Lady in the Dark Biography of a Musical

by mcclung, bruce d.

• ISBN13: 9780195120127
• ISBN10: 0195120124
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-01-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

When Lady in the Dark opened on January 23, 1941, its many firsts immediately distinguished it as a new and unusual work. The curious directive to playwright Moss Hart to complete a play about psychoanalysis came from his own Freudian psychiatrist. For the first time since his brother George's death, Ira Gershwin returned to writing lyrics for the theater. And for émigré composer Kurt Weill, it was a crack at an opulent first-class production. Together Hart, Gershwin, and Weill (with a little help from the psychiatrist) produced one of the most innovative works in Broadway history. Though Lady in the Dark was a smash-hit, it has never enjoyed a Broadway revival, and a certain mystique has grown up around its legendary original production. In this ground-breaking biography, bruce mcclung pieces together the musical's life story from sketches and drafts, production scripts, correspondence, photographs, costume and set designs, and thousands of clippings from the star's personal scrapbooks. He has interviewed eleven members of the original company to provide a one-of-a-kind glimpse into the backstage story.

Author Biography

bruce d. mcclung, a native of California's Mojave Desert, teaches American and European music history at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music.

Table of Contents

Credits	p. xiii
Prologue	p. xv
Opening Night	p. 3
Genesis	p. 35
Musical Score	p. 61
Tryout	p. 81
Broadway Run	p. 103
Tour	p. 125
Cultural Context	p. 143
Revivals	p. 167
Epilogue	p. 199
Notes	p. 203
Selected Bibliography and Discography	p. 237
Index	p. 255
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