The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals
By (author) Dan Dietz
Publication date:
29 March 2018Length of book:
712 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781538102763
Despite the stock market crash of October 1929, thousands of theatregoers still flocked to the Great White Way throughout the country’s darkest years. In keeping with the Depression and the events leading up to World War II, 1930s Broadway was distinguished by numerous political revues and musicals, including three by George Gershwin (Strike Up the Band, Of Thee I Sing, and Let ’Em Eat Cake). The decade also saw the last musicals by Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Vincent Youmans; found Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in full flower; and introduced both Kurt Weill and Harold Arlen’s music to Broadway.
In The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals, Dan Dietz examines in detail every musical that opened on Broadway from 1930 through 1939. This book discusses the era’s major successes, notorious failures, and musicals that closed during their pre-Broadway tryouts. It includes such shows as Anything Goes, As Thousands Cheer, Babes in Arms, The Boys from Syracuse, The Cradle Will Rock, The Green Pastures, Hellzapoppin, Hot Mikado, Porgy and Bess, Roberta, and various editions of Ziegfeld Follies.
Each entry contains the following information:
In The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals, Dan Dietz examines in detail every musical that opened on Broadway from 1930 through 1939. This book discusses the era’s major successes, notorious failures, and musicals that closed during their pre-Broadway tryouts. It includes such shows as Anything Goes, As Thousands Cheer, Babes in Arms, The Boys from Syracuse, The Cradle Will Rock, The Green Pastures, Hellzapoppin, Hot Mikado, Porgy and Bess, Roberta, and various editions of Ziegfeld Follies.
Each entry contains the following information:
- Plot summary
- Cast members
- Names of all important personnel, including writers, composers, directors, choreographers, producers, and musical directors
- Opening and closing dates
- Number of performances
- Critical commentary
- Musical numbers and the performers who introduced the songs
- Production data, including information about tryouts
- Source material
- Details about London and other foreign productions
All musical theater collections and Broadway fans must add this new edition to their collections, along with the previous volumes in the series.