Words with music : creating the Broadway musical libretto / Lehman Engel ; updated and revised by Howard Kissel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Engel, Lehman, 1910-1982.

Contributor:

Kissel, Howard.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Libretto.

Musicals--United States.

Musicals.

Broadway (New York, N.Y.)--History.

Broadway (New York, N.Y.).

United States.

Physical Description:

466 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Applause Theatre & Cinema Books ; Milwaukee, WI : Sales & distribution, North America, Hal Leonard, [2006]

Summary:

The dean of Broadway musical directors examines the dynamics of how the book, music and lyrics work together to create such hits as My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, Hair, Pal Joey, West Side Story, Company, South Pacific, Three Penny Opera and Porgy and Bess. Howard Kissel, chief theater critic for the New York Daily News, extends the reach of Engel's subjects by bringing them up to date with commentary on such shows as A Chorus Line, Nine, Sunday in the Park with George, Rent, Working and Falsettos. Kissel offers a thoughtful history on how musical theater has evolved in the three decades since Engel wrote Words with Music (1972) and how Engel's classic work remains vital and illuminating today.

Contents:

Introduction

Characters

Subject matter

The outer shape

The needs of a musical : feeling

Subplot

Romance

Lyrics and particularization

Music

Comedy

Comedy and entertainment

The new-old

Response

Opera

Adaptation to libretto

Failures

Producers and stars

Nonplot

The original music.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [443]-445) and index.

ISBN:

1557835543

OCLC:

61295889

Publisher Number:

9781557835543