In a musical, the story is told in the traditional way, with music and song added in as well. This is a way to mix it up a little. There are many types of musicals, such as the drama comedy, and regular dramas. Of course, musical theater started out on the stage and does very well there even today, but many movies have been made with a musical theme as well. Seeing a musical or drama comedy is a great experience that no one should miss.

A musical has three main pieces. There are the lyrics, the music and the book. These are all pretty self-explanatory, but the music and lyrics go into telling the story through emotion, but the book reveals the real storyline. Musicals are related to opera, but differ in the fact that most operas incorporate only singing and acting, with no spoken words. There are many kinds of musical theater, such as the drama comedy or serious dramas, which can all date back to ancient Greece. In the 1950s and 1960s, musical movies were being made all the time. Many actors and actresses used musical roles to launch successful acting careers. Lots of the hot movies of the time were musical in nature, yet today, music is not in movies so much, and so singing talent isn't sought as much in movie casting.

The history of musicals is quite interesting as well. The concept of musical theater started with the Greeks. Some have dated this as far back as the 5th century B.C. Europe quickly stole this form of theater, and created the traveling musical troupe. By the Renaissance period, comedy drama was increasing popular in Europe. These were quickly turned into comedic operas and ballad operas. Each of these two styles had their unique features.

It wasn't until the 1860s that the form of modern musical theater was considered to be created. This originated with the musical "The Black Crook," which was created in New York. Of course, musical theater took off rapidly from there. During WWI, the operetta was very popular on Broadway. However, by the late 1920s, films were providing a serious challenge to the world of theater. By the 1950s and 60s, the musical theater, as it is known today, was going strong and has not changed too much since.

Now musicals are no longer a mystery for you. You know the basic form of a musical, as well as how they got started. In the golden days of musical theater, many film actors were involved in both theatrical productions and films. A great place to learn more about musical theater is at the library or online. Both mediums will have a plethora of information covering all aspects of musical theater.