The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals

by Dan Dietz

Overview

The Broadway musical came of age in the 1950s, a period in which some of the greatest productions made their debuts. Shows produced on Broadway during this decade include such classics as Damn Yankees, Fiorello!, Guys and Dolls, The King and I, Kismet, The Most Happy Fella, My Fair Lady, The Pajama Game, Peter Pan, The Sound of Music, and West Side Story. Among the performers who made their marks were Julie Andrews, Bob Fosse, Carol Lawrence, and Gwen Verdon, while other talents who contributed to shows include Leonard Bernstein, 'scar Hammerstein II, Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Cole Porter, Jerome Robbins, Richard Rodgers, and Stephen Sondheim.

In The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, Dan Dietz examines in detail every musical and revue which opened on Broadway during the 1950s. In addition to providing details on every hit and flop that debuted during the decade, this book includes revivals, and one-man and one-woman shows.

Each entry contains the following information:

• Opening and closing dates
• Plot summary
• Cast members
• Number of performances
• Names of all important personnel including writers, composers, directors, choreographers, producers, and musical directors
• Musical numbers and the names of performers who introduced the songs
• Production data, including information about tryouts
• Source material
• Critical commentary
• Tony awards and nominations
• Details about London and other foreign productions

Besides separate entries for each production, the book offers numerous appendices, such as a discography, film and television versions, published scripts, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, and lists of productions by the New York City Center Light Opera Company, and the New York City Opera Company.

A treasure trove of information, The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals provides readers with a complete view of each show. This significant resource will be of use to scholars, historians, and casual fans of one of the greatest decades in musical theatre history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442235045
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/02/2014
Pages:	478
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Dan Dietz is a former professor of composition, world literature, and modern drama at Western Carolina University. He is the author of Off Broadway Musicals, 1910-2007 (2010) and The Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).

Table of Contents

Introduction
1950s Broadway Musicals:
1949–1950 Season
1950–1951 Season
1951–1952 Season
1952–1953 Season
1953–1954 Season
1954–1955 Season
1955–1956 Season
1956–1957 Season
1957–1958 Season
1958–1959 Season
1959 Season

Appendices:
A. Alphabetical List of Musicals
B. Chronology (by Classification)
C. Chronology (by Season)
D. Discography
E. Filmography
F. Gilbert and Sullivan Productions
G. New York City Center Light Opera Company Productions
H. New York City Opera Company Productions
I. Other Productions
J. Published Scripts
K. Theatres
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

Numerous and notable musicals made their initial runs in the 1950s. Dan Dietz, a professor of English and the history of modern drama, compiles performance data (e.g., number of performances, specific songs, opening and closing dates, reception history), cast members, composers, writers, directors, producers, and information about musicals, for those produced from 1950 to 1959, encompassing the 1949-1950 through the 1959-1960 seasons.. .. The book presents 206 musicals that opened on Broadway during the 1950s: this includes 71 with new music, 2 with pre-existing music, 5 operas, several revues and plays, and 50 revivals. Several appendixes add data. The first, an alphabetic list of musicals, designates the years only when another musical of that title was produced. Others appendixes present chronologies, one by season, another by classification, a discography, filmography, the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan, two lists by the theater producing the musical (New York City Center Light Opera Company, and New York City Opera Company), a selective list of other productions staged in New York City, published scripts, and theaters (with the musicals they presented). The author used italics to display cast members who were billed above the musical’s title. While some reference books display headers to ease navigation, this work employs only the season. The index, though, usefully guides the user to the desired musical.

American Reference Books Annual

Anyone who enjoyed Dietz’s Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals will welcome this new volume, which covers every show from Happy as Larry (January 1950) through Vernon Duke’s flop The Pink Jungle (closed pre-Broadway December 1959)—206 shows altogether. As he did in the earlier title, Dietz discusses all book musicals with new music, revivals, revues, new operas, imports, and other works that appeared in New York venues (plus pre-Broadway closings). Each chronologically arranged entry includes opening and closing dates, number of performances, crew, cast (with character names), setting, musical numbers (and performers), two-page plot summary and critical reception, awards, book availability, and detailed recording history. If a performer’s name was billed above the title, it is presented in italics. Entries are well written and informed, with commentary supported by quotes from the original New York theater critics. Eleven appendixes (including discography and filmography) are included. More detailed than Thomas Hischak’s Broadway Plays and Musicals or Ethan Mordden’s Coming up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s (2000), this is a valuable resource. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Choice Reviews

Anyone who enjoyed Dietz’s Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals will welcome this new volume, which covers every show from Happy as Larry (January 1950) through Vernon Duke’s flop The Pink Jungle (closed pre-Broadway December 1959)—206 shows altogether.  As he did in the earlier title, Dietz discusses all book musicals with new music, revivals, revues, new operas, imports, and other works that appeared in New York venues (plus pre-Broadway closings).  Each chronologically arranged entry includes opening and closing dates, number of performances, crew, cast (with character names), setting, musical numbers (and performers), two-page plot summary and critical reception, awards, book availability, and detailed recording history.  If a performer’s name was billed above the title, it is presented in italics.  Entries are well written and informed, with commentary supported by quotes from the original New York theater critics.  Eleven appendixes (including discography and filmography) are included.  More detailed than Thomas Hischak’s Broadway Plays and Musicals or Ethan Mordden’s Coming up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s (2000), this is a valuable resource. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Choice

Anyone who enjoyed Dietz’s Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals will welcome this new volume, which covers every show from Happy as Larry (January 1950) through Vernon Duke’s flop The Pink Jungle (closed pre-Broadway December 1959)—206 shows altogether.  As he did in the earlier title, Dietz discusses all book musicals with new music, revivals, revues, new operas, imports, and other works that appeared in New York venues (plus pre-Broadway closings).  Each chronologically arranged entry includes opening and closing dates, number of performances, crew, cast (with character names), setting, musical numbers (and performers), two-page plot summary and critical reception, awards, book availability, and detailed recording history.  If a performer’s name was billed above the title, it is presented in italics.  Entries are well written and informed, with commentary supported by quotes from the original New York theater critics.  Eleven appendixes (including discography and filmography) are included.  More detailed than Thomas Hischak’s Broadway Plays and Musicals or Ethan Mordden’s Coming up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s (2000), this is a valuable resource. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

CHOICE