“Over the top.” Nothing describes American musical theatre of the 1980s to the present better. Characterized by lavish spectacles and epic plots, musicals like THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, LES MISÉRABLES, MONTY’S PYTHOM’S SPAMALOT, and WICKED continue to captivate us with their “bigger is better” approach. On the flipside, American popular artists such as Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell, Michael Buble, and even Lady Gaga (in partnership with the incomparable Tony Bennett) returned to the humble roots of the Great American Songbook for contemporary – yet classic – hits.