August 18, 2025
Q&A: How marginalized artists invented the Broadway musical
A new book by David Armstrong is a historical and cultural account of how the Broadway musical was predominantly created by people marginalized from mainstream society.
A new book from David Armstrong, University of Washington affiliate instructor of drama, evolved from his popular course titled, “The Broadway Musical.”
The class is a historical and cultural study of how the Broadway musical was predominantly created by people marginalized from mainstream society. Armstrong’s book, “Broadway Nation: How Immigrant, Jewish, Queer, and Black Artists Invented the Broadway Musical,” traces this same history through four major eras: The Genesis Period, The Silver Age, The Golden Age and The Modern Era.
Armstrong is also the writer, producer and host of “Broadway Nation,” a podcast focusing on the same topic. He’s worked as a director, producer, playwright and choreographer on Broadway and at leading theatre companies and across the U.S. He is best known for his 18 years as the artistic director and executive producer at The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.
UW News talked with Armstrong about his book and the cultural impact of Broadway musicals.
What made you want to focus on this history in particular?
David Armstrong: When I first got invited by the School of Drama to create a course, the question I had to grapple with was, “Well, what do I want to teach about?” They wanted a history of the Broadway musical and there are a lot of ways to go about that. I wanted to do something that was different — and this had been on my mind for quite a while — the fact that the Broadway musical was almost entirely an “outsider art form.” And diving into the research reemphasized my thesis that the artists who created the Broadway musical, and who have sustained it over its 125-year history, have come overwhelmingly from marginalized groups — including some that we wouldn’t think of as being marginalized today but who were severely disenfranchised in their day. For example, Irish immigrants are so much a part of this story, and they were at the bottom of the social scale at the turn of the 20th century.
That story of marginalized groups writing Broadway musicals became very interesting to me. I’ve always been fascinated with history. I always used to say, even as a kid, “Everything I know about history I learned from Broadway musicals.” You learn a lot about life from Broadway musicals, and you definitely learn about history.
In the introduction to this book, you talk about how Broadway musicals reflect and shape American culture. Can you elaborate on what you mean by that?
DA: The Broadway musical is a very democratic art form. It comes from the people. Because the originators themselves came from the streets, it’s not an aristocratic art form, the way most art forms had been prior to it.
The book “Broadway Nation” evolved from David Armstrong’s popular course at the UW.
The early creators were intent on trying to reflect what was going on in the world. George M. Cohan, whom I credit with being the father of the musical comedy, talked about bringing the streets onto the stage — so it’s very much trying to capture the essence of American life.
Some people will say musicals are unrealistic. That’s an easy cop-out. I think musicals are metaphors for what’s going on in life. They reflect life in their own way. A student once said to me after my class: “I didn’t expect this to be so much about American history.” And I said, “Well, you can’t separate the two things.” It’s all reflected in musicals, and musicals are then reflecting back what’s happening in the world and in the culture. The secret of musicals is that even if people perceive them as being sort of silly or unimportant, underneath, they’re dealing with all these issues. The secret sauce of the great musicals is that they are almost always about important issues that are at the heart of American culture. But people aren’t always aware of that because they’re presented in such a wildly entertaining fashion. Still, I believe the underlying subject matter is being absorbed by audiences subliminally. That’s what makes musicals so transgressive — they have this underlying message and hidden power.
You conclude the book with chapters on the cultural impact of musicals. How would you describe that impact?
DA: Those are my favorite chapters and my favorite part of teaching. They weave together everything else that’s in the book. By that point, I’m done telling the history, because we’ve basically come to the present moment. So now, the question is: What is the Broadway musical about? What’s the point of all this? As I began analyzing this, it was clear to me that there are three major themes that the majority of Broadway musicals are centered around: transgressive women; equity, social justice and inclusion; and community. Almost every show deals with at least one of these themes, and many shows deal with two or even all three.
Probably the most ubiquitous theme is transgressive women — women who do not do what society tells them to do. Not in the time period in which the musical is set, nor in the time when the musical was first written and performed. But people do not perceive musicals that way. When I tell people that the number one subject matter of the Broadway musical is transgressive women, they look at me like I’m crazy. That’s because women typically have played subservient roles in most other forms of American media, but that’s not true of the Broadway musical. Musicals have most often centered on women, usually unmarried and working women. There are some exceptions to this — some high-profile exceptions — but there is no doubt that the overwhelming majority of Broadway musicals place women at the center of the action.
The second theme is equity, social justice and inclusion. I have a chart in the book that lists 35 hit musicals that center around these issues, going all the way back to the very beginning. Certainly, “Show Boat” is a key early show that places this theme front and center and demonstrates the power and impact a musical can have in addressing these serious issues.
The third theme, and it’s right up there in importance, is community, specifically the importance of forming healthy, vital communities. Musicals as disparate and diverse as “Oklahoma!” and “Come from Away” demonstrate how to do it. Conversely, shows like “Sweeney Todd” and “West Side Story” depict communities that are broken down and in trouble. What do we need to do to build, maintain and nurture a community? The answer that Broadway musicals put forward most often is that — in order to have a thriving, healthy community — both warring sides of a conflict must compromise. We must somehow come together. We don’t seem to be living in a world that is capable of compromise right now. I think we may need to learn from these great Broadway musicals to move forward.
For more information, contact David Armstrong at davidarm@uw.edu.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • David Armstrong • School of Drama