The definitive history of the Broadway musical: the shows, the stars, the movers, and the shakers. Showtime brings the history of Broadway musicals to life in a narrative as engaging as the subject itself. Beginning with the scandalous Astor Place Opera House riot of 1849, Larry Stempel traces the growth of musicals from minstrel shows and burlesques, through the golden age of Show Boat and Oklahoma!, to such groundbreaking works as Company and Rent.
Through each stage of its development, Stempel describes the Broadway stage with vivid accounts of the performers drawn to it, and detailed portraits of the creators who wrote the music, lyrics, and stories for its shows, both beloved and less well known. But Stempel travels outside the theater doors as well, to illuminate the wider world of musical theater as a living genre shaped by the forces of American history and culture. He reveals not only how musicals entertain their audiences but also how they serve as barometers of social concerns and bearers of cultural values.
Showtime is the culmination of decades of painstaking research on a genre whose forms have changed over the course of two centuries. In covering the expansive subject before him, Stempel combines original research—including a kaleidoscope of primary sources and archival holdings—with deft and insightful analysis. The result is nothing short of the most comprehensive, authoritative history of the Broadway musical yet published. 16 pages of four-color; 105 black-and-white illustrations
Reviews
This is the most complete, most detailed, and most illuminating book on the history and development of musical theater, from its beginnings to the present day. It is perhaps more than some want to know about this art form, and yet if one is to really understand it, the amount of detail provided is extremely helpful. Another reviewer has pointed out that the author’s personality does not come through, but this is clearly meant as a scholarly (in the best sense of the word) work, where personal opinion would be out of place. I love the opinion-laden books of Ethan Mordden, but am always aware that I am reading a very particular viewpoint.
Here, I have the feeling that the author is trying to pull together all this is known about musical theater in the U.S., in a way that helps us make sense of the various streams of influence, as they have joined to create a form that itself has shifted and changed over the years. This is not a book I was able to read straight through–I found myself reading a chapter, and then putting down the book to think about what I had read. That’s unusual for me. I like the way the book is organized, with 3-4 musicals per chapter used as examples–often in great detail. This heavy volume is clearly a labor of love, and I know of no other recent book that provides so much information on the subject. – Stephen Peithman, Amazon Customer Review
“Showtime,” Larry Stempel’s history of Broadway musicals, reviewed by Lloyd Rose
Washington Post, October 3, 2010
Another big book on the American musical? Absolutely. O’Neill may seethe, Miller lecture, Williams poeticize and Mamet swear — but let’s face it, America’s great contribution to world theater has been the musical. The show that must go on is never a tragedy, the business there’s no business like doesn’t churn out operas, and the star never breaks her ankle so that the understudy can go on and score a triumph in “A Doll’s House.” The musical rules Broadway and is exported around the globe. It’s the stuff everyone’s showbiz dreams are made of: The great English Shakespeare director Trevor Nunn fled the Bard for . . . well, for “Cats.” These things don’t always work out. Still, every fan understands Nunn’s passion and ambition.
Larry Stempel is a scholar rather than a fan, but without the cliched scholarly dryness. He spent roughly 30 years researching and writing “Showtime,” but his attitude toward his subject remains fresh. He seems delighted with everything he finds; you can almost hear him murmuring, “I didn’t know that” as he unearths some new discovery. [Read the full article...]
