Product Description

This revised and expanded edition of Kislan's acclaimed study of America's musical theater includes a new section on "Recent Musical Theater: Issues and Problems." "The ancient union of drama and song, known as musical theater, comes in many forms - vaudeville, burlesque, comic opera, minstrels, etc. The author reviews these and other highlights of American musicals ... with a fascinating background on the elements that contribute to the success of a Showboat." - King Features * "Worth study by anyone who still thinks that the musical is a collection of songs." - The Stage

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100564 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 310 pages

Customer Reviews

O.K. Primer
A plain vanilla introductory text suitable for students who find themselves taking a musical theater course to fill an elective. Because young people are less familiar with the history and art of musical drama than film, the highly accessible prose and tabloid formatting of this text would make it useful in a college as well as high school course. Readers who already count themselves as students of the theater, on the other hand, can not afford to miss Gerald Mast's comprehensive and savvy history, "Can't Help Singin'."

If you want to write a musical. . . .
But most of us don't. I bought this book expecting a history of the musical, and there are some interesting chapters on historical antecedents of the modern musical. But when it hits the 20th century, it bogs down in technical details of interest only to aspiring professionals: how to write good lyrics, how to structure the plot, even what's wrong with the NY theater district. Deadly dull stuff. No discussion of great performers, no analyses of individual musicals, nothing.

Good stuff for a high school theater course...but...
This is good introductory reading for high school students who are seriously interested in theater. A wonderful yet solid history of the American theater occupies the front half of the book, but historical threads are found throughout. There is an insightful chapter on Sondheim and his creative processes. The section entitled "Elements of Musical Theater" is at times tedious reading, but informative. Kislan's "Problems and Issues"(what's wrong with the present Broadway scene)is an eye-opener. Some drawbacks: Much has happened to the theater since this 1995 edition. I would love an updated third edition. Many of the musical examples mentioned are in every theater-lover's listening library, but a new edition should include an accompanying recording(or at the very least a CD and/or video guide). This would be particularly helpful with regard to very early 20th century musical theater. Also, there are many wonderful musicals, composers & lyricists, and librettists who are not even referenced(Loesser,{Guys & Dolls is mentioned}Comden/Green, Schwartz{Pippin's there, too} to name a few). Surely their contributions are significant. My students have enough savvy to catch these omissions. They'll want to know why. Still in all, this is a good textbook for our youth.