The musical is one of the great art forms of the 20th century. Showboat Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Oliver, Cabaret - one masterpiece after another packed the theatres on Broadway, in London's West End and around the world. And it made a successful transfer to the cinema. A truly popular art, the musical closely reflected society and its needs - sometimes providing a message and often providing a much-needed romantic escape.

Richard Fawkes traces the development of the musical, from its origins in European light opera and operetta to its transformation in the hands of the great American song composers and lyricists - among them Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe. The talent of Lloyd Webber and Sondheim has assured that in the 21st century, it is as lively as ever.

The History of The Musical is presented by the vivacious singer Kim Criswell, who starred in Cats, sang on Broadway, won awards for her recordings and has lived and breathed the musical since she was a young girl.

It is an enthralling story - and it is told with nearly 100 famous musical extracts.