Imagine a world without the dulcet songs from Into the Woods, Anything Goes, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked and Little Shop of Horrors.  Undoubtedly, musical theater composers have changed Western culture for the better. Amongst musical theater composers, there are an elite few who have become world renowned.  These are the composers who have written the musicals we all know and love. Every day, StageAgent members ‘fan’ their favorite composers. Let’s take a look at the top ten musical theater composers of all time, as voted by StageAgent members:

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What do you think? Any great composers you feel are missing from this list?

5 comments

  1. Jerry Herman. John Kander. Frederick Loewe. Frank Loesser.

    The output of JRB and Jonathan Larsen are, literally, small potatoes compared to the output of the foregoing.

    Who exactly responded to this poll? Only professional singers, I’m guessing.

  2. accepted that lists are subjective, however Jerry Herman’s omission displays an glaring lack of musical theatre knowledge

  3. Irving Berlin. There are more great songs in Annie Get Your Gun than in Jonathan Larson’s whole oeuvre (wonderful as it is).

  4. This list shows an astonishing level of ignorance about musical theatre. For starters, let’s look at:

    Jule Styne
    Bob Merrill
    George M. Cohan
    Irving Berlin
    Jerry Herman
    Jerry Bock
    Richard Adler
    Leonard Bernstein
    Kurt Weill
    Cy Coleman
    Burton Lane
    Harold Rome
    Harold Arlen
    Meredith Willson
    Charles Strouse
    Frank Loesser
    Jerome Kern
    Claude-Michel Schonberg
    Maury Yeston
    Lionel Bart
    Leslie Bricusse

    George Heymont
    http://myculturallandscape.blogspot.com/2007/11/about-author.html

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-heymont

  5. Not to mention the great Herbert Oliver who virtually invented musical entertainments in London from 1910 onwards, without him there might have been none.

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