Musical theater combines songs, spoken dialogue, action, spectacle, and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical—humor, pathos, love, anger—are communicated through words, music, movement, and more. Musical theater in America, dating back to the 19th century, is a fascinating melting pot in terms of influences, themes, and styles. From its origins in opera, operetta, vaudeville, and folk theater, the American musical was conceived as entertainment for audiences in more modest locations than Broadway, with which it has become synonymous. 

Learn about the origins and follow the development of this great American genre through the eyes of the Legacy Theatre’s artistic director, Keely Baisden Knudsen. Enrollment includes a ticket to a performance of A Christmas Carol at the newly restored historic Legacy Theatre in Stony Creek, where Orson Welles and his Mercury Players once performed.