Musical theatre is a form of
theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken
dialogue, acting, and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor,
pathos, love, anger – are communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like
opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply,
musicals.