated literary sources for
their plots &Show Boat, for e5ample is %ased on an "dna Fer%er novel, and 6erner and 6oewe7s
My Fair Lady is still %ased on $eorge 8ernard #haw7s play Pygmalion-. A few wor1s were much
ahead of their time in %oth their serious su%9ect matter and in compositional techni:ue+ a case in
point is $eorge $ershwin7s ;orgy and 8ess &'*0,-. 8ased on a novel %y <u8ose /eyward, it
focused on African!American life in fictitious =atfish >ow, in =harleston, #outh =arolina. his
wor1 paved the way for 6eonard 8ernstein7s West Side Story, one of the first musical theater
pieces to end tragically2 &200(, 000!00'-. American musical theater was important and continues
to %e important today %ecause it used plots from %oo1s. he musical West Side Story was %ased
on Romeo and Jliet &Forney et al. 200(, 00'-.
4or1s =ited
Forney, Kristine, and Joseph Machlis. The !n"oyment of
Msic !ssential Listening !dition. ?ew @or1, ?@A 4. 4. ?orton B =ompany, 3nc.,
200(. &accessed January '0, 20'0-.