Introduction

Musical theatre is an international form, not just an American one.  It can take root anywhere.  Following the publication of my previous book, Broadway North: The Dream of a Canadian Musical Theatre, the response I received from all over the world suggested that the principles I laid out therein – “putting the audience on stage” – applied not just to my native Canada, but to other countries as well. 
The musical theatre is a form that is so linked in the public’s mind with Broadway that it is sometimes referred to as the “American Musical Theatre”.  In fact, the late Peter Stone,
a former president of the Dramatists Guild and a noted Broadway librettist, once claimed that no musical theatre existed outside of New York City.  On the other hand, Alan Jay Lerner, the librettist behind My Fair Lady said, “Broadway cannot live without the musical theatre, but the
musical theatre can live without Broadway.  After all, its first home was Paris and then Vienna and then London and then New York.  So changes of address are not uncommon.” 
I want to explore the work that does exist outside of New York.  I’m not talking about the
many franchised versions of Fiddler on the Roof and Grease that have played everywhere from Tel Aviv to Abu Dabi.  I’m referring to indigenous musical theatre created in places other than New York by people other than New Yorkers and drawing on traditions other than just those of
Broadway.
Why do this? After half a century of New York domination, our culture is again becoming more cosmopolitan. In recent years, Broadway has played host to The Drowsy Chaperone (from Canada) and The Boy from Oz (from Australia).  Until the Second World War, there were not two centres for musical theatre, but at least half a dozen.  In addition to New York and London, we had Paris, Vienna, Berlin and Budapest, among others.  (And I’m not just talking about operetta, but musical comedy.) In spite of its reputation as the place where Broadway shows die, post-war France gave us at least three internationally successful musicals – Irma La Douce, the film The Umbrellas of
Cherbourg, and of course Les Misérables.
However, it’s not the past that interests me so much as the future. When people talk about the future of musical theatre, the names of Michael John Lachiusa, Jason Robert Brown, Andrew Lippa
and Adam Guettel are mentioned reverentially.  When will they add to that Leslie Arden (Canada) and Howard Goodall (U.K.)?  Other countries, such as Japan, Brazil, Argentina and Singapore are also making great strides toward establishing their own voices.   So the future centres of activity might include such hitherto neglected cities as Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo, Buenos Aires and others.  In Australia, I visited Kookaburra in Sydney and Magnormos Theatre in
Melbourne (sponsors of the “OzMade Musicals festival).  In Japan, Shiki Theatre have been performing both Western imports – from Broadway hits like Wicked to Canada’s seminal musical Anne of Green Gables – and original Japanese works.  South Africa has also exported Sarafina and Kat and the Kings.
My book is still a work in progress.  With this blog I would like to keep you up to date on its development.  It is also an opportunity to be interactive.  I can't be everywhere at once, and you can help me enormously by filling me in on what is happening where you are.