Product Description

As he did in Deconstructing Harold Hill and From Assassins to West Side Story, Scott Miller, with this delightful entry, once again pulls back the curtain on some of the greatest, most important musicals in the history of musical theater. Miller focuses on shows that have truly changed the genre, moving in chronological order from 1937's The Cradle Will Rock to 1996's Rent, and including Off-Broadway hits not included in other books. In the process, he focuses on musicals as theater - real shows being put on with live performances - rather than literature - and demonstrates why musical theatre still remains a vital and vibrant living art form. Miller's opinions are occasionally provocative, and wholly engaging, written from the perspective of a director and a performer.

Anyone with an interest in musical theater will be fascinated with Miller's latest work, and the serious aficionado will find new insights to ponder. Above all, this mesmerizing new book will have you thinking and talking about the selected shows like never before.


- Stage and Screen Book Club

Scott Miller once again pulls back the curtain on some of the greatest, most important American musicals, taking you on a mind-blowing tour of the milestones in the history of musical theatre. These are musicals that broke all the old rules and created new ones, and changed the way we looked at musical theatre forever:

• the savage political satire of The Cradle Will Rock in 1937
• the surprisingly dark sexuality of Pal Joey in 1940
• the profound innovations of Oklahoma! in 1943
• the absurdist social satire of Anyone Can Whistle in 1964
• the convention-shattering experiment that was Hair in 1967
• the intimacy and emotional power of Jacques Brel in 1968
• the provocative honesty of the gay-themed Ballad of Little Mikey in 1994
• the abstract sophistication of the jazz/pop/R&B-flavored Songs for a New World in 1995
• the emotional immensity of the "anti-spectacle" Floyd Collins in 1995
• the overwhelming influence of the 1996 rock musical Rent.

Offering insightful, provocative opinions on character, plot, musical and textual themes, lyrics, subtext, motivation, backstory, and historical context, Miller reveals astonishing new details about what makes each one of these musicals great. He'll get you thinking and talking about these shows like you never have before.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #592171 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Mark Jennett, CultureVulture.com, December 2001
"It is [his] highly informed yet robust opinions that are the appeal of his work."

Review
“As he did in Deconstructing Harold Hill and From Assassins to West Side Story, Scott Miller, with this delightful entry, once again pulls back the curtain on some of the greatest, most important musicals in the history of musical theater. Miller focuses on shows that have truly changed the genre, moving in chronological order from 1937's The Cradle Will Rock to 1996's Rent, and including Off-Broadway hits not included in other books. In the process, he focuses on musicals as theater - real shows being put on with live performances - rather than literature - and demonstrates why musical theatre still remains a vital and vibrant living art form. Miller's opinions are occasionally provocative, and wholly engaging, written from the perspective of a director and a performer. Anyone with an interest in musical theater will be fascinated with Miller's latest work, and the serious aficionado will find new insights to ponder. Above all, this mesmerizing new book will have you thinking and talking about the”–Stage and Screen Book Club

Stonewall News Northwest
"Likely to imbue even the most casual fan with a new appreciation and understanding of musical theatre."

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Customer Reviews

Terrific Book, Great Choice of Shows
His other books, Deconstructing Harold Hill and From Assassins to West Side Story are wonderful books, but this one does more than the others, it focuses on shows that broke rules, and it relates them all to each other, talks about how The Cradle Will Rock led to Hair and Rent, how little known shows like The Ballad of Little Mikey moved the art form forward. It also covers two shows by future writing stars of musical theatre, Adam Guettel and Jason Robert Brown, giving us sort of a preview of what's ahead for the art form. And it also contains two major classics, Pal Joey and Oklahoma. The back cover says it's a tour of ground-breaking musicals and that's really what it is, you get to see how the art form changed over time, and it's arranged chronologically to make that even more clear. This is a great read, as much fun and as conversational as the other books, but even more insightful about the art form of musical theatre. Also, the author apparently expanded the chapter on Hair into a full-length book which I have not read but I intend to.

Very good reference for musical theatre professionals.
Scott Miller's latest book is once again a very good reference for musical theatre professionals and enthusiasts. However, his previous books, "Deconstructing Harold Hill" and "From Assassins To West Side Story" were much better reads and provided much more insight on their topics.

The reason seems to be that Miller, this time around, has chosen some rather odd choices to include in his list of musicals to review. Why something as odd as THE BALLAD OF LITTLE MIKEY and not a classic like FOLLIES? (which he has yet to tackle) Why SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD and JACQUES BREL? (two musical reviews with little or no book)

While I understand his need to address different kinds of musicals, from the review-sicals to the full book shows, I really wish he'd stick to examining the most produced and more classic shows of the genre.

That being said, his analysises of RENT and OKLAHOMA are first rate.

Outstanding, just like his others
I just got my copy of this remarkable book yesterday and have already read it cover to cover. I keep thinking I know it all, as a New York theatre professional, and Miller keeps proving me wrong. Like the other books in Miller's series, this one is a highly valuable tool for theatre professionals like me but also, I'd guess, a great gift to theatre fans who'd just like to know more about their favorite shows. And what a great list of shows, from classics like Pal Joey and Oklahoma to modern gems like Songs for a New World and Floyd Collins. This guy sure knows his musicals. No theatre library is complete without this book and Miller's other two, Assassins to West Side Story and Deconstructing Harold Hill.