More Details

Summary:

The expanded and updated third edition of this acclaimed Companion provides an accessible, broadly based survey of one of the liveliest and most popular forms of musical performance. It ranges from the American musical of the nineteenth century to the most recent productions on Broadway, in London's West End and many other venues and includes key information on singers, audiences, critical reception and traditions. Contributors approach the subject from a wide variety of perspectives, including historical concerns, artistic aspects, important trends, attention to various genres, the importance of stars, the influence of race, the various disciplines of theatrical production, the musical in varied media and changes in technology. Chapters related to the contemporary musical have been updated, and two new chapters cover the television musical and the British musical since 1970. Carefully organised and highly readable, it will be welcomed by enthusiasts, students and scholars alike. -- from back cover.

Table of Contents:

• How to create a musical : the case of Wicked / Paul R. Laird
• American musical theatre before the twentieth century / Katherine K. Preston
• Non-English-language musical theatre in the United States / John Koegel
• Birth pangs, growing pains, and sibling rivalry: musical theatre in New York, 1900-1920 / Orly Leah Krasner
• American and British operetta in the 1920s: romance, nostalgia, and adventure / William A. Everett
• Images of African Americans: African-American musical theatre, Show boat and Porgy and Bess / John Graziano
• The melody (and the words) linger on: American musical comedies of the 1920s and 1930s / Geoffrey Block
• 'We said we wouldn't look back': British musical theatre, 1935-1969 / John Snelson
• The coming of the musical play: Rodgers and Hammerstein / Ann Sears
• The successors of Rodgers and Hammerstein from the 1940s to the 1960s / Thomas L. Riis and Ann Sears
• Musical sophistication on Broadway: Kurt Weill and Leonard Bernstein / bruce d. mcclung and Paul R. Laird
• Stephen Sondheim and the musical of the outsider / Jim Lovensheimer
• Choreographers, directors, and the fully integrated musical / Paul R. Laird
• From Hair to Rent and beyond: has 'rock' ever been a four-letter word on Broadway? / Scott Warfield
• The megamusical: the creation, internationalisation and impact of a genre / Paul Prece and William A. Everett
• 'In this England, in these times': redefining the British musical since 1970 / Miranda Lundskaer-Nielsen
• 'Tonight I will bewitch the world': the European musical / Judith Sebesta and Laura MacDonald
• New horizons: the musical at the dawn of the twenty-first century / Bud Coleman
• Why do they start to sing and dance all of the sudden? Examining the film musical / Graham Wood
• Revisiting classic musicals: revivals, films, television and recordings / Jessica Sternfeld

• Big dreams on the small screen: the television musical / Mary Jo Lodge.

View 1 more line View less

Contributors:

Everett, William A., 1962- , editor

Laird, Paul R. , editor

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

English text.

Related Series:

Cambridge companions to music (Complete)

Subjects:

Musicals — History and criticism

Musical theater — History

Musicals

Musical theater

Genres:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

History

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Physical Description:

xv, 483 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Call Numbers:

ML2054 .C35 2017

ISBNs:

9781107114746 (hardcover)
1107114748 (hardcover)
9781107535299 (paperback)
1107535298 (paperback)

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2017018419

OCLC Numbers:

983796163