From 1925 to 1951--three chaotic decades of depression, war, and social upheaval--Jewish writers brought to the musical stage a powerfully appealing vision of America fashioned through song and dance. It was an optimistic, meritocratic, selectively inclusive America in which Jews could at once lose and find themselves--assimilation enacted onstage and off, as Andrea Most shows. This book examines two interwoven narratives crucial to an understanding of twentieth-century American culture: the stories of Jewish acculturation and of the development of the American musical. Here we delve into the work of the most influential artists of the genre during the years surrounding World War II--Irving Berlin, Eddie Cantor, Dorothy and Herbert Fields, George and Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein, Lorenz Hart, and Richard Rodgers--and encounter new interpretations of classics such as The Jazz Singer, Whoopee, Girl Crazy, Babes in Arms, Oklahoma!, Annie Get Your Gun, South Pacific, and The King and I. Most's analysis reveals how these brilliant composers, librettists, and performers transformed the experience of New York Jews into the grand, even sacred acts of being American. Read in the context of memoirs, correspondence, production designs, photographs, and newspaper clippings, the Broadway musical clearly emerges as a form by which Jewish artists negotiated their entrance into secular American society. In this book we see how the communities these musicals invented and the anthems they popularized constructed a vision of America that fostered self-understanding as the nation became a global power.

A practical guide to, and history of, musical theatre. What makes the great shows work, and why some never did.

The popularity of musicals has reached an all-time high leading to the development of numerous original shows. In this comprehensive new guide, Beating Broadway: How to Create Stories for Musicals That Get Standing Ovations, written by veteran storyteller and successful creator of musicals Steve Cuden, readers learn how the plots and stories behind musicals are developed and honed. With a breezy, lighthearted approach, creators at all levels are provided key advice for building winning musical stories. Cuden, who has been there, done that, offers writers the know-how and encouragement to construct brilliant, attention-grabbing musical storylines. Beating Broadway provides readers with practical, down-to-earth advice for crafting successful musical theater stories that will reach audiences everywhere. This complete, two-part manual also guides aspiring writers in what it takes to develop shows that can attract Broadway producers. By showing writers the ins and outs of storytelling required for today's commercial musical theater, Beating Broadway places success firmly within grasp. Readers also gain insight into how stories function in forty of the world's most beloved stage and movie musicals as Cuden breaks down each one into key narrative beats and plot points. "Beating Broadway is a take-you-by-the-hand guided tutorial written by a seasoned professional who really knows his stuff. This book feeds your mind with how stories for musicals are made. If you are interested in creating or producing a musical, Steve's insights will be helpful and inspiring to you.JEFF MARX, Tony winning Composer/Lyricist of Avenue Q "Beating Broadway digs deep to the core of how stories for successful musicals are created. This is a must-have book for anyone who wants to write exceptional musicals or is just a fan."SCOTT WITTMAN, Tony Winning Lyricist of Hairspray and Co-Lyricist and Executive Producer for the Hit TV Series, Smash "Beat-by-beat, Steve Cuden breaks down story, structure, and song spotting so you can beat the Broadway musical before it beats you!"CHERI STEINKELLNER, Emmy-winning Writer/Producer of Cheers and Teacher's Pet, Tony-nominated Writer of Sister Act

(Limelight). The lyricist/librettist of The Fantasticks , the longest-running show in the history of the American theater, takes on a new role as your guide through the magical world of the stage musical.

First published in 2007, "Oklahoma!": The Making of an American Musical tells the full story of the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Author Tim Carter examines archival materials, manuscripts, and journalism, and the lofty aspirations and mythmaking that surrounded the musical from its very inception. The book made for a watershed moment in the study of the American musical: the first well-researched, serious musical analysis of this landmark show by a musicologist, it was also one of the first biographies of a musical, transforming a field that had previously tended to orient itself around creators rather than creations. In this new and fully revised edition, Carter draws further on recently released sources, including the Rouben Mamoulian Papers at the Library of Congress, with additional correspondence, contracts, and even new versions of the working script used - and annotated - throughout the show's rehearsal process. Carter also focuses on the key players and concepts behind the musical, including the original play on which it was based (Lynn Riggs's Green Grow the Lilacs) and the Theatre Guild's Theresa Helburn and Lawrence Langner, who fatefully brought Rodgers and Hammerstein together for their first collaboration. The crucial new perspectives these revisions and additions provide make this edition of Carter's seminal work a compulsory purchase for all teachers, students, and lovers of musical theater.

Award-winning musical dramatist and teacher David Spencer provides a guide-to-the-game that helps you negotiate aspects of the musical theatre business and more.

"These cautionary tales are provocative, highly instructive, occasionally brutal, and, from a safe distance, downright hilarious, making Second Act Trouble the perfect Broadway bedtime reader - unless you are prone to nightmares."--BOOK JACKET.