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A musical is usually credited to three people: the composer, who writes the music; the lyricist, who writes the words to the songs; and the librettist, who writes the spoken dialog, called the ''libretto'' or the ''book.'' It is not unusual for the same person to write the lyrics and the libretto. For one famous musical, [[The Music Man]], Meredith Willson performed all three roles, writing music, lyrics, and book.

A musical is usually credited to three people: the composer, who writes the music; the lyricist, who writes the words to the songs; and the librettist, who writes the spoken dialog, called the ''libretto'' or the ''book.'' It is not unusual for the same person to write the lyrics and the libretto. For one famous musical, [[The Music Man]], Meredith Willson performed all three roles, writing music, lyrics, and book.

There is no bright-line definition of musical comedy. The golden age of the Broadway musical comedy is sometimes marked as beginning with [[Oklahoma!]] in 1943 and continuing through the 1960s. During the heyday of the musical, a significant proportion of broadcast radio hits were show tunes.  

There is no bright-line definition of musicals. Musicals blend in smoothly with [[revue]]s, [[operettas]], and even [[opera]]s—[[Porgy and Bess]] is sometimes considered as opera, sometimes as musical theatre.  

 

The golden age of the Broadway musical comedy is sometimes marked as beginning with [[Oklahoma!]] in 1943 and continuing through the 1960s. During the heyday of the musical, a significant proportion of broadcast radio hits were show tunes.  

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.