This guide explores the milestones in the history of musical theatre, examining character, plot, musical and textual themes, lyrics, subtext, motivation, backstory and historical context. The book covers: the savage political satire of The Cradle Will Rock (1937); the dark sexuality of Pal Joey (1940); the innovations of Oklahoma! (1943); the absurdist social satire of Anyone Can Whistle (1964); the convention-shattering experiment that was Hair (1967); the intimacy and emotional power of Jacques Brel (1968); the provocative honesty of the gay-themed Ballad of Little Mikey (1994); the abstract sophistication of the jazz / pop / R&B-flavoured Songs for a New World (1995); the emotional immensity of the anti-spectacle Floyd Collins (1995); the influence of the 1996 rock musical Rent .