The post-war Theater witnessed the alterations that the whole world underwent in the course of the Second World War. Right after the war, the European theatrical scenes were occupied by the plays of three authors. They are Tennessee Williams with his “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, Jean-Paul Sartre with “No Exit”, and Samuel Becket “Waiting for Godot”;
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Modern Theatre comes from the European Renaissance Theatre of the 16th-17th centuries that dates back to the Ancient Greek and Roman Theatre. Its foundation was laid down in England and Italy, especially by the English Renaissance Theatre between in the period between Reformation and theatre closure in 1642;
The beginning of the 19th century was swept by the never-before-seen cultural movement known as Romanticism. One of the first European dramatists who got himself involved in this process was August Schlegel that considered W. Shakespeare the greatest playwright;
Modern Musical Theater
The elements of Musical Theater were present even in Ancient theatrical dramatics in the times of Sophocles and Euripides. In early and middle Medieval Europe, the Musical Theater could be found in liturgical plays, masquerades and Passion plays. Still, all these performances were carried out under the strictest control and supervision of Roman Catholic Church.
For most of us, it is clear that Music and Theater are two "faces" of the same medal. However, it was only in the eighteenth century that Musical Theater was organized in a professional way, combining songs, dances, and instrument playing. The origin of Modern Musical Theater is the variety shows and "follies" that were the first art-based combinations of song, dance and spectacle.
In the US, for example, it was Broadway Theater that engaged itself bright and unforgettable onstage musical plays that started to yield millions after WWI. By the way, it was one of the first American theaters that became fully-commercialized and helped to create 'entertainment industry'.
The beginning of the 20th century named musical performances "musicals", making them one of the most popular global theatrical pieces.
Musicals are done all around the globe. They may be presented almost on any kind of stage starting from Broadway in New York City and Fringe Theater in London.
Two other most famous Musical Theater performances are operetta and musical comedy.