Show Tunes

Show tunes are the songs written for musical theatre productions, composed to advance plot, reveal character and anchor the dramatic structure of a stage work. Drawn from Broadway, the West End and the wider musical stage, they combine the melodic directness of popular song with verse forms, reprises and orchestration tailored to dramatic moments. The work of *Stephen Sondheim*, *Rodgers & Hammerstein*, *Leonard Bernstein* and *Andrew Lloyd Webber* defines the repertory, and the original cast album became the principal means by which the songs circulated beyond the theatre. Individual numbers frequently entered the standard songbook through jazz and pop recordings.