Show Tunes fully chronicles the shows, songs, and careers of the major composers of the American musical theatre, from Jerome Kern's earliest interpolations to the latest hits on Broadway. Legendary composers like Gershwin, Rodgers, Porter, Berlin, Bernstein, and Sondheim have been joined by more recent songwriters like Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Flaherty, Michael John LaChiusa, and Adam Guettel. This majestic reference book covers their work, their innovations, their successes, and their failures. Show Tunes is simply the most comprehensive volume of its kind ever produced, and this newly revised and updated edition discusses almost 1,000 shows and 9,000 show tunes. The book has been called "a concise skeleton key to the Broadway musical" (Variety) and "a ground-breaking reference work with a difference" (Show Music)-or, as the Washington Post observed, "It makes you sing and dance all over your memory." The eagerly anticipated Fourth Edition, updated through May, 2009, features the entire theatrical output of forty of Broadway's leading composers, in addition to a wide selection of work by other songwriters. The listings include essential production data and statistics, the most extensive information available on published and recorded songs, and lively commentary on the shows, songs, and diverse careers. Based on meticulous research, the book also uncovers dozens of lost musicals-including shows that either closed out of town or were never headed for Broadway-and catalogs hundreds of previously unknown songs, including a number of musical gems that have been misplaced, cut, or forgotten. Informative, insightful, and provocative, Show Tunes is an essential guide for anyone interested in the American musical.
Steven Suskin is the author of The Sound of Broadway Music: a Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations [OUP, February 2009], Second Act Trouble, the Opening Night on Broadway series and a half-dozen other books about the Broadway musical. He has also written hundreds of columns and reviews for Playbill, Variety and other publications. He began his theatrical career as a teenaged assistant at the David Merrick office, followed by twenty-five years as a manager and producer.
Show moreShow Tunes fully chronicles the shows, songs, and careers of the major composers of the American musical theatre, from Jerome Kern's earliest interpolations to the latest hits on Broadway. Legendary composers like Gershwin, Rodgers, Porter, Berlin, Bernstein, and Sondheim have been joined by more recent songwriters like Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Flaherty, Michael John LaChiusa, and Adam Guettel. This majestic reference book covers their work, their innovations, their successes, and their failures. Show Tunes is simply the most comprehensive volume of its kind ever produced, and this newly revised and updated edition discusses almost 1,000 shows and 9,000 show tunes. The book has been called "a concise skeleton key to the Broadway musical" (Variety) and "a ground-breaking reference work with a difference" (Show Music)-or, as the Washington Post observed, "It makes you sing and dance all over your memory." The eagerly anticipated Fourth Edition, updated through May, 2009, features the entire theatrical output of forty of Broadway's leading composers, in addition to a wide selection of work by other songwriters. The listings include essential production data and statistics, the most extensive information available on published and recorded songs, and lively commentary on the shows, songs, and diverse careers. Based on meticulous research, the book also uncovers dozens of lost musicals-including shows that either closed out of town or were never headed for Broadway-and catalogs hundreds of previously unknown songs, including a number of musical gems that have been misplaced, cut, or forgotten. Informative, insightful, and provocative, Show Tunes is an essential guide for anyone interested in the American musical.
Steven Suskin is the author of The Sound of Broadway Music: a Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations [OUP, February 2009], Second Act Trouble, the Opening Night on Broadway series and a half-dozen other books about the Broadway musical. He has also written hundreds of columns and reviews for Playbill, Variety and other publications. He began his theatrical career as a teenaged assistant at the David Merrick office, followed by twenty-five years as a manager and producer.
Show morePREFACE ; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ; HOW TO USE THIS BOOK ; PART 1 ; Composers of the Early Years ; INTRODUCTION ; Jerome Kern ; Irving Berlin ; George Gershwin ; Vincent Youmans ; Richard Rodgers ; Cole Porter ; Arthur Schwartz ; Harold Arlen ; Vernon Duke ; Burton Lane ; Kurt Weill ; Marc Blitzstein ; Harold Rome ; PART 2 ; New Composers of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s ; INTRODUCTION ; Hugh Martin ; Leonard Bernstein ; Frederick Loewe ; Jule Styne ; Frank Loesser ; Richard Adler ; Jerry Bock ; Bob Merrill ; Meredith Willson ; Stephen Sondheim ; Charles Strouse ; Harvey Schmidt ; Cy Coleman ; Jerry Herman ; John Kander ; Mitch Leigh ; PART 3 ; New Composers of the 1970s and Beyond ; INTRODUCTION ; Stephen Schwartz ; Larry Grossman ; Marvin Hamlisch ; Alan Menken ; William Finn ; Maury Yeston ; Stephen Flaherty ; Michael John LaChiusa ; Jason Robert Brown ; Adam Guettel ; PART 4 ; INTRODUCTION ; Notable Shows by Other Composers ; APPENDIX 1 ; Chronological Listing of Productions ; APPENDIX 2 ; Bibliography ; SONG TITLE INDEX ; SHOW INDEX ; PEOPLE INDEX
Steven Suskin is the author of The Sound of Broadway Music: a Book
of Orchestrators and Orchestrations [OUP, February 2009], Second
Act Trouble, the Opening Night on Broadway series and a half-dozen
other books about the Broadway musical. He has also written
hundreds of columns and reviews for Playbill, Variety and other
publications. He began his theatrical career as a teenaged
assistant at the David Merrick office,
followed by twenty-five years as a manager and producer.
"Three valuable appendixes list the shows chronologically, give
data on all collaborators, and offer a bibliography with advice on
how to locate the music....the author's comments...provide an
excellent narrative about the selected composers....A popular
addition for all large collections serving upper-division
undergraduates through faculty, professionals, and general
readers."--Choice
"All the classics are present in Steven Suskin's dazzingly thorough
catalogue raisonné, Show Tunes, along with other musicals that have
taken the stage since 1904, from 'Fascinating Flora' (1907) and
'Fluffy Ruffles' (1908) to 'Bar Mitzvah Boy' (1978)." --The New
Yorker
"Suskin's commentary for the majority of cited shows is chattily
informative, conjoining anecdotes with facts about why a musical
did or didn't succeed. He has clearly studied and loves the
genre....The first edition of Suskin's work became an indispensable
resource; expanded, updated volumes make Show Tunes all the more
valuable."--Show Music
"Virtually a musical theatre encyclopedia, chock full of details
and rich analyses of the theatre's most celebrated (and less
celebrated) lyricists and composers and their shows and
songs."--Encore
"Convenient, and easy to lay your hands on...never dry or dull."
--Talkinbroadway.com
"Estimable and essential...Invaluable for reliable fact and for the
chasing of references." --Times Literary Supplement
"Suskin does his job well, with balanced essays." --Choice
"An infectious love of musical theatre infuses every
passage...meticulously researched exploration." --Second
Pages/Planman
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