A crop of classic musical revivals arrives in LA. this spring. Here's why modern audiences will care

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It’s raining classic musical revivals in Los Angeles, with three shows penned by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe poised to run concurrently this spring.These mid-century dream teams revolutionized American theater by popularizing the integrated musical, a form which leveraged classic operetta elements like song and dance as narrative tools.

Once cutting-edge and now quintessential, productions led by these iconic writing duos, along with book writers Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, represented a growing interest among librettists in cohesive stories that offered topical cultural commentary.“Oklahoma!” (1943) is generally credited with kicking off this “Golden Age” of Broadway, which lasted roughly through the 1960s.

That Golden Age arrives in modern L.A.via “Flower Drum Song,” at East West Players through May 31; “The Sound of Music,” at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, beginning May 5; and “Brigadoon” at Pasadena Playhouse starting May 13.

While each of these shows engages with its source material differently, all enable theatergoers to both explore what made them classics and discover their contemporary resonance.Alexandra Silber spent much of her theater career with classic musicals, and several formative years studying acting in Scotland, so she felt it was her fate to adapt Lerner and Loewe’s 1947 fantasy romp, “Brigadoon.” The original musical tells the story of two American travelers who happen upon a mythical village in the Scottish Highlands that appears just once every 100 years.

Coming after three unsuccessful early collaborations, “Brigadoon” was the first major breakthrough hit for Lerner and Loewe, acting as the turning point that established them as premier theater creators.Critics were particularly enchanted by the show’s lush score and fantastical atmosphere.

Silber loves “Brigadoon” for those reasons and mo...