Closer than ever : the unique six-decade songwriting partnership of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire / Joshua Rosenblum.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rosenblum, Joshua, author.

Series:

Broadway legacies.

Oxford scholarship online.

Broadway legacies

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shire, David.

Shire, David--Criticism and interpretation.

Maltby, Richard, Jr., 1937-.

Maltby, Richard.

Maltby, Richard, Jr., 1937---Criticism and interpretation.

Musicals--United States--History and criticism.

Musicals.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (329 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2024]

Summary:

How do musical theatre songs actually get written? What enables some composer & lyricist partnerships to last for decades? Composer David Shire & lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr., two of the most gifted songwriters of our time, are revered among musical theatre lovers for their ground-breaking off-Broadway revues, as well as for the Broadway musicals 'Baby' and 'Big'. Rosenblum sets out to increase appreciation for Maltby & Shire's large & impressive body of work & establish their place in musical theatre history. This book chronicles their 66 year (and counting) partnership, giving full behind-the-scenes accounts of their musicals, interspersed with deep-dive analyses of standout individual numbers. Other well-known artistic figures who feature prominently in the Maltby/Shire story include Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Michael Stewart, Francis Ford Coppola, Craig Lucas, Mike Ockrent, and Susan Stroman.

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Foreword by Geoffrey Block

Preface

1. Origins

2. The Fair-​Haired Boys: The Sap of Life

3. Barbra

4. Dealing with Steve

5. I Have a Rich Wife: Love Match

6. How Bad Could I Be?

7. The First Thing They Give You Is Writing the Obits

8. Lynne

9. Starting Here, Starting Now

10. "I Don't Remember Christmas"

11. He's the Arbiter, Really

12. Remember That Fats Waller Idea?: Ain't Misbehavin'

13. At the End of the Song, Everyone's Pregnant!

14. Baby

15. "The Story Goes On"

16. French Is a Language That Doesn't Scan: Miss Saigon

17. One of the Finest Scores of the Year

18. Closer Than Ever

19. "The Bear, the Tiger, the Hamster and the Mole"

20. It Should Have Been Called Small

21. Big

22. "Little Susan Lawrence"

23. Bob Fosse's Wife, His Mistress, and His Daughter: Fosse

24. Next Thing I Knew, I Was Writing the Show: Take Flight

25. Working with Other People

26. Produced by a Convicted Felon: Sousatzka

27. America Will Break Your Heart: Waterfall

28. Postpartum: Baby Revival

29. Oh, That's What Those Songs Were About!

30. The Songwriters' Songwriters

Acknowledgments

Appendix A: Starting Here, Starting Now Musical Numbers and Sources

Appendix B: Closer Than Ever Musical Numbers and Sources

Notes

Select Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on March 25, 2024).

ISBN:

0-19-775826-6

0-19-775824-X

OCLC:

1415291747