Originating on New York's Broadway, the musical has long been a fixed component of the theater landscape and urban entertainment culture in German-speaking countries. Here, the genre encounters entirely different conditions than in the predominantly privately organized theater scene on Broadway, and the traditions of entertainment theater also diverge. Based on an analysis of performance schedules, examinations of works, and interviews with leading figures in the musical scene, the constitutive framework conditions of musical premieres in the German-speaking area are examined. Dependencies between production conditions, production processes, and the aesthetic as well as dramaturgical design of the works are the focus of this analysis.