Jukebox musical was led by the success of "Mamma Mia!", built around the music of ABBA. Reception of jukebox musicals has been divided, with the most common criticism being that there is too much focus on how many songs can be fit into the musical. Some jukebox musicals, like "Lennon" and "Good Vibrations" have been critical and financial flops. Others, like "Jersey Boys" and "All Shook Up" have been popular with both fans and critics. The term "jukebox musical" dates at least to 1962, following "Jukebox" (1939), though the general genre—motion pictures consisting largely of hit recordings—dates to the 1940s and 1950s.
Musical theatre way for Kern's later work by showing that a musical could combine light, popular entertainment with continuity between its story and songs. Historian Gerald Bordman wrote: The theatre-going public needed escapist entertainment during the dark times of World War I, and they flocked to the theatre. The 1919 hit musical "Irene" ran for 670 performances, a Broadway record that held until 1938. The British theatre public supported far longer runs like that of "The Maid of the Mountains" (1,352 performances) and especially "Chu Chin Chow". Its run of 2,238 performances was more than twice as long as any previous musical,