The Arrival of Musical Theatre at the Lane (1924–1934)

This chapter traces the rise of American musical theatre at Drury Lane from 1924 to 1934, exploring ways in which ongoing cultural exchanges between the United States and Britain dramatically reshaped the identity of British musical theatre in post-World War I London. The works explored in this chapter, created by American librettist Oscar Hammerstein II and his collaborators, each highlight a different aspect of musical theatre at the Lane. The reception history of each of these works demonstrates the complexity of London theatre in the first half of the twentieth century and its increasing reliance upon large-scale American popular works challenging the commercial success of British musical theatre.