The Cambridge Companion to the Musical (2nd edition)

One of the contributors to this book suggests that the musical has been the most influential musical genre of the late twentieth‐century. Others argue that, in new forms and in imaginative transformation of old forms, the musical has successfully continued its influence in the twenty‐first. Whether we agree or not, musicals are a key part of popular culture today: we only have to speak of Grease or Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera or West Side Story to prove it so. Film and stage versions of musicals are now truly international, as The Lion King, Chicago,...