The musical, in all its various forms, is very much a living art form. Our goal in these history essays is to see how the musical has developed over the last few centuries on stage and screen, to assess where it currently stands, and to finally make some educated guesses as to where it may be headed in years to come. Let's start with a basic definition –
musical (noun): a stage, television or film production utilizing popular-style songs - dialogue optional - to either tell a story (book musicals) or showcase the talents of the writers and/or performers (revues).
Book musicals have gone by many names: comic operas, operettas, opera bouffe, burlesque, burletta, extravaganza, musical comedy, etc. Revues have their roots in variety, vaudeville, music halls and minstrel shows. In the spirit of Shakespeare's "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," this site discusses all these forms. The best musicals have three essential qualities –
Brains – intelligence and style
Heart – genuine and believable emotion
Courage – the guts to do something creative and exciting.
(And you thought The Wizard of Oz was just a children's flick?) Of course, quality is no guarantee of commercial success. However, musicals with these qualities are more likely to stand the test of time.
I believe that a great musical is a great musical, no matter what its point of origin. Those created for the large or small screen are no less interesting than those written for the stage. As one character in Boys In The Band (Crowley 1968) puts it, "Pardon me if your sense of art is offended, but odd as it may seem there wasn’t a Shubert Theatre in Hot Coffee, Mississippi!" So whether we are discussing Astaire & Rogers or Rodgers & Hammerstein, we are still considering the musical at its best.
musical (noun): a stage, television or film production utilizing popular-style songs - dialogue optional - to either tell a story (book musicals) or showcase the talents of the writers and/or performers (revues).
Book musicals have gone by many names: comic operas, operettas, opera bouffe, burlesque, burletta, extravaganza, musical comedy, etc. Revues have their roots in variety, vaudeville, music halls and minstrel shows. In the spirit of Shakespeare's "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," this site discusses all these forms. The best musicals have three essential qualities –
Brains – intelligence and style
Heart – genuine and believable emotion
Courage – the guts to do something creative and exciting.
(And you thought The Wizard of Oz was just a children's flick?) Of course, quality is no guarantee of commercial success. However, musicals with these qualities are more likely to stand the test of time.
I believe that a great musical is a great musical, no matter what its point of origin. Those created for the large or small screen are no less interesting than those written for the stage. As one character in Boys In The Band (Crowley 1968) puts it, "Pardon me if your sense of art is offended, but odd as it may seem there wasn’t a Shubert Theatre in Hot Coffee, Mississippi!" So whether we are discussing Astaire & Rogers or Rodgers & Hammerstein, we are still considering the musical at its best.
...........
You are correct. I got the two confused, and i do not believe I have ever seen Eddie and the Cruisers. I did, obviously, see Streets of Fire. 
