Customer Reviews

Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now

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It's usually quite lonely being a political conservative as I am, and also a devotee of Broadway musicals since for such a long time even in its now seemingly more "conservative" days of the tradtional book musical, Broadway was always the domain of men who possessed very poltically left wing points of view. But during the heyday of Broadway's golden age, liberals like Lerner and Loewe, Rodgers And Hammerstein etc. knew that their audiences were comprised of diverse viewpoints and hence strove first to just entertain with a minimum of social commentary (when Lerner in his advancing years succumbed to the desire to be pretentious, the results, "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" and "Dance A Little Closer" ended up disappearing in a week and are now deservedly forgotten). Such is not the case with today's Broadway where not only are all new musicals and plays usually loaded with radical left wing social commentary but even the musical revivals are subject to PC rewrites to satisfy