Abstract
Musical adaptations of Victorian and neo-Victorian texts have long been popular, with adaptations of already existing texts and Victorian-inspired texts being produced on the West End and Broadway. This chapter treats a variety of musicals, identifying what they reveal both about Victorian and contemporary culture. Reiff covers musicals that have become part of the musical theatre canon, such as The King and I (1951) and Oliver! (1960); commercially unsuccessful shows, such as The Woman in White (2004); and a proliferation of adaptations on smaller, more local stages, such as regional theatre productions of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The present day thus enjoys fecund ground for musical exploration, left by the Victorians, that not only reflects Victorian culture but also demonstrates what Victoriana has persisted into the modern age.
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Dracula, music by Frank Wildhorn, book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, Belasco Theatre, New York, 2004–2005.
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Hello, Dolly! music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart, Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, London, 2009, Shubert Theater, New York, 2017–2018.
Jane Eyre, music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, book by John Caird, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York, 2000–2001.
Jekyll and Hyde, music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, Plymouth Theater, New York, 1997–2001, Marquis Theater, New York, 2013.
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Oliver! book, music, and lyrics by Lionel Bart, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, 2009–2011.
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Reiff, M. (2024). “Too frivolous, too middlebrow, too populist, and too commercial”: Examining the Neo-Victorian Musical. In: Ayres, B., Maier, S.E. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Neo-Victorianism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32160-3_7
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