Musical theater is a form of theater combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece " humor, pathos, love, anger " as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole.

Musical theater works, usually referred to as "musicals", are performed around the world. They may be presented in large venues, such as big budget West End and Broadway theater productions in London and New York City, or in smaller Fringe Theater, Off-Broadway or regional productions, on tour, or by amateur groups in schools, theaters and other performance spaces.