Musical Theater and War

Although musical theater is usually associated with toe-tapping smiles and dancing girls, it also has dealt at times with America's wars. Some such shows were too grating on the sensibilities of American audiences and never made it to Broadway or achieved lasting popularity. Other musicals found sufficient producer capital and greater resonance with audiences.

Composers, writers, and audiences for musicals did not really exist in the United States until the late 19th century, when the popularity of the light opera works of such British and continental composers and librettists as Gilbert and Sullivan and Franz Lehar spread to this continent. Consequently, musicals celebrating wars fought earlier do not appear until long after their conclusion.