Enchanted Evenings The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim

by Block, Geoffrey

• ISBN13: 9780195167306
• ISBN10: 0195167309
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-02-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The classic musicals of Broadway can provide us with truly enchanted evenings. But while many of us can hum the music and even recount the plot from memory, we are often much less knowledgeable about how these great shows were put together. Now, in Enchanted Evenings , Geoffrey Block offers theatre lovers an illuminating behind-the-scenes tour of some of the best loved, most admired, and most enduring musicals of Broadway's Golden Era. In this documentary history, we find insightful studies of fourteen musicals in all including such all-time favorites as Show Boat, Anything Goes, Porgy and Bess, Kiss Me, Kate, Guys and Dolls , My Fair Lady, and West Side Story . The book's particular focus is on the music , showing how librettist, lyricist, composer, and director work together to shape the piece. Block sheds light on why particular musicals have adapted to changing times and are still performed in high schools, colleges, and community theaters across the country, while others languish in comparative obscurity. Packed with information, including a complete discography and plot synopses and song-by-song scenic outlines for each of the fourteen shows, this book is an essential reference as well as a riveting history.

Author Biography

Geoffrey Block is Professor of Music at the University of Puget Sound School of Music, in Tacoma, Washington. He has published widely on the Broadway musical and is also the author of three books on Charles Ives.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Overture
Introduction: Setting the Stage	p. 3
Before Rodgers and Hammerstein
Show Boat: In the Beginning	p. 19
Anything Goes: Songs Ten, Book Three	p. 41
Porgy and Bess: Broadway Opera	p. 60
On Your Toes and Pal Joey: Dance Gets into the Act and "Sweet Water from a Foul Well"	p. 85
The Cradle Will Rock: A Labor Musical for Art's Sake	p. 115
Lady in the Dark and One Touch of Venus: The Broadway Stranger and His American Dreams	p. 133
The Broadway Musical After Oklahoma!
Carousel: The Invasion of the Integrated Musical	p. 159
Kiss Me, Kate: The Taming of Cole Porter	p. 179
Guys and Dolls and The Most Happy Fella: The Greater Loesser	p. 197
My Fair Lady: From Pygmalion to Cinderella	p. 225
West Side Story: The Very Model of a Major Musical	p. 245
Happily Ever After West Side Story with Sondheim	p. 274
Synopses	p. 295
Discography: Selected Original, Revival, Film, and Studio Casts	p. 303
Sources, Published Librettos, and Vocal Scores	p. 311
Long Runs 1920s-1980s	p. 314
The Forty Longest-Running Book Musicals on Broadway	p. 317
Show Boat
Broadway 1927	p. 319
Principal Changes in Selected Stage Productions and Films (1928-1994)	p. 321
Manuscript Sources for Ravenal's Entrance and Meeting with Magnolia	p. 324
Anything Goes
Broadway 1934	p. 325
Off-Broadway Revival 1962	p. 325
Lincoln Center Revival 1987	p. 326
Porgy and Bess: Songs, Arias, and Themes	p. 328
On Your Toes: Broadway 1936 and Broadway Revival 1983	p. 329
Pal Joey: Broadway 1940 and Broadway Revival 1952	p. 330
The Cradle Will Rock: Broadway 1937	p. 331
Lady in the Dark: Broadway 1941	p. 332
One Touch of Venus: Broadway 1943	p. 333
Carousel: Broadway 1945	p. 334
Kiss Me, Kate: Broadway 1948	p. 335
Spewack Libretto Draft (May 28, 1948)	p. 336
Guys and Dolls: Broadway 1950	p. 337
The Most Happy Fella: Broadway 1956	p. 338
My Fair Lady: Broadway 1956	p. 340
West Side Story: Broadway 1957	p. 341
Libretto Drafts 1 (January 1956) and 2 (Spring 1956)	p. 342
Follies: Broadway 1971 and London Revival 1987	p. 343
Notes	p. 347
Select Bibliography	p. 393
Index	p. 401
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.