Which of the following represents a future example of musical or artistic production inspired by patriotism?

The Musical, like jazz, is a quintessentially American art form; and like our country, it has been forged from many influences: comic opera, operetta, English music hall, minstrel shows, vaudeville and others. Musicals are also among the most collaborative of the arts, forged by teams that typically include composers, lyricists, librettists, directors, performers, choreographers, orchestrators, producers, arrangers and designers.

When was the American musical born? Traditionally, it had been dated from The Black Crook (1866), but that is now considered too simplistic an answer. It was more extravagant, dance-heavy and provocative than previous musical entertainments, but its script and score were constantly changing, with songs interpolated from various sources. Among earlier shows, The Archers (1796), while never approaching the success of The Black Crook, had a more meaningful plot. While several European talents, like Jacques Offenbach (1819-80), Johann Strauss II (1825-99) and Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), influenced the music in musicals, the beginning of a distinctively American sound is largely attributable to Stephen Foster (1826 - 1864), in songs like "Oh! Susanna," "Camptown Races" and "Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)."

The memorable musicals from the rest of the 19th and early 20th centuries are mostly operettas, such as Reginald de Koven's Robin Hood (1891), John Philip Sousa's El Capitan (1896), a succession of Gilbert and Sullivan imports (except for their The Pirates of Penzance, which had its world premiere in America, 1879), Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland (1903) and Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow (Die Lustige Witwe) (American production, 1907). But the man who came to be recognized as the grandfather of the American musical comedy was George M. Cohan (1878-1942). From 1904 to 1920, Cohan created and produced over fifty musicals, plays and revues. His energy and talents seemed boundless: he sang, danced, wrote scripts and songs, directed and produced. His shows celebrated both an all-American, flag-waving patriotism, and the immigrant experience. The shows were brash, direct, and contemporary and, shockingly for the time, included jargon and slang. His best remembered show, Little Johnny Jones (1904), introduced the first anthem to this new art form, "Give My Regards to Broadway."

Overlapping Cohan, and representing a new, more sophisticated style, was the composer Jerome Kern (1885-1945). Kern began his career in 1904 by having songs interpolated into shows whose scores were mostly by other composers, both on Broadway and in London. His work began to be broadly recognized with songs he added to the imported The Girl from Utah (1914). The hit song from the show, "They Didn't Believe Me," is often described as the first standard of the classic American songbook.

Kern significantly impacted the evolution of the musical with a series of five shows that (mostly) premiered at the Princess Theatre (Manhattan) between 1915 and 1918. Because the theater was so small (it only sat 299 people), in order to be profitable the productions had to be more intimate - smaller casts and orchestras, fewer sets and costumes. They also catered to a more sophisticated audience, with more believable plots, and songs more closely related to the action. Most of these shows were collaborations with librettist Guy Bolton and lyricist P. G. Wodehouse, whose clever wordplay was much admired and influenced later lyricists Lorenz Hart and Cole Porter.

The Princess shows led to a more lavish collaboration with the most extravagant producer of the time, Florenz Ziegfeld (1867-1932), best known for his (almost) annual spectaculars, The Ziegfeld Follies (1907-31). Sally (1920), with music by Kern, book by Bolton, several lyricists, and produced by Ziegfeld, starred Marilyn Miller (1898-1936), the radiant musical comedy star of the 1920s. She typically played the Cinderella characters prevalent in this period. In his Follies, Ziegfeld continued to introduce and feature a stream of gorgeous showgirls and one-of-a-kind comics, like Fanny Brice, W. C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, and Will Rogers, as well as Bert Williams (1874-1922), who mixed humor with pathos, and was the first African-American performer to be featured in an otherwise all-white show.

While most of the shows from the 1920s and 30s are now forgotten, they produced hundreds of magnificent standards by a group of (mostly) men of extraordinary talent. Among this rarified group were Irving Berlin (1888-1989), Cole Porter (1891-1964), Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960), Lorenz Hart (1895-1943), Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), Vincent Youmans (1898-1946), George Gershwin (1898-1937), Richard Rodgers (1902-79), and Dorothy Fields (1905-74). ).

The most significant show from this period was Show Boat (1927), produced by Ziegfeld, with music by Kern, and lyrics and libretto by Hammerstein. While the score is magnificent, it is primarily Hammerstein's contribution as a dramatist that made the show so important. Vast in scope, it dealt seriously with racism, miscegenation, addiction, and abandonment. The result was, by today's standards, arguably the first piece of musical theater. "Ol' Man River" is both Kern's and the show's most iconic song, providing a meditation on the nature of fate as an undercurrent throughout the show.

