Once again establishing that he is as impressive a nonfiction writer as he is a novelist (How Long Has This Been Going On?; Buddies), Mordden analyzes the many notable hits (and egregious flops) of the 1940s, and describes how they figured intoAand indeed establishedAthat period's importance to the Broadway musical theater. It was a decade of many milestones, chief among which was the emergence of Rodgers and Hammerstein with 1943's unlikely groundbreaker, Oklahoma ("all Broadway gaped as these two partnered up"), followed in 1945 by Carousel ("the piece that truly tells us what a Rodgers and Hammerstein show was"). Mordden's references are up-to-the-minute (he cites the late 1990s Encores! series of revivals at New York's City Center) and his research is meticulousAin his chapter on a particularly significant '40s development, "The Cast Album," he trounces the widely held notion that Oklahoma was the first show to be recorded (it was 1900's Floradora). His gift for the piquant phrase is delightfully evident (Harold Arlen's music for a Bloomer Girl duet is "a slithery wisteria jazz"), as is his fondness for the direct approach (Irving Berlin's Miss Liberty "was a total disaster... a bomb with two wonderful elementsAthe score and the dancing"). And though he delivers the expected encomiums to such stars of the decade as Agnes de Mille and Ethel Merman, he frequently airs provocative, somewhat unusual opinions, as when he says of the composer of Lady in the Dark and Lost in the Stars, "the Broadway musical would not have been what it was without Kurt Weill." Nor would it be nearly as enjoyable without this perceptive, witty and informative guided tour. (Oct.) America, following 1997's Make Believe (the 1920s) and 1998's Coming Up Roses (the '50s).
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Publisher: Oxford University Press
Released: 1999
by A.A. Cristi – March 06, 2026
Theatrical icon Charles Busch and cabaret artist Travis Moser have released their new album 'MIXTAPE', recorded live at The Laurie Beechman Theatre and now available on all music platforms.
by Josh Sharpe – March 06, 2026
Theater artist Charles Busch and cabaret artist Travis Moser have teamed up to release their new album, 'Mixtape,' based on the live show of the same name, recorded at NYC's Laurie Beechman Theatre.
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by Chloe Rabinowitz – March 06, 2026
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by Team BWW – March 05, 2026
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by Josh Sharpe – February 27, 2026
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by A.A. Cristi – February 26, 2026
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by Team BWW – February 23, 2026
This is the final chance to submi nominations for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Stage Recording Awards, celebrating outstanding achievements in theatrical and performance-based recordings released during the 2025 calendar year.
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Joy Machine Records has released All the World's a Stage: Original Cast Recording – the new musical with book, music and lyrics by Adam Gwon.
by Nicole Rosky – February 20, 2026
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by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 20, 2026
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by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 20, 2026
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by Nicole Rosky – February 20, 2026
Broadway's Andrew Keenan-Bolger is making a showstopping YA debut with Limelight, a poignant coming-of-age novel about identity, first love, and the power of the arts to help young people feel seen.
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Adam Gwon’s new musical All the World’s a Stage will be released as an original cast album.
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The Al Hirschfeld Foundation will present a new collection titled Hirschfeld's Icons: A Poster Book featuring iconic figures like Elvis and Madonna.
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by Chloe Rabinowitz – February 17, 2026
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by Josh Sharpe – February 11, 2026
Just in time for the streaming debut of Wicked: For Good on Peacock, Republic Records will release a brand-new pop-up vinyl edition of the soundtrack featuring an embossed cover and a pop-up gatefold jacket depicting Elphaba, Glinda, Grimmerie pages, and more.
by A.A. Cristi – February 10, 2026
Ghostlight Records has announced the release of NEXT TO NORMAL – ORIGINAL LONDON CAST RECORDING as a special two-CD set on Friday, February 27.
by A.A. Cristi – February 06, 2026
Joy Machine Records has announced the second single from All the World's a Stage: Original Cast Recording – “Other Lives,” performed by rising theater star Eliza Pagelle – today, Friday, February 6.
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