We'll Have Manhattan: The Early Work of Rodgers & Hart - by Dominic Symonds
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart are one of the defining duos of musical theater, contributing dozens of classic songs to the Great American Songbook and working together on over 40 shows before Hart's death. With hit after hit on both Broadway and the West End, they produced many of the celebrated songs of the '20s and '30s--such as "Manhattan," "The Lady is a Tramp," and "Bewitched"--that remain popular favorites with great cultural resonance today. Yet the early years of these iconic collaborators have remained largely unexamined.
We'll Have Manhattan: The Early Work of Rodgers & Hart provides unprecedented insight into the first, formative period of Rodgers and Hart's collaboration. Author Dominic Symonds examines the pair and their work from their first meeting in 1919 to their brief flirtation with Hollywood in the early 1930s as they left the theater to explore sound film. During this time, their output was prodigious, progressive, and experimental. They developed their characteristic style and a new approach to musical theater writing that provided the groundwork for the development of the Broadway musical. Symonds also analyzes the theme of identity that runs throughout Rodgers and Hart's work, how the business side of the theater affected their artistic output, and their continued experimentation with a song's dramatic role within a narrative.
We'll Have Manhattan goes beyond a biographical or historical look at Rodgers and Hart's early years--it's also an accessible but authoritative study of their material. Symonds documents their early shows and provides deft critical and analytical commentary on their evolving practice and its influence on the subsequent development of the American musical. Fans of musical theater and devotees of Rodgers and Hart will find this definitive exploration of their early works to be an essential addition to their Broadway library.
The soundtrack is also now available for A Very Jonas Christmas Movie, with tracks that feature the vocals of Kenny G, Chloe Bennet, and Broadway alum Andrew Barth Feldman. Check it out now.
Nick Hern Books is set to publish the complete scripts to the multi-award-winning Netflix television series Adolescence, presented alongside exclusive behind-the-scenes material, on 27 November.
Center Stage Records has released the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Pirates! The Penzance Musical on CD. The album is also available in streaming and digital formats.
Center Stage Records has released the EP featuring three selections from It’s Kind of a Funny Story: A New Musical in streaming and digital formats today, Friday, November 14. It’s Kind of a Funny Story features music and lyrics by Drew Gasparini and book by two-time Tony Award nominee Alex Brightman.
In honor of the film’s 20th anniversary this year, Focus Features is re-releasing Pride & Prejudice in a restored 4K Ultra HD edition. The 4K release will hit shelves on November 25, 2025.
To mark the sixth year of the Singles Day Vinyl Series, Urban Outfitters has opened preorders for a new 7' vinyl release of the two new singles. It will be released on November 21.
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Music stores across the country will host official listening parties to celebrate the release of the soundtrack of Wicked: For Good on November 21, 22 and 23.
Anthony Nunziata has released his debut holiday collection Christmas & You on vinyl, CD, and digital and streaming platforms. The songs were all co-written by Nunziata and some of the top Country and pop hitmakers.
Center Stage Recrods has released Into the Sun: World Premiere Recording in streaming and digital formats. Into the Sun is the new musical drama that features book, music and lyrics by Michael Gubser.
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Known for his stage presence in Rock of Ages Hollywood alongside Frankie Grande and Nick Cordero, Broadway performer and recording artist Ian Ward steps into a new chapter with the release of his latest single, 'Ocean Eyes.' L
Stevie Holland has released the music video for “Talk to Your Tomatoes,” the tile track to her just-released new album. Written by Stevie Holland and Gary William Friedman, the song and video are a swinging, zany, and veggie-gardening loving trip.
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Bloomsbury Methuen Drama published An Alchemy of Living Culture: Collected Writings on Double Edge Theatre, an anthology gathering decades of Stacy Klein's visionary reflections, interviews, speeches, and essays.
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STEVIE HOLLAND – the acclaimed jazz vocalist and songwriter – returns with her new album Talk to Your Tomatoes, which is currently available on CD and in digital and streaming platforms. Listen here!
CENTER STAGE RECORDS has released We Live in Cairo: Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording in streaming and digital formats now. Learn more and listen here!
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Amnon Kabatchnik has penned a new in his award-winning reference series. Kabatchnik's latest, Bloody Broadway: Plays of Menace, Murder, and Mystery, Volume I (BearManor Media) is now available.
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CENTER STAGE RECORDS will release We Live in Cairo: Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording in streaming and digital formats this week. Learn more about the album here!
Apollo Publishers will release Making Rent: The Story Behind the Music that Changed Broadway in January. Learn more about the book, and about the author Tim Weil here!