A Broadway musical about a single man living in Man-hattan who's surrounded by married couples? A show about aging chorines haunted by the ghosts of their past? Another performed on a bare stage featuring chorus dancers that lands on Broadway like a juggernaut? Reality came knocking in the 1970s when, Company, Follies, and A Chorus Line, all taught Broadway a new way to sing. Mordden's latest volume in his history of the musical looks at an era that brought us the gritty reality of A Chorus Line, the brilliantly bitter works of Sondheim, and the crowd-pleasing Annie. In the 1970s, Broadway both looked to its past and to its future for its blockbusters. With Mordden as our guide to this thrilling era, it's 'Curtain going up!'
Ethan Mordden
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Chronological review of the long journey to bring the culture of gay men and women onto the American stage. From the genteel female impersonators of the 1910s to the raucous drag queens of La Cage aux Folles, from the men of The Normal Heart to the women of Fun Home, and from Eva…
"From Babes In Toyland to Hamilton and Yank!, from Anything Goes to Follies, this book reviews original-cast, revival-cast, and studio-cast discs, discussing every element from the quality of performance to the quality of the sound." 528 pages.
The full history of the British musical, from The Beggar's Opera (1728) to the present, with an interest in isolating the unique qualities of the form and its influence on the American model. Covers not only the shows and their authors but the personalities as well.
On Streisand begins with a broad year-by-year outline of the landmark achievements, followed by a short biography, some chapters exploring key points in the artistry, then-the major part of the book-a work-by-work analysis. The work-by-work section is broken down into separate ch…
When films like The Jazz Singer started to integrate synchronized music, in the late 1920s many ambitious songwriting pioneers of the Great White Way - George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Lorenz Hart, among many others - were enticed westward by Hollywood s…
In On Sondheim, renowned author Ethan Mordden takes the reader on a tour of Stephen Sondheim's work, arguing for the importance and appeal of the composer-lyricist in American theater and, even more, in American culture. Over the course of eighteen shows, Mordden demonstrates tha…
Now in paperback, this profusely illustrated volume celebrates the legendary collaboration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Filled with original performance photographs, set and costume designs, backstage candids, and lively anecdotes, the book covers the team's compl…
The true Broadway musical from the days of Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Merman, Preston, Channing, Fosse, and Robbins was finally dead. Unfortunately, the burial has not yet taken place. In The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen, Ethan Mordden takes the reader to the Br…
The full audio production of AUGHTS, a radio play written and directed by Jake Lebowitz, is available free on YouTube, podcast platforms, and the show's website.
Music historian and critic Lawrence Schulman will release new titles including a third GARLAND volume and a photographic biography of Judy Garland, with forewords from Will Friedwald and James Fisher.
CENTER STAGE RECORDS has announced the release of The Pianist: World Premiere Recording – based on the new musical stage adaptation of Wladyslaw Szpilman’s internationally acclaimed memoir, the basis of Roman Polanski’s Academy Award-winning film.
Ghostlight Records has released the CHESS (2025 Broadway Cast Recording) on CD and vinyl, featuring Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele and Nicholas Christopher from the Imperial Theatre revival.
Tony Award nominee Kevin Chamberlin, Caroline Bowman, Timothy H.
Broadway Records released the world premiere cast recording of THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, featuring music by Anna Mullarkey from the National Theatre's revival starring Nicola Coughlan.
Broadway director and choreographer Richard J.
Decca Records will release the original cast album of 13 GOING ON 30 – THE MUSICAL, featuring Lucie Jones and David Hunter from the show's Manchester premiere cast.
Jonathan Bailey will take on the title role in Audible's new global adaptation of Dracula, joining Ella Purnell, Aimee Lou Wood, Maggie Gyllenhaal and more in the full-cast audio production.
Composer Ian Ferguson and writer Lauren LeBlanc will release a cast album of their original musical THE PENUMBRA, following its Dallas Children's Theater workshop presentation.
Tori Keenan-Zelt will discuss her play THE JONBENÉT GAME during an evening event at The Drama Book Shop in New York City, exploring themes of true crime, memory, and grief.
Johanna Telander's new concept album reimagines global 'Ladies in White' ghost legends, featuring an all-female cast including Militia Vox, Natalie Toro, Felicia Curry and Melody Munitz.
MEMENTO GOREY: The Last Interviews with Edward Gorey, a new book by Christopher Seufert, collects unpublished interviews and photographs documenting the designer's life and work.
The original stage work BIG MAN: A NEW MUSICAL, currently in development, will release the show's second single “Wander” in streaming and digital formats featuring Kevin Chamberlin.
The New York City Center Gala production of Bat Boy: The Musical (New York City Center Cast Recording) is available in digital and streaming formats.
Evita: The Full Album, the full cast recording of Jamie Lloyd's West End production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, led by Rachel Zegler, is available now.
You can now get a first listen to two new singles from the upcoming album Beau: The Musical recording.
Theatre Communications Group will publish an anthology of more than thirty plays by women+ playwrights, a civic initiative from the Flynn Center with the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize examining democracy in America.
Audible has a packed slate of new releases and live programming arriving this September, featuring everything from conversations with Barack Obama and a return to the fan-favorite Bobiverse to Colin Kaepernick's deeply personal story and more.
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.
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