Two other shows worth highlighting boasted Ethel Merman (1908-84) who, with her powerhouse voice, was a reigning star on Broadway for more than thirty years. She first made her mark in the Gershwins' Girl Crazy (1930), where she shook the rafters introducing "I Got Rhythm." Of the Gershwins' Broadway shows, Girl Crazy probably introduced the most standards. And George Gershwin, more than any other composer, introduced the language of jazz to Broadway. Cole Porter's Anything Goes (1934) is arguably the iconic show of the 1930s - offering the escapism so needed during the Depression. Its broad humor, vivid characters and delicious score have made it the most frequently revived show of the decade.

In addition to the musical comedies of this period, a series of memorable revues offered a topical, funny and daring combination of songs, production numbers, and comic sketches. Two of the finest were Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz's The Bandwagon (1931), and Irving Berlin's As Thousands Cheer (1933). The latter used a newspaper as a framing device (with the weather report represented by the provocative "Heat Wave"). Most memorable was the news report about a lynching, accompanied by Ethel Waters' searing version of "Supper Time."

It would be inexcusable to discuss musicals in America without touching on film musicals. Beginning with Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer in 1927, by 1929 film musicals had exploded in popularity. With less work on Broadway during the Great Depression, many of the best songwriters went to Hollywood, bringing a sophistication and inventiveness to that medium. A good example is Love Me Tonight (1932), directed by Rouben Mamoulian, with songs by Rodgers and Hart, and starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald - its look and the way the songs become part of the action remain extraordinary. 42nd Street (1933) popularized the backstage musical, and brought acclaim to the kaleidoscopic choreography of Busby Berkeley. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers starred in a series of dance-heavy, elegant romances, introducing a bevy of standards by Berlin, Kern and the Gershwins. MGM became the studio known for producing the most ambitious and extravagant musicals, such as The Wizard of Oz (1939), and reaching their apogee with An American in Paris (1951) and Singin' in the Rain (1952). But then movie musicals quickly began falling out of favor, and the most successful ones tended to be film adaptations of Broadway shows, such as West Side Story (1961), The Sound of Music (1965), Cabaret (1972), Grease (1978), Chicago (2002) and Les Misérables (2012), with a handful of Disney animated features thrown in, including Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Lion King (1994). In a bit of turnabout, these animated musicalswere later turned into live action Broadway musicals.

The Broadway musical evolved dramatically when Rodgers and Hammerstein forged a new collaboration, beginning with Oklahoma! (1943). A new kind of musical, their model became the standard for a generation. More musical plays than musical comedies, they dealt with serious issues, characters changed and evolved via the songs, and every aspect of the shows was of a piece. Humor mostly came from characters and their relationships, rather than jokes. And the music tended to draw from operetta, with sweeping romantic numbers and anthems. Between 1943 and 1951 they were the kings of Broadway, with shows that included Carousel, South Pacific and The King and I. The new standard they set for musicals even forced some of their contemporaries to create the best scores of their careers in order to stay relevant - Irving Berlin with Annie Get Your Gun (1946), and Cole Porter with Kiss Me, Kate (1948).

Rodgers and Hammerstein's mantle was at least partially passed to lyricist Alan Jay Lerner (1918-86), and composer Frederick Loewe (1901-88), in their series of rich and ambitious musicals: Brigadoon (1947), My Fair Lady (1956) and Camelot (1960) - the latter two starring Julie Andrews (1935-), who also starred in Rodgers and Hammerstein's original television musical, Cinderella (1957), which had an unprecedented viewership of over 107 million.

The 1950s did offer a counterbalance with several particularly successful musical comedies, though their songs now tended to be more directly related to their plots. Highlights include Frank Loesser's (1910-69) nearly perfect Guys and Dolls (1950), Richard Adler (1921-2012) and Jerry Ross's (1926-55) distinctive Pajama Game (1954) and Damn Yankees (1955), and Meredith Willson's (1902-84) celebration of marching bands and small-town America, The Music Man (1957).

Starting in the late 50s, a new generation with their own unique aesthetics began to change the course of musicals. West Side Story (1957) was among the most radical: it called for a cast of young triple-threats (actors, singers and dancers), it was shockingly violent, the choreography by Jerome Robbins (1918-98) was athletic and near-constant, and Leonard Bernstein's (1918-90) music was beyond demanding. Bye Bye Birdie (1960) introduced Lee Adams (1924-) and Charles Strouse (1928-) to Broadway, as well as a (mild version of) rock and roll. Jerry Herman (1931-) hit the jackpot with Hello, Dolly! (1964), starring the irrepressible comedienne Carol Channing (1921-), and produced by the controversial but prolifically successful David Merrick (1911-2000). Both shows were directed and choreographed by the inventive Gower Champion (1919-80). Jerry Bock (1928-2010) and Sheldon Harnick (1924) wrote a series of warm-hearted shows, with Fiddler on the Roof (1964) being an unexpected blockbuster. To the surprise of its creators, this show about family and changing traditions, set in a poor Jewish village in 1905 Russia, touched a nerve that resonated internationally. Cy Coleman (1929-2004), with his swinging, jazzy pop sound, combined with the sexy, off-kilter choreography (and direction) of Bob Fosse (1927-87), and the provocative sweetness of Gwen Verdon (1925-2000), turned Sweet Charity (1966) into a hit.

