# Diversity & the Birth of Broadway: Early Female Authors of the American Musical

This first of a two-part lecture sequence by Ben West, creator of the new documentary musical series "The Show Time! Trilogy," offers an exciting account of the American musical's early female authors, from vaudeville headliner Nora Bayes to legendary hostess Elsa Maxwell. In the first three decades of the 20th century, amidst the climax of the women's suffrage movement and the aural revolutions of ragtime and jazz, these often-overlooked females -- trailblazers, librettists, lyricists, composers -- were instrumental in opening doors for future generations and laying the foundation for an American art form.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2019
- By: Library Of Congress
- Genres: Music
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2024697022/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2024697022?play=1)