The Black Crook is considered the first-ever Broadway musical, a dizzying, epic-length extravaganza of ballerinas, mechanical sets, lavish costumes and a storyline about the Devil straight out of a twisted hallucination.

The show took New York by storm when it debuted on September 12, 1866. This is the story of how this completely weird, virtually unstageable production came to pass. Modern musicals like Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, and Hamilton wouldn't quite be what they are today without this curious little relic.

WARNING: You may leave this show humming a little tune called "You Naughty, Naughty Men."

Featuring music by Adam Roberts and Libby Dees, courtesy the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

https://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/10/07/musical-month-listen-music