Broadway: The American Musical
- Book Review,
by Laurence Maslon
Amazon.com
If you enjoyed the PBS series Broadway: The American Musical but wanted a bit more detail and substance, try curling up with the companion book to the series. Expanded from Michael Kantor's script by Laurence Maslon, it follows the same six-part structure but its 470 pages give it more space to stretch out with the history of key musicals and the historical context behind them, or add significant trends such as revivals. What makes the book easy to pick up from the coffee table are the many subheads, the photographs (e.g., Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady) and poster art, and the sidebars and supplemental features. Occupying a page or two, the sidebars delve into such topics as original cast albums or shows that were glossed over or ignored in the series, such as Gypsy and 1776. A particularly effective use of the text is reprinting the lyrics of certain songs, examining the structure of "Soliloquy," providing historical annotations for "You're the Top," and illustrating "Broadway Baby" with pictures of Ethel Schulte on stage in Follies and 50 years earlier. Archive sections offer vintage essays from key figures (Sondheim on Kern, Hart on Rodgers), and Who's Who blurbs spotlight performers or creators (Fanny Brice, Barbara Cook, Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald). While Broadway: The American Musical can't compete with more encyclopedic work on the subject, it's an enjoyable and worthwhile reference overall, and does provide a year-by-year list of significant shows, a selected bibliography, and maps of the theater district ca. 1928 and 2001. --David Horiuchi
From Publishers Weekly
Those critics and theatergoers who have for some time lamented the death of the Broadway musical can take heart: thanks to this glorious paean, the hills are once again alive with the sound of music—and much more. Though this nostalgia-laden tome is designed as a companion book to a forthcoming PBS series, it stands on its own as a particularly striking and comprehensive take on a uniquely American art form. The copious illustrations alone are worth "the price of admission," as history unfolds through archival and contemporary photos (Fred and Adele Astaire in 1924; Tommy Tune swooning over Twiggy in 1983's My One and Only); sheet music covers (the Prohibition-era ditty, "How Are You Going to Wet Your Whistle When the Whole Darn World Goes Dry?"); and vibrant photographic spreads (Paul Robeson in a 1928 production of Showboat; Patty Lupone in Evita).The meticulously researched text spans the years 1893 to 2004 in six information-packed chapters, each of which opens with a "Who's Who"—brief vignettes about the period's most celebrated personalities—and is followed by a "Broadway and" section, which covers, depending on the chapter's time frame, such topics as Tin Pan Alley, radio, Hollywood, original cast albums, etc. "Spotlight on" examines a significant musical of the period (from The Follies of 1919 to Sunday in the Park with George). The chapters conclude with especially interesting "Archives" segments—essays by theater veterans past and present. Even the book's endpapers reflect Broadway's evolution: both are photos of the theater district's famed Shubert Alley, but theater posters indicate that the first shot is circa 1962, the second is 2004. And, just as in real life, everything on Broadway that's old is new again. The current blockbuster Wicked (based on Gregory Maguire's novel twist on The Wizard of Oz) and 1975's African-American version, The Wiz? Old news: Broadway audiences saw this classic's first musicalization in 1904. And those recent strikes by Actors Equity that have more than once threatened to close down the Great White Way? Nothing new there: the first Equity pickets were brandished in 1919.With its beguiling blend of entertainment and history, this splendid work is a must-have, whether you're a musical-comedy devotee (i.e., you know that Barbara Cook's Broadway debut was in 1951's Flahooley) or a neophyte (you're not sure who Barbara Cook is). Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Packed with color photos, printed on nice, thick, glossy paper, and weighing in at a little over seven pounds, this gorgeous behemoth is the ultimate coffee-table book for lovers of the American musical, though it is smarter and better written than such a glib description suggests. A companion to Kantor's six-part, Ken Burns-like PBS series--the six chapters roughly correspond to the six episodes in the series--Broadway is a great read in its own right, consisting of Maslon's well-researched, well-written history, which draws on material from Kantor's film, supplemented by 110 years' worth of excerpts from scripts, capsule biographies of noteworthy theater people, and contemporary interviews with great stars. Just in case you can't read, hundreds and hundreds of drop-dead beautiful photographs, many of them rare and rarely reproduced, make this a great grazing-and-gazing experience, too. If the history has a flaw, it is that it focuses so tightly on the Broadway musical it slights noteworthy musical-theater events that took place elsewhere, such as the long, long running off-Broadway hit The Fantasticks. And, of course, it also overlooks much of Broadway's nonmusical history. Guess you could hardly expect one volume to contain all of America's rich theatrical history. Jack Helbig
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Along with jazz and abstract expressionism, the Broadway musical is one of the few uniquely American art forms. A companion to the six-part PBS documentary series, BROADWAY: THE AMERICAN MUSICAL is the first comprehensive history of the musical, from its roots at the turn of the 20th century through the smashing successes of the new millennium. The compelling, in-depth text is lavishly illustrated with a treasure trove of photographs, sheet-music covers, posters, scenic renderings, production stills, rehearsal shots, and caricatures, many previously unpublished. Complementing the narrative are lively sidebars that highlight the stars, the shows, and the songs--the key ingredients that make the musical great. Each chapter will also include essays written by some of Broadways most fascinating luminaries, past and present. An entertaining amalgam of unpublished material, candid and production photographs, and a trunkful of anecdotes and Broadway lore, BROADWAY will appeal to eighth-graders in their first high school musical as well as to connoisseurs of the art form.
About the Author
Laurence Maslon teaches at NYUs Tisch School of the Arts, has written extensively about Broadway, and has edited an edition of George S. Kaufmans comedies for the Library of America. Michael Kantor is a writer, director, and producer who has worked on such documentary films as The West with Ken Burns and Ric Burnss New York series, and has been published in Newsday, American Theater, and Interview. He currently lives in New York.
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