A 5CD SET which presents 133 unforgettable songs selected from the 50 Most Acclaimed Musicals + documented & illustrated libretto. ALL ORIGINAL CAST RECORDINGS. Right in the heart of Manhattan, the ""Theater Sub-District"" is bounded by 8th Avenue on the West, 6th Avenue on the East and North and South by 54th and 40th Streets West. Today there are 41 theatres (with a capacity of over 500). In the 1920s, there were nearly 80. By the end of the 1960s this number had halved! However, attendance did not weaken with nearly 14 million spectators during the 2018-2019 season. The real golden age of Broadway began in 1943 with the phenomenal success of Oklahoma! which, between March 31, 1943 and May 29, 1948, will be performed 2212 times, or 5 years on the bill! The first work of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II tandem was followed, until 1959, by a dozen others, all of which would be a resounding success. Of the 50 greatest musicals of the golden age featured in this anthology, 35 will receive the honours of a film adaptation that will extend and amplify their initial success. Cinema did not become a competition threatening the survival of Broadway Theatres until the mid-1960s and until the late 1970s.
