Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater Review

Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater
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This is the most complete, most detailed, and most illuminating book on the history and development of musical theater, from its beginnings to the present day. It is perhaps more than some want to know about this art form, and yet if one is to really understand it, the amount of detail provided is extremely helpful. Another reviewer has pointed out that the author's personality does not come through, but this is clearly meant as a scholarly (in the best sense of the word) work, where personal opinion would be out of place. I love the opinion-laden books of Ethan Mordden, but am always aware that I am reading a very particular viewpoint. Here, I have the feeling that the author is trying to pull together all this is known about musical theater in the U.S., in a way that helps us make sense of the various streams of influence, as they have joined to create a form that itself has shifted and changed over the years. This is not a book I was able to read straight through--I found myself reading a chapter, and then putting down the book to think about what I had read. That's unusual for me. I like the way the book is organized, with 3-4 musicals per chapter used as examples--often in great detail. This heavy volume is clearly a labor of love, and I know of no other recent book that provides so much information on the subject.

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The definitive history of the Broadway musical: the shows, the stars, the movers, and the shakers.
Showtime brings the history of Broadway musicals to life in a narrative as engaging as the subject itself. Beginning with the scandalous Astor Place Opera House riot of 1849, Larry Stempel traces the growth of musicals from minstrel shows and burlesques, through the golden age of Show Boat and Oklahoma!, to such groundbreaking works as Company and Rent. Stempel describes the Broadway stage with vivid accounts of the performers drawn to it, and detailed portraits of the creators who wrote the music, lyrics, and stories for its shows, both beloved and less well known. But Stempel travels outside the theater doors as well, to illuminate the wider world of musical theater as a living genre shaped by the forces of American history and culture. He reveals not only how musicals entertain their audiences but also how they serve as barometers of social concerns and bearers of cultural values.Showtime is the culmination of decades of painstaking research on a genre whose forms have changed over the course of two centuries. In covering the expansive subject before him, Stempel combines original research-including a kaleidoscope of primary sources and archival holdings-with deft and insightful analysis. The result is nothing short of the most comprehensive, authoritative history of the Broadway musical yet published. 16 pages of four-color; 105 black-and-white illustrations

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