Broadway: The American Musical (Applause Books)
A gorgeous, beautifully written coffee-table book, featuring enough detail to satisfy the most jaded Broadway-phile. NPRThough this nostalgia-laden tome is designed as a companion book to a forthcoming PBS series, it stands on its own as a particularly striking and comprehensive take on a uniquely American art form. The copious illustrations alone are worth the price of admission, and the meticulously researched text spans the years in six information-packed chapters. With its beguiling blend of entertainment and history, this splendid work is a must-have, whether you're a musical-comedy devotee (i.e., you know that Barbara Cook's Broadway debut was in 1951's Flahooley) or a neophyte (you're not sure who Barbara Cook is). --Publishers WeeklyThis gorgeous behemoth is the ultimate coffee-table book for lovers of the American musical, though it is smarter and better written than such a glib description suggests. Broadway is a great read in its own right, consisting of Maslon's well-researched, well-written history, which draws on material from Kantor's film, supplemented by 110 years' worth of excerpts from scripts, capsule biographies of noteworthy theater people, and contemporary interviews with great stars. Just in case you can't read, hundreds and hundreds of drop-dead beautiful photographs, many of them rare and rarely reproduced, make this a great grazing-and-gazing experience, too. BooklistPlenty of books have been written on Broadway history and productions before: so what makes Michael Kantor and Laurence Maslon's Broadway: The American Musical stand out? Perhaps it's the in-depth color illustration packed into every page of this coverage of Broadway's musical heritage and history, or it's in-depth analysis of Broadway's influence as a cultural force through the decades. Or maybe it's in-depth narratives and handy sidebars highlighting the major stars. All these factors earn an important role as the companion volume to the six-part PBS series of the same name. All of these set Broadway: The American Musical high above competitors. --Midwest Book ReviewsThis masterly compilation would be an exciting adventure for the musical lover even without the televised series. Highly recommended for all theater collections. Library Journal Not a slavish recreation of the series, but its own animal-and an awe-inspiring animal at that-a delicious treat for anyone interested in the history of this cherished American artform. Back Stage WestA wonderful, stand-alone, history of the Great White Way and essential for any lover of the American musical theatre. --Town and CountryBesides bringing us up to date through the 2009-2010 season, this trade paperback edition has a new foreword by Julie Andrews. They're wondrous things to pull off, she remarks. A great musical is something to be cherished forever. The cast album becomes a friend. So will this gorgeously appointed book, rich with photos and quotes and backstage info-nuggets -- the stories behind Oklahoma! and West Side Story, to name two classics, are page-turners -- and welcoming The Light in the Piazza, Spring Awakening, and In The Heights to the fold. --PopdoseThis epic tome by Michael Kantor and Laurence Maslon adds five more years and 40 more pages to the original book, which came out in 2004 as a companion piece to their memorable six-part, Emmy-winning PBS documentary series of the same name.... Handsomely produced and intensely researched. --Playbill