Show Tunes

This majestic reference fully chronicles the shows, songs, and careers of all the major composers of the American musical theater, from Jerome Kern's earliest interpolations to the latest hits on Broadway. Gershwin, Rodgers, Porter, Berlin, Bernstein, Loesser, Sondheim, Kander, Finn, Flaherty, and more--this book covers their works, their innovations, their successes, and their failures. Show Tunes is simply the most comprehensive volume of its kind ever produced, and this newly revised and updated third edition cites and discusses no fewer than 900 shows and 8,000 show tunes. Author Steven Suskin, who has been a manager and producer on and around Broadway for more than 20 years, has added dozens of new Broadway shows to his third edition, which covers productions up through March of 1999, and has also included evaluations of revivals of all the shows listed here.

The entire theatrical output of three dozen important Broadway composers is meticulously researched in these pages, along with 75 notable musicals by others. Listings include essential production data and statistics; extensive and detailed information on published and recorded songs; and pertinent commentary--pithy appraisals, points of interest, insider's data, and so on--for the shows, songs, and careers in question. Suskin rediscovers and carefully documents literally hundreds of forgotten shows, and also gives readers a comparative overview of musical-theater activity as a whole by including both a chronological appendix of the 800 productions discussed and a show-by-show guide to Broadway's most important lyricists, librettists, producers, directors, and choreographers.

The highly anticipated third edition of Suskin's thorough, fact-laden volume is certain to appeal to all enthusiasts of the American musical--be they students, scholars, performers, fans, or collectors.