1960-1979 Changing Times
1960
Oscar Hammerstein II dies; London's West End and Broadway dim their lights in tribute.
Rock 'n' roll appears for the first time in a musical: "Bye Bye Birdie."
"Camelot," with Richard Burton and Julie Andrews, opens, bringing the legend of King Arthur to Broadway and beyond.
1961
Jerry Herman writes his first Broadway score, "Milk and Honey," set in Israel.
"How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" wins the Pulitzer Prize and makes a star out of its lead, Robert Morse.
George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart die within six months of each other.
1962
Sondheim's first Broadway show as composer and lyricist, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," opens. It stars Zero Mostel, who wins the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical.
Irving Berlin's final musical, "Mr. President," opens; its Kennedyesque leading character fails to make the show a hit.
1963
Harold Prince has his first success as a director, "She Loves Me," with music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick.
Angela Lansbury makes her musical comedy debut in "Anyone Can Whistle," a flop by Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents.
Cole Porter dies in California.
1964
"Fiddler on the Roof," a musical about a small Russian Jewish village, opens and is a huge hit.
Sammy Davis Jr. stars as a black boxer trapped in a white world in a musical update of Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy."
Barbra Streisand is a sensation playing Fanny Brice in her second Broadway musical, "Funny Girl".
1965
Mary Martin takes "Hello, Dolly!" on tour across the United States. The Jerry Herman musical opened in 1964, bringing acclaim to Carol Channing in the lead role.
Alan Jay Lerner teams with Burton Lane for his last successful musical, "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever," starring Barbara Harris and John Cullum.
1966
Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon (married in real life) team up to take the town by storm in "Sweet Charity."
Angela Lansbury charms the husks right off the considerable corn in "Mame."
"Cabaret," the first musical to tackle the rise of Nazism in Hitler's Germany, opens. It makes the careers of its director, Harold Prince, songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb, and Joel Grey as the eerie omniscient Master of Ceremonies.
1967
"Hair," a look at the counterculture of the '60s with a rock score, opens Off Broadway at Joseph Papp's Public Theatre at Astor Place.
David Merrick, seeking to revive the box office receipts of "Hello, Dolly!" recasts it with an all-black ensemble, led by Pearl Bailey as Dolly.
The Tony Awards are broadcast on national television for the first time.
1968
Bernadette Peters makes her Broadway debut playing Joel Grey's sister in the musical bio of "George M!" -- Cohan, of course.
"Hair" moves its controversial production -- rock music, nudity, and all -- to Broadway, the first Off-Broadway show to do so.
Burt Bacharach and Hal David write their only Broadway score for "Promises, Promises."
1969
"1776," a musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, becomes a surprise hit.
Katharine Hepburn performs in her first and only Broadway musical, Alan Jay Lerner's "Coco," as the legendary couturier Coco Chanel.
1970
Lauren Bacall becomes a Broadway musical star at the age of 46 in "Applause."
"Company," the first collaboration between director Harold Prince and composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, opens to acclaim and marks them as the most challenging musical theater artists of their generation.
"1776" is the first musical to play the White House.
1971
The revival of the 1925 "No, No, Nanette" is a surprise smash hit, inspiring legions of revivals over the next 40 years.
Sondheim and Prince challenge convention again with "Follies," an acid-tinged valentine to the world of Florenz Ziegfeld.
Andrew Lloyd Webber makes his first appearance on Broadway; "Jesus Christ Superstar," written with Tim Rice, becomes a controversial sensation.
1972
Bob Fosse turns Stephen Schwartz's "Pippin" into a major hit with his razzle-dazzle; it will run nearly 2,000 performances and be the first show to advertise on television.
"Grease," a nostalgic look at the '50s, opens Off Broadway. It eventually moves to Broadway and is a hit show and, later, a blockbuster film.
"Fiddler on the Roof" runs for 3,242 performances and becomes the longest-running musical of its time.
1973
Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns," from "A Little Night Music," is the biggest commercial song of his career.
The TKTS booth opens at Duffy Square on 47th and Broadway, selling discounted tickets on the day of a performance. More than 10 percent of all Broadway ticket sales will come from TKTS.
1974
Leonard Bernstein's "Candide," a flop in 1956, is imaginatively revived by Harold Prince in a hit environmental production.
Angela Lansbury tackles Ethel Merman's definitive role in a revival of "Gypsy" on Broadway, after a London production; she wins a Tony.
1975
"The Wiz," an all-black version of THE WIZARD OF OZ, provides a family-friendly show for black and white audiences.
Michael Bennett's tribute to the anonymous members of the dancing chorus, "A Chorus Line," opens downtown at the Public Theatre, after an extended workshop period. The clamor for tickets is so great that the show moves uptown to the Shubert Theatre.
Bob Fosse's lean, mean "Chicago" opens. The show runs for almost 1,000 performances, but is overshadowed by the success of "A Chorus Line."
1976
Alan Jay Lerner teams up with former Harvard classmate Leonard Bernstein to write "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," a bicentennial tribute; it flops.
Sondheim and Prince turn their attention to Japan in "Pacific Overtures," an all-Asian-American production done in kabuki style; its elaborate production fails to catch on.
1977
Revivals start appearing more frequently: "The King and I," "Fiddler," and "Hello, Dolly!" are all revived on Broadway.
A red-haired moppet named "Annie" shakes the box office out of its doldrums and is a full-fledged hit with family audiences; songs include "Tomorrow."
Ticket prices hit $17.50 -- the top price for a weekend night performance to see Liza Minnelli in "The Act."
1978
Fats Waller's music returns to Broadway for the first time in nearly 50 years in "Ain't Misbehavin'" -- a Tony-winning revue. Months later, "Eubie!" brings the music of Eubie Blake back to Broadway with its own revue format.
I "LOVE" NY, a professional ad campaign to lure tourists to Broadway, proves highly successful.
Michael Bennett's followup to "A Chorus Line," "Ballroom," fails at the box office.
1979
With "Sweeney Todd," Prince and Sondheim bring a murderous barber and his deranged accomplice to the musical stage; it wins eight Tonys.
"Evita," which originated in the West End, comes to New York with Patti LuPone as the wife of the Argentine dictator, Juan Perón.
Richard Rodgers dies, several months after a successful revival of "Oklahoma!" at the Palace.
"Grease" surpasses "Fiddler" as Broadway's longest-running musical.
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