The Broadway musical : a critical and musical survey / Joseph P. Swain.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Swain, Joseph Peter.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Musicals--United States--History and criticism.

Musicals.

United States.

Physical Description:

xii, 451 pages : illustrations, music ; 23 cm

Edition:

Second edition, revised and expanded.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2002.

Summary:

To see a Broadway musical is to experience how a drama, using melody, harmony, and rhythm, evokes the emotion needed to perpetuate a story line. Without music, many of these plays would not succeed, failing to convey the intended message. This new edition of Swain's classic book reveals how a musical drama achieves plot movement, character development and conflict through strategic placement of song and music in twenty musical plays. Unlike critical literature that has simply explored theatrical style and production histories, this survey focuses mainly on the power of music. Illustrated with more than 150 musical excerpts and essays, Swain includes the latest research and viewpoints of contemporary critics, offering insight into dramatic expression and how renowned composers including Jerome Kern, Georg Gershwin, Jerry Bock, Stephen Sondheim, and Andrew Lloyed Webber influenced the Broadway musical.

Contents:

Introduction

First maturity

America's folk opera

Second maturity

Morality play as musical

Shakespeare as musical

The pure love story

Myth as musical

Tragedy as musical

The ethnic musical

Religious experience as musical

History as musical

Frame story as musical

Thriller as musical

Epic as musical

Epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 423-442) and index.

ISBN:

0810843757

0810843765

OCLC:

49518876