What was the first broadway musical?

Question:"Oklahoma"? They must be joking.

Seven Sisters
As New York City's population boomed, the demand for more ambitious entertainments grew. Riding the crest of this new cultural wave, actress-manager Laura Keene became one of the first nationally recognized stars of the American stage -- and the first American woman to succeed as manager of her own troupe. With a strong business sense and versatile stage talents, she produced and starred in a series of popular comedies and musicals in her theatre at 622 Broadway (just above Houston Street).

After setting Broadway's first "long-run" musical record with a 50 performance hit called The Elves (1857), Keene astounded everyone in New York when her "musical burletta" Seven Sisters (1860) racked up an unprecedented 253 performances. Keene starred as one of seven female demons who come up from hell to go sightseeing in New York. Surviving programs list a score cobbled from now-forgotten songs, plus the minstrel classic "Dixie" for a slam-bang finale. With a fantasy theme, spectacular sets, and a "transformation scene" (where the entire stage set changed in full view of the audience), Seven Sisters was a clear precursor to the more widely remembered hits that came later that decade.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: "Oklahoma"? They must be joking.

Seven Sisters
As New York City's population boomed, the demand for more ambitious entertainments grew. Riding the crest of this new cultural wave, actress-manager Laura Keene became one of the first nationally recognized stars of the American stage -- and the first American woman to succeed as manager of her own troupe. With a strong business sense and versatile stage talents, she produced and starred in a series of popular comedies and musicals in her theatre at 622 Broadway (just above Houston Street).

After setting Broadway's first "long-run" musical record with a 50 performance hit called The Elves (1857), Keene astounded everyone in New York when her "musical burletta" Seven Sisters (1860) racked up an unprecedented 253 performances. Keene starred as one of seven female demons who come up from hell to go sightseeing in New York. Surviving programs list a score cobbled from now-forgotten songs, plus the minstrel classic "Dixie" for a slam-bang finale. With a fantasy theme, spectacular sets, and a "transformation scene" (where the entire stage set changed in full view of the audience), Seven Sisters was a clear precursor to the more widely remembered hits that came later that decade.

I believe it was Okalhoma

Oklahoma, definately. But preformers used to preform in the streets of New York before they created those big theaters!

That's not an easy question to answer - opera turned into operetta, and operetta turned into musical theatre over a period of years. Generally, "The Red Mill" and "The Black Crook" were the first shows considered to be musicals. (In that they incorporated acting, singing, and dancing.) Search for "The Red Mill." It's an interesting story.

The Elves?