American Musical Theater / Edition 1

by James Leve

Overview

American Musical Theater provides a chronological history of musical theater within a cultural context. Covering the major artistic trends, seminal works, and leading figures in the field, the text uses case study musicals in each chapter as a lens through which to explore themes and developments in the evolution of musical theater over time. In addition to exposing students to the musical theater canon, author James Leve encourages them to think across the disciplines, drawing on their knowledge of music, literature, popular culture, and history. For anyone from diehard musical theater fans to novices to the style, American Musical Theater offers a definitive guide to this inherently American art form.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195379600
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/09/2015
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

James Leve (Ph.D., Yale University) is Professor of Music at Northern Arizona University, where he is also the director of the graduate program.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements

1. Oklahoma! and the Integrated Book Musical
Overview
Integration Theory
Rodgers and Hammerstein
The Evolution of Oklahoma!
The Artistic Components
Plot of Oklahoma!
Interpretation
Epilogue
And Bear in Mind (Kiss Me, Kate)

2. Musical Theater in Nineteenth-Century America
Plot-Centered Genres
Variety-Show Formats
Conclusion

3. Broadway at the Turn of the Century
Musical Comedy
Plot of Little Jimmy Jones
Operetta
Revue
And Bear in Mind (The Chocolate Soldier)

4. The Teens
Princess Theatre Musicals
Plot of Very Good Eddie
Beyond the Princess Theatre
And Bear in Mind (Naughty Marietta)

5. The Twenties
The Cinderella Musicals
Other Musical Comedies
The Operetta Revival
Show Boat
Plot of Show Boat
After Show Boat
And Bear in Mind (No, No, Nanette)

6. The Thirties
Cole Porter
Plot of Anything Goes
Satirical Musicals Comedies and Revues in the Thirties
Plot of The Cradle Will Rock
Other Revues
Other Notable Events on Broadway
And Bear in Mind (Of Thee I Sing)

7. The Forties
Lerner and Loewe
Plot of Brigadoon
The Rodgers and Hammerstein Generation
New Voices
And Bear in Mind (Pal Joey)

8. The Fifties
Historical Background
Cultural Background
The Music Man
Plot of The Music Man
The Music Man Versus West Side Story
An Embarrassment of Riches
Conclusion
And Bear in Mind (The Most Happy Fella)

9. The Sixties
"The Age of Aquarius"
Writers of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Era
The First Post-Rodgers and Hammerstein Generation
Concept Musical
Cabaret
Plot of Cabaret
And Bear in Mind (The Fiddler on the Roof)
The Nixon Era

10. The Seventies
Serious and Comic Trends in the Seventies
The Sondheim Decade
The Sondheim-Prince Musicals
Musical Theater Beyond Broadway
And Bear in Mind (A Chorus Line)

11. The Eighties
Megamusical
From Rock Opera to Megamusical
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Plot of The Phantom of the Opera
American Musicals in the Eighties
Familiar Voices
Interesting Flops
A Doll's Life and Grind
Revivals and Retrospectives
The Legacy of the Megamusical
And Bear in Mind (Les Misérables)

12. The Nineties
The Incredible Story of Rent
Plot of Rent
American Megamusicals
Beyond the Megamusical
Musical Theater at the End of the Millennium
Dawn of the Corporate Producer
And Bear in Mind (The Lion King)

13. The New Millennium
Corporate Producing
Musical Theater in the Twenty-First Century
Plot of The Light in the Piazza
Broadway Today
And Bear in Mind (In the Heights)

14. Musical Theater Off Broadway
The Off Broadway Scene
The Fantasticks
Plot of The Fantasticks
The Halcyon Days of Off Broadway Musicals
And Bear in Mind (Little Shop of Horrors)

15. The "Black Musical"
Early Years
The Twenties
The Thirties
Postwar Black Musicals
The Seventies
Plot of The Wiz
Post-Civil Rights Era
And Bear in Mind (In Dahomey)

16. Rock on Broadway
The Rock Musical
Early Rock Musicals on Broadway
Hair
Plot of Hair
After Hair
Second-Wave Rock Musicals
And Bear in Mind (Godspell)

17. The Star
Singing and Stardom
Al Jolson
Marilyn Miller
The "Merm"
Gypsy and Mama Rose
Plot of Gypsy
Broadway Stars Today
Merman's Legacy
And Bear in Mind (Fine and Dandy)

Bibliography
Credits
Index

Editorial Reviews

"The writing is compelling, and the expansive approach to musicals of the last twenty years and the musical analysis is better than anything else that I've seen." - Constance Cook Glen, Indiana University

"American Musical Theater is practical and informative. The author does a nice job of presenting the history in a clear, concise manner." - Merlaine Angwall, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

"This insider's approach— as in 'here's the real story of how this musical came about'— will engage my students." - Valerie Trollinger, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

"Instructors who are teaching in fields like African American studies, American studies, digital humanities, English, music, and theatre can use Leve's textbook. Educators and students would benefit from this work in courses about not only the history of the musical, but also popular culture, race, and sex. Leve's textbook is well-written, its argument and evidence are clear, and its large number of illustrations in black-and-white and color are helpful ... Leve's textbook is recommended to anyone who counts among their teaching interests the place of American musical theatre in the production of cultural knowledge." —The Journal of American Drama and Theatre (JADT)

From the Publisher