"Musical Theatre" is a comprehensive history of stage musicals ranging from Paris, Ancient Greece and Rome during the 1840s all the way up to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Broadway as it we know it today. Like every art form, musical theatre has been changing and evolving since its inception more than 2000 years ago. "Musical Theatre: A History" presents a comprehensive history of stage musicals from the earliest accounts of the ancient Greeks and Romans, for whom songs were common elements in staging, to Jacques Offenbach in Paris during the 1840s, to Gilbert and Sullivan in the UK, to the rise of music halls and vaudeville traditions in America, and eventually to 'Broadway's Golden Age' with George and Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein, Leondard Bernstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The 21st century has also brought a popular new wave of musicals to the Broadway stage, from 'The Producers' to 'Spamalot'. "Musical Theatre: A History" covers it all, from the opening number to the curtain call, offering readers the most up-to-date history of the art form. As informative as it is entertaining, "Musical Theatre" offers an accessibly written history of the musical theatre, richly illustrated with anecdotes is cause for celebration a legion of devoted fans.
John Kenrick
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Since the second half of the 19th century, live entertainment in the United States has been governed by monopolies and powerful business cartels who together through power and greed controlled who could produce, book, and present live performance and legitimate theatre, affecting…
Renowned dancer and choreographer Jack Cole (1911–1974), whose birth name was John Ewing Richter, was a one-of-a-kind artist who initiated a gripping style of theatrical jazz dance that forever vanquished the vaudeville kickline. Cole's distinctive four-decade career choreographi…
Traces the journey of Kiss Me, Kate, by Cole Porter, Sam and Bella Spewack, charting its development from concept to curtain call, a behind-the-scenes look at the artistic decisions that shaped its legacy. Through several case studies, Robbins examines how it has remained relevan…
Making Mary Poppins reveals the extraordinary true story behind the creation of one of the most beloved films of all time―and the two little-known songwriters who helped make it possible. Long before Mary Poppins danced across the rooftops of Edwardian London and into the hearts…
An analytic and critical overview of the practice, execution, and effects of orchestration in musical theatre since the time that rock music became significant in the genre. Case studies from shows such as Hair, The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, Wicked, and Hamilton. 128 p…
Weaves these diverse threads into a comprehensive narrative, repositioning Black, Queer, and Women artists at the heart of the story, acknowledging their long-standing contributions often overlooked. 456 pages.
Uncovers critical networks that originally theorized a middlebrow approach to culture, beginning in the literary circles of Van Wyck Brooks and Archibald MacLeish, and radiating outward to major theater and music critics including Brooks Atkinson and Olin Downes. Follows three sh…
The journey of a musical from potential disaster to success, and the Broadway industry that managed to stay alive during the pandemic shutdown of 2020-22. Told through personal stories, anecdotes from the cast, production shots, behind-the-scenes photos, and insights from the cre…
The Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show will record a cast album, featuring Rachel Dratch as “Narrator,” Luke Evans as “Frank-N-Furter,” Amber Gray as “Riff Raff,” Stephanie Hsu as “Janet,” Juliette Lewis as “Magenta,” and more.
This Ain’t No Disco: World Premiere Recording – Songs from the Musical by Stephen Trask and Peter Yanowitz is out now in digital and streaming formats.
Night Side Songs – the cast album of the transformative new musical produced by Lincoln Center Theater at LCT3 / the Claire Tow Theater – is available in streaming and digital formats now with a music video for My Stuff out now.
The original Broadway cast recording for Schmigadoon! is currently available to stream everywhere you listen to music.
Composer Yu-Peng Chen, known for scoring Genshin Impact, will release a 12-movement symphonic suite for piano and orchestra tracing a journey from birth to farewell.
Night Side Songs – the cast album, will be released in streaming and digital formats.
BroadwayWorld has your exclusive first listen to Lena Hall singing Lay Your Head from This Ain’t No Disco: World Premiere Recording – Songs from the Musical.
The musical Suffs is being adapted into a young adult novel! The book is written by the musical's writer, Shaina Taub, alongside author Betsy Cornwell.
Tony Award-winning producer and founder and CEO of Broadway Plus, Nathaniel Hill, is releasing a book.
Composer Micah Levy has released a revised, updated version of his orchestral children's album, previously performed by the Dallas, San Diego and Utah Symphonies, for streaming platforms.
Center Stage Records will release This Ain’t No Disco: World Premiere Recording – Songs from the Musical by Stephen Trask and Peter Yanowitz in digital and streaming formats.
That Parenting Musical recently recorded a studio cast album starring Christopher Jackson, Kara Lindsay, Bonnie Milligan, Max Mendoza Crumm, Vidushi Goyal, and Scott Rathbun, with a release date yet to be revealed.
Joy Machine Records will release two new singles from the upcoming album Beau: The Musical (Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording) in August, with a full album due this fall.
Octoverse Media and Warner Music Group's Arts Music will release the cast album of the Lincoln Center Theater musical, with a single from THE LAZOURS' score out now.
Studio Seven Classical has rereleased Robert Miller's MA PETITE FLEUR, a string quartet arranged by David Shenton, in a newly remixed and remastered version.
The Tony Award winning Best Musical Schmigadoon! released its second single from the original Broadway cast recording, “Tribulation,” featuring Tony Award-nominee Ana Gasteyer, the Schmigadoon! Original Broadway Company and the Schmorchestra.
Atlantic Records has unveiled the pre-order for CATS: The Jellicle Ball (Original Broadway Cast Recording), the official companion to the wildly acclaimed Tony Award-winning musical revival.
Empire: Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording has been released in digital and streaming formats.
Atlantic Records will release physical editions of Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years (25th Anniversary Live at the London Palladium), starring Rachel Zegler and Ben Platt.
The musical comedy concept album, featuring Chris Sullivan and Kimiko Glenn, is now streaming after its songs and cast drew more than 10 million views online.
Keke Palmer's audio comedy THE WEDDINGS OF LADY MISS JACQUELINE will premiere on Audible, featuring Sheryl Lee Ralph, Danielle Brooks and Zachariah Porter, alongside a trailer for a companion microdrama series.
An EP of songs from Romero & Juliet, a new musical based on elements from Shakespeare’s timeless love story and the zombie lore of filmmaker George Romero, has been released.
The 2025 Broadway Cast Recording of CHESS will be released on CD and vinyl next month.
Two-time Tony nominee Bill Russell has written a memoir chronicling his path from a South Dakota upbringing to a career as a Broadway writer, with a New York book signing planned to mark its release.
TCG Books will publish Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Pulitzer Prize-finalist play EVERYBODY, now available for pre-order ahead of its release.
Star Machine The EP will be released on all major streaming services, featuring six tracks from the original new musical Star Machine.
Center Stage Records announced the release of Sappho: The Poetess, an EP written and performed by Hayley Canham, ahead of performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and London's Young Vic.
Heartbeat Opera will release its first full-length recording, an English-language, Broadway-infused reimagining of Massenet's opera, made at Power Station Studios with Lexicon Classics.
A five-song studio cast recording of the new musical about balloonist Sophie Blanchard is available for streaming, featuring Tony winner Lauren Patten and Britney Coleman.
Sophia Anne Caruso released the single 'Higher State' ahead of her debut album On Ecstatic, a hyperpop record blending electronic production with personal songwriting.
