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Minstrelsy was an art form performed by white minstrels and its purpose was to mock African American people. It was meant to be funny and the minstrels would paint their faces black. One of the most notable minstrel shows was performed by Christy Minstrels on Broadway with songs written by Stephen Foster. Minstrel shows consisted of two, or sometimes three, parts.

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Vaudeville acts contained comedy, music, dance, acrobatics, magic, and more. There were many Vaudeville performers but among the most notable were Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Vaudeville shows typically had several short unrelated acts known as "bits." Vaudeville allowed African Americans and immigrants to showcase their talents. A notable show was the Ziegfeld follies, produced by Florenz Ziegfeld which was a collection of comedy bits featuring beautiful women.

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Theater in the 20s consisted of a variety of Broadway shows. It was very centered around women as women became more liberated. Women were seen as more free and many shows during this period reflected that. George Gershwin was a very important composer during this time, and Kay Swift too, who was the first female composer. Kay Swift wrote a musical called "Fine and Dandy" which told a story of mismanagement, love, and mayhem at the “Fordyce Drop Forge and Tool Factory.” Rodgers and Hart wrote The Garrick Gaieties, another big hit at the time that lampooned aspects of high-class society with witty humor. Another show that ran during this time was "Oh, Kay!" by George Gershwin which was about a young girl in the city.

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Showboat was written by Jerome Kern and it was his biggest hit. Jerome Kern had a new style of musicals where all the music furthered the plot and had a purpose. Showboat had themes of racial prejudice and tragedy. It was much more serious than musicals that had come before it and since it had so much depth it was a big hit. It was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, though he wasn't expecting it to be successful.

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Oklahoma was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein and was one of the biggest musical hits ever. Shows and remakes are still done today. Something new about Oklahoma was that they wrote the lyrics for the show before anything else. It had themes of goodness, fairness, romance, etc. It was made sure that everything done in the show furthered the plot in some way. It was so successful that it had a 2500% return investment.

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After Oklahoma, the 40s was a new age for Broadway. Rodgers and Hammerstein continued to work together and created a new musical called Carousel in 1945. Their previous work set the standard higher for everyone during this time and caused great shows to be created. Carousel was about a carnival worker who fell in love with a millworker, their romance puts both their jobs in jeopardy. Another influential show in the 40s was On the Town by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. It was about soldiers who were on a 24 hour leave and used the time to explore NYC and look for girls. Annie Get Your Gun was another influential show and it was about Annie Oakley in the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

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Theater in the 50s was very complex and the stories became a lot more unique. Some notable shows are Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser, My Fair Lady by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, and West Side Story by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins. West Side Story was definitely the most notable one and it was the story of a girl who immigrated from Puerto Rico. It had dark sides of it and its focus on social problems marked a turning point in theater during this time period. My Fair Lady was another notable show and was about a young girl who takes speech lessons so that she can pass as a lady. Guys and Dolls was a romantic comedy set in New York City.

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At the start of the 1960s, Broadway was very successful but by the end it was starting to lose popularity. Some notable shows include The Fantasticks by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, Bye Bye Birdie by Michael Stewart, Lee Adams, and Charles Strouse, and Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein. The Fantasticks was about fathers trying to get their kids in love. Bye Bye Birdie was about Elvis Presley and his draft into the army. Fiddler on the Roof was about a man named Tevye and his five daughters who try to maintain their Jewish traditions.