Harold Prince (1928-) began his career as a producer, initially under the tutelage of George Abbott (1887-1995), whose lengthy and hugely successful career included writing, directing and producing for both stage and film. But with Bock and Harnick's She Loves Me (1963), Prince began forging his way as a director as well. His direction of John Kander (1927-) and Fred Ebb's (1928-2004) Cabaret (1966) made the theatrical community sit up and take notice and he became known for a new type of show, typically referred to as concept musicals. These shows were less plot-oriented, and focused more on ideas, milieus and topics. Starting with Company (1970) he established a collaboration with composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim (1930-) that defined a new potential in musicals. Their collaboration included Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973) and Sweeney Todd (1979). Each show was unique in its score, its style and its approach; and Sondheim (who had been something of a protégé of Hammerstein) became widely regarded as the greatest lyricist in the history of the musical, and among its most sophisticated and daring composers.

While songs from musicals had long been a source of popular hits, with the advent of the rock era, they quickly became relegated to a niche market. With the popularity of Broadway waning, and production costs rising, off-Broadway and regional theaters became an increasing source of important new works. Some shows remained huge successes off-Broadway, sometimes running for years and maintaining a strong presence in productions nationally and internationally, such as Harvey Schmidt (1929-) and Tom Jones'(1928-2002) The Fantasticks (1960). Others, having proven their popularity, would transfer to Broadway - often to huge success. Among these shows were: Man of La Mancha (1966), Hair (1968), Godspell(1971), Annie (1977), A Chorus Line (1975), Sunday in the Park with George (1984) and Rent (1994). Composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz (1948-) was particularly successful in his move from off-Broadway (Godspell) to Broadway. In 1974 he achieved the rare coup of having three musicals playing in New York simultaneously, including Pippin (1972). Though the following years proved more difficult, he found the greatest success of his career (to date) with Wicked (2003 and still running).

The 1970s began a steady decline in the quantity, popularity and success of new Broadway musicals, though there were certainly exceptions. One of the first of those occasional megahits was A Chorus Line (1975), which also seemed to cement the prominence of the director/choreographer . Here Michael Bennett (1943-87) filled the role, following in the footsteps of Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, and Gower Champion, and to be followed by Tommy Tune (1939-), Rob Marshall (1960-), and others. (Marshall has found particular success with film versions of musicals.)

The 1970s also brought the "British invasion." Several of these shows had music by Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-). Most of his biggest successes were extravagant spectacles first produced in London's West End, and brought to Broadway by their producer, Cameron Mackintosh (1946-). Lloyd Webber's pop-rock-opera scores include: Evita (1979), Cats (1982) and Phantom of the Opera (1988), currently the longest running show in Broadway history. Aside from co-producing Phantom of the Opera, Mackintosh's biggest success to date is Les Misérables (1987), with music by French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg (1944-) and lyrics by Alain Boublil (1941-) (the lyrics were translated into English and adapted for London and Broadway).

The state of musicals today is an odd mix. In addition to the prevalence of revivals, there are: jukebox musicals that use a preexisting catalog of songs (most of them not originally intended for the theater), such as Mamma Mia! (1999), an original story that incorporated the songs of the '70s group ABBA, and Jersey Boys (2005), which told the story of the popular '60s and '70s group the Four Seasons, and an increasing number of musicals based on films, such as The Producers (2001), Hairspray (2002), Billy Elliot (2008), and Once (2012). Some fascinating new and experimental works still find success, such as Light in the Piazza (2005), Spring Awakening (2006) and Next to Normal (2009), as does the occasional megahit like The Book of Mormon (2011).

Whatever its future, the musical has brought untold pleasure to millions of people. The best of its songs couple the wit, poetry and evocation of human thoughts and emotions in their lyrics, with music that is variously romantic, thrilling, dramatic, tender and exciting. They can be visually stunning. They can include choreography that's as heart-stopping as any athletic performance or circus feat. They can feature performers of extraordinary talent and incandescence. Musicals can entertain, move, inform and change us. And they can be a lot of fun.