Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers - Hardcover

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9780195125993: Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195125991 ISBN 13: 9780195125993

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1999

This majestic reference book fully chronicles the shows, songs, and careers of the major composers of the American musical theater, from Jerome Kern's earliest interpolations to the latest hits on Broadway. Gershwin, Rodgers, Porter, Berlin, Bernstein, Loesser, Sondheim, Kander, Finn, Flaherty, and more--this 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 over 900 shows and almost 8,000 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 Third Edition, updated through January 1999, features the entire theatrical output of thirty-six of Broadway's leading composers, in addition to a wide selection of work by other composers. 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. The book also includes a detailed chronology of the musicals and a show-by-show guide to the careers of Broadway's most important lyricists, librettists, producers, directors, and choreographers.

Informative, insightful, and provocative, Show Tunes is an essential guide for anyone interested in the American musical.

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About the Author:

Steven Suskin, a longtime theatrical producer and manager, is also author of the highly acclaimed Opening Night on Broadway (1990) and More Opening Nights on Broadway (1994).

Review:

"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 raisonne, 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 shops and songs."--Encore

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