The american broadway musical dates back to multiple choice the staging of the black crook, a melodrama, at niblo's garden in new york city in 1866 when a french dance company stranded in the city was added to the show. the staging of bob cole's 1898 a trip to coontown, which mixed elements of african-american dance with european musical traditions. the late nineteenth century, when british musicals, such as gilbert and sullivan's pirates of penzance, gained popularity in america. 1905, when mary shelley's frankenstein, adapted for the stage, was performed in new orleans in a production that featured improvisations by the actors.