I like to be in America...

Happy July 5th! Yesterday I did my part in celebrating our country by drinking a lot of hard soda and watching my siblings set things on fire. Today, I continue my work by presenting you with a list of musicals about the US and its history. A day to late, and yet never to late. I learned a lot while looking into this and will present you with a song for each one. I hope you enjoy! 

1492 Up To Date

1492 Up To Date was debuted on Broadway in 1893. It's a burlesque show about Christopher Columbus with nearly 0% historical accuracy. It was written by Carl Pflueger and R. A. Barnet. While largely unknown, I was able to find this little snippet of the music. Sounds pretty patriotic to me. 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 

This musical hit Broadway in 1976. It was written by Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner and is known for being a phenomenal flop, closing after seven performances. This musical follows 100 years of White House history with one man playing all of the presidents and one woman playing all of the first ladies. It is largely focused on the injustices suffered by black Americans at the hands of those in the White House. I, personally, think this sounds like a great concept, but apparently the writing was terrible. Too bad. It did, however, receive praise for the character of First Lady and her songs. So I present you with the First Lady's song, Take Care of This House which explores how her job caring for the White House is actually a job caring for the nation. This version is sung by the lovely Cynthia Erivo. 

1776

Written by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone, it opened on Broadway in 1969 and was made into a movie in 1972. This is basically the Hamilton for John Adams. Miranda even riffs on this musical when Hamilton tells John Adams, "Sit down, John, you fat..." Well, you know the rest. This is a play on what is arguably 1776's most famous song, Sit Down, John. But for today's work, I will play for you But, Mr. Adams. Listen to the founding fathers argue over who has to write the Declaration of Independence, with such excuses as being too horny to do so. Enjoy. 

All American 

Written by Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, and Mel Brooks, and debuting on Broadway in 1962 this is, of course, a ridiculous musical about the Southern Baptist Institute of Technology and its work in football and engineering. It also focuses a lot on immigration, with the main character being an immigrant from Hungary. Speaking of, here's a song sung by the main character called What A Country. (It doesn't have an embed option, so you'll have to follow the link. Sorry, folks.)

Allegiance 

Written by Jay Kuo, Marc Acito, Lorenzo Thione, and George Takei and coming to Broadway in 2015, this musical focuses on darker days in the US's history as it takes time to explore the experiences of those in the Japanese Interment Camps. This musical asks the question of what it means to pledge allegiance to a country that hates you and hurts you. A powerful musical, I decided to use one of their promotion videos instead of just one song. Seriously, check out the whole album. 

American Idiot

Along the more depressing line comes American Idiot. Written by the members of  Green Day and Michael Mayer in 2010, this musical questions the American Dream. While a rather angry musical with very few answers, it does hit on something important. Sometimes the most patriotic thing you can do is question your country. Only through questions and critiques can we get better. So here's the title song. 

Assassins 

Assassins is an odd one because it's a musical about the people in history who have tried to kill the president. Written in 1990 by Stephen Sondheim and John Wiedman, this musical explores the sort of patriotic and very messed up thinking that might lead to someone killing (or attempting to kill) the President of the United States. After all, we all have a right to be happy and follow our dreams, don't we?

 

Ben Franklin in Paris

A more upbeat musical, in many ways, this musical from the 60s by Mark Sandrich Jr., Jerry Herman and Sidney Michaels, it looks at Ben Franklin's life in Paris as Ambassador to France and includes such gems as I Love the Ladies, which looks at Ben's reputation for being a womanizer. But included in this post to cut some of the depression of the last few musicals, I present Half the Battle which is all about how half the battle of the revolution is keeping a good attitude. So keep up those good attitudes revolutionaries! (There's a lot of talking in this video clip, so skip ahead.)

Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson

This is one of my friends' votes for most underrated musical. This is an Emo Rock Musical about Andrew Jackson and the formation of the Democratic Party. This is a musical about the people of the US asking why the government doesn't care about them or pay attention to their needs. A legitimate question that can have some really problematic conclusions. Kind of a musical for the times, really, though it was written in 2008 by Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers. The musical closed on Broadway after only a month but is really funny, so listen to the soundtrack. 

Bye Bye Birdie 

Maybe an odd pick, but Bye Bye Birdie was written in 1960 by Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, and Michael Stewart and was inspired by Elvis's draft. This musical explores how celebrity and the draft work together as well as teenage culture in America. 

Chess

This musical is about a chess tournament, right? It's actually about the cold war. It's a metaphor. And history. And yes. A beautiful, though confusing soundtrack, this musical written in 1984 by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Tim Rice, and Richard Nelson it follows a Cold War era chess tournament between Russia and the US. Enjoy Anthem, which, while sung by the Russian, I think summarizes the feelings of both countries. 

The Civil War

Hitting Broadway in 1999 and written by Frank Wildhorn, Jack Murphy, and Gregory Boyd, this musical uses Gospel, Folk, Country, Rock, and R&B music to tell the story of the Civil War through the eyes of Northern soldiers, Southern soldiers, and Slaves. 

Hamilton

Hitting Broadway with great force in 2015, Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda became the poster child for American history on stage. Using hip-hop to tell the story of the the founding fathers, specifically Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant. Focused on what it means to be a country built on the backs of immigrants and slaves, this musical created a new obsession with Broadway musicals. Clearly not the first musical to redefine American history, it is arguably the most popular.  Once again, due to copyright, this video cannot be embedded, but you can enjoy what I consider the most patriotic of the songs here.

The Immigrant

An off-Broadway musical from 2004, written by Steven M. Alper, Sarah Knapp, and Mark Harelik. This musical explores what it meant to be an immigrant in Texas in the early 1900s. This is definitely one I want to explore more. Check it out.

Miss Liberty

Miss Liberty, written in 1946 by Irving Berlin and Robert E Sherwood was written to encourage the American soldiers and people during WWII and to remind everyone what the US was about. Covering the history of the making of the Statue of Liberty, its most famous song is Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, a song still song by choirs for Fourth of July. 

Ragtime

Written by Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, and Terrence McNally, this beautiful musical (one of my favorites) graced the Broadway stage in 1998. The musical begins by highlighting the extreme segregation of the turn of the 20th century, and the ways in which the three primary groups of Americans, upper-class white, black, and immigrants were forced into lives that were entirely separate, and also were forced to live lives that intersected. In a beautiful turn of things, this musical ends with a diverse family, people who love each other and are no longer separated by society's rules. 

West Side Story

Debuting in 1957 and written by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents, West Side Story did the amazing and retold Romeo and Juliet but made it about, well, racism and immigration in the US. Focusing on Puerto Rican immigrants, this musical shows the pain and loss caused by unneeded barriers in the United States. Enjoy the famous song, America. 

These musicals are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to American history in song and on stage. There are so many more, but you can enjoy these songs and a few more in a playlist at this link.

Leave a comment! What's your favorite musical about America? Happy 4th week, everyone.