A musical can be defined as a play with a simple plot and several song and dance sequences. Its origin can be traced back to 1890, year in which the English writer George Edwardes considered his Gaiety Girl as a musical comedy. It has since grown in importance and many of the songs originating from musicals have become hugely popular hits.

Edwardes himself introduced the musical to the U.S., one of the reasons the two centres of the genre became Broadway and the West End. However, it was the U.S. musical that truly took off in the 1920s, with a style all of its own and spectacular choreography. It is the era of George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Richard Rogers, who based their hits on the rhythms of jazz and its precursor ragtime. The English musical, on the other hand, attached more importance to the plot and script.

After a crisis that lasted several decades, the musical is once again enjoying a golden age and its popularity grows as the years pass. The offer is increasingly wider and the productions ever more elaborate, with impressive sets, costumes, choreography and artists. The leader of this new golden age is Andrew Lloyd Weber, author of hits such as Evita, West Side Story and the Phantom of the Opera.

Broadway in Spain
Since the end of the 1990s, various Spanish empresarios have tried to install the mythical Broadway in Spain, more specifically Madrid's popular Gran V�a. One of the first hits was El hombre de la Mancha (The Man of La Mancha), which was simply a starting point, helping to dignify the musical genre in Madrid.
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In mid-2001, a total of six musicals dominated the Spanish theatrical scene with titles such as Beauty and the Beast, Blood Brothers, Story of a Horse and La Cage aux Folles. Later came other musicals such as Hello Dolly with Concha Velasco, which also travelled around the rest of Spain; Grease; Chicago; Beauty and the Beast; Jekyll & Hyde; The Lion King; Fame; Les Mis�rables or The Phantom of the Opera.

Although varying in quality, all these musicals contributed to the revitalisation of a genre that has millions of followers the world over, and that Spaniards have also taken to their hearts. One of the main reasons behind this renaissance is the attempt to import all the ingredients that have led to musical's popularity in other cities such as New York, London or Paris: highly sophisticated sets that are constantly changing, a large cast of actors/dancers wearing striking costumes, special effects and spectacular choreography, These huge and expensive productions add spice to the genre and draw us closer to the magic of Broadway. So convincing and dazzling are these Spanish versions that the original productions, such as We will rock you or Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, are matched and often surpassed.