The secret life of the American musical how Broadway shows are built /
"Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical? In [this book], Jack Viertel takes them apart, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more...
| Main Author: | Viertel, Jack, |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Sarah Crichton Books,
2016.
|
| Physical Description: |
xvii, 312 pages ; 24 cm. |
| Edition: | First edition. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: |
"Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical? In [this book], Jack Viertel takes them apart, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he invites us to fall in love all over again by showing us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate audiences, and how one landmark show leads to the next"--Dust jacket flap. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: |
Includes index. Tuning up : or, How I came to write this book -- A note about the shows discussed--and a few other matters -- Overture -- Curtain up, light the lights : opening numbers -- The wizard and I : the "I want" song -- If I loved you : conditional love songs -- Put on your Sunday clothes : the noise -- Bushwhacking 1 : second couples -- Bushwhacking 2 : villains -- Bushwhacking 3 : the multiplot, and how it thickens -- Adelaide's lament : stars -- Tevye's dream : tent poles -- La vie bohème : curtain: act 1 -- Intermission -- Clambake : curtain up: act 2 -- Suddenly Seymour : the candy dish -- All er nothin' : beginning to pack -- The small house of Joseph Smith, the American Moses : the main event -- I thought you did it for me, momma : the next-to-last-scene -- You can't stop the beat : the end -- Curtain call : how Woodie Guthrie--of all people--changed Broadway musicals forever -- Listening to Broadway. "Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical? In [this book], Jack Viertel takes them apart, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he invites us to fall in love all over again by showing us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate audiences, and how one landmark show leads to the next"--Dust jacket flap. |
| Physical Description: |
xvii, 312 pages ; 24 cm. |
| ISBN: |
9780374256920 0374256926 9780374536893 0374536899 9780374711252 0374711259 |