CHANGING STAGES takes us on the extraordinary journey of the last 100 years of American history -- the Great Depression, two world wars, McCarthyism, the elusive "American Dream," and the collision of race and cultures were reflected on stage by a uniquely American theater that was vibrant and vital. Eyre travels from Provincetown to Broadway, down the Mississippi to New Orleans, and to Hollywood to highlight the work of O'Neill, Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and Lorraine Hansberry. He meets up with artists such as Miller, Tony Kushner, Jason Robards, and Luise Rainer, and looks back on extraordinary performances by Katherine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier, and others. He examines the birth of the American musical which, like jazz, is a truly indigenous American art form. Some of the musical theater's greatest practitioners -- including Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince and Arthur Laurents -- take viewers on the journey that begins with "Showboat" and continues with "Oklahoma!," "West Side Story" and beyond.