Changes

Many musicals were produced in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, but before [[Oklahoma!]] (with some exceptions—[[Show Boat]] being an important one) they were revue-like pastiches of songs glued together by flimsy excuses for a plot. Many of the songs from that era, by such composers as the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and Irving Berlin, have proved durable, but the shows themselves have not. When they are revived, the books are usually extensively rewritten.

Many musicals were produced in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, but before [[Oklahoma!]] (with some exceptions—[[Show Boat]] being an important one) they were revue-like pastiches of songs glued together by flimsy excuses for a plot. Many of the songs from that era, by such composers as the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and Irving Berlin, have proved durable, but the shows themselves have not. When they are revived, the books are usually extensively rewritten.