What Makes a Musical?

Contact was not the first show on Broadway to feature dance as its dominant communicative medium. Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ was the first that Stiehl considers a fully realized “dansical,” which she defines as “an all-dance production created by a recognized, authoritative Broadway choreographer/director and intended as a musical theater work for a Broadway audience,” which “puts choreography and dance at the forefront.” Building from the central theme of physical contact through dance as a life-giving force, Stroman and Weidman created a one-hour dance piece. The main character is a middle-aged advertising executive named Michael Wiley, who wins awards and drinks with friends, but whose life lacks deep meaning. Such questions multiplied in April 2000 when the Tony Award Administration Committee announced that Contact would be eligible for nomination as Best Musical. The musicians’ union, Local 802, officially objected.