Some of the most interesting musical theater does its work by playing with the blurred boundary between diegetic music -- music that actually exists within the world of the show -- and non-diegetic -- the imaginary, elevated emotional music that defines the art form in our imagination. (Sweeney Todd isn't singing in his universe; the Michael Jackson of MJ is.) That's one of the reasons why musical theater is preoccupied with performance. Examining why tells us a lot about the capital-T Theater as a liminal between-space.

SONGS FEATURED:

"Wig in a Box" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch

"Masquerade" from Stereophonic

"Another Day of Sun" from La La Land

"Beggin'" from Jersey Boys

"Bright (Take 22)" from Stereophonic

"On Broadway" from Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

"Entr'acte" from Cabaret

"If You Could See Her" from Cabaret

"I Don't Care Much" from Cabaret

"Cabaret" from Cabaret

"Wicked Little Town" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch

"Rose's Turn" from Gypsy

"Prologue" from Follies

"Who's That Woman" from Follies

"Nowadays" from Chicago

Examining the origins of the musical, above and beyond its relatively limited American history, is a thorny trail, leading from the songspiels of 17th-century middle Europe to jazz-age Berlin. It's a story that's much larger than Show Boat and The Black Crook.

SONGS FEATURED:

"He is an Englishman" from HMS Pinafore

Overture from The Magic Flute

"Overture" from Show Boat

"March of the Amazons" from The Black Crook

"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" from Carmen

"Our great Mikado, virtuous man" from The Mikado

"How beautifully blue the sky" from The Pirates of Penzance

"Mad Dogs and Englishmen" from The Third Little Show

"The Family Solicitor" from Me and My Girl

"'Til the Clouds Roll By" from Oh, Boy!

"When you're lying awake with a dismal headache" from Iolanthe

"Please Hello" from Pacific Overtures

"The Elements" from Tomfoolery

"Dat's Love" from Carmen Jones

"Indian Love Call" from Rose-Marie

"The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music

"Maxim's" from The Merry Widow

"Playing Croquet" from Little Mary Sunshine

"The Ballad of Mack the Knife" from The Threepenny Opera

"Carousel Waltz" from Carousel