Abstract:

The five essays in this chapter survey well-known and lesser-known cities around the world where musical theatre is produced: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; New York City, USA; London, UK; Lagos, Nigeria; and Manila, the Philippines. Each one reflects on different historical moments, from the nineteenth century through to the twenty first century, and on particular practitioners who contributed a range of innovations to musical theatre. Alex Bádue considers the localization and assimilation processes that have combined European, US American, and Brazilian cultures in Rio de Janeiro’s musical theatre practice. Jennifer C. H. J. Wilson uses impresario Tony Pastor’s career to explore how musical theatre in nineteenth-century New York City circulated and responded to the city’s working-class immigrant population. Laura Milburn similarly takes an impresario, producer Charles B. Cochran, and unpacks his collaborative work in twentieth-century London with both British and American songwriters. Leesi Patrick privileges a third producer, Bolanle Austen-Peters, and highlights BAP’s pioneering work in developing musical theatre as a viable entertainment industry in Lagos. Sir Anril P. Tiatco examines musical theatre entanglements in Manila to better understand the processes of returning, rewriting, and repeating that define its industry.

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