Who are some key composers of musical theatre?
American music theatre begins with foreign importa such as the team of Gilbert and Sullivan but then, it was also operetta and not what we think of as musical theatre today. Key figures in American musical theatre include Richard Rodgers, Frank Loesser, Lerner and Loewe, Jerry Herrman, Meredith Wilsson, Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and perhaps the three most important — Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Stephen Sondheim. These three are responsible for most of the actual development of the form, whereas, the others are all notable composers. I’ll leave it to you to figure out HOW they develop the form by mentioning, Showboat, Oklahoma, and Company. There are others of course but these will get you started.
