Broadway at HGO
This is the first time HGO has ever presented The Sound of Music. But the production represents the continuation of a proud and storied tradition at the company, one that is decades in the making.
Prior to 1982, it was quite rare for an opera company to do a musical. But that year, HGO presented a mainstage revival of Kern and Hammerstein’s 1927 musical Show Boat. The production became a blockbuster, traveling the country and the world and enjoying a successful run on Broadway.
The show’s revival helped establish classic musical theater as a distinctly American art form—one that has a rightful place in the opera house. Following its success, a new tradition was born, at both HGO and its peer companies across the country. Here is a selection of HGO’s history with musical theater:
Porgy and Bess
Creators: Composer George Gershwin, librettist DuBose Heyward, lyricist Ira Gershwin—1935
HGO Productions: 1976, 1987, 1995
Most Popular Song: “Summertime”
Hello, Dolly!
Creators: Lyrics and music by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart—1964
HGO Production: 1977 (starring Carol Channing!)
Most Popular Song: “Hello, Dolly!”
Show Boat
Creators: Music by Jerome Kern, lyrics and libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II—1927
HGO Productions: 1982, 1989, 2013
Most Popular Song: “Ol’ Man River”
Sweeney Todd
Creators: Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler—1979
HGO Productions: 1984, 2015
Most Popular Song: Tie! “Epiphany” and “A Little Priest”
Carousel
Creators: Music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II—1945
HGO Productions: 1990, 2016
Most Popular Song: “If I Loved You”
My Fair Lady
Creators: Music by Frederick Loewe, book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner—1956
HGO Production: 1991
Most Popular Song: “I Could Have Danced All Night”
A Little Night Music
Creators: Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler—1973
HGO Productions: 1999, 2014
Most Popular Song: “Send in the Clowns”
West Side Story
Creators: Conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents—1957
HGO Production: 2018—and winter 2025! Join us!
Most Popular Song: Tie! “America” and “Somewhere”