From the pre-Gilbert and Sullivan 1860s to the 1980s, this important reference surveys more than a century of British light musical theatre, including its writers and composers. Ganzl provides a wealth of information on the book, lyrics, and music of over 800 London musicals, including
contemporary reviews, cast lists, performances, plus pertinent notes gleaned from a study of surviving scores and libretti. Volume 1 traces the development of the genre between 1865 and 1914, describing its roots in burlesque and opera-buffe, and discussing the comic opera tradition and the Gilbert
and Sullivan partnership, the flowering of the so-called musical comedy under George Edwardes, and the important influence of the British musical theatre around the world, particularly in America. Volume 2 covers, among other topics, the reciprocal influences on the British musical theatre of the
American style, the advent of the dance-and-laughter musicals of the 1930s, the rock operas of the 1970s, and the subsequent development of the modern British musical in its second period of international prominence, highlighted by such hits as Evita and Cats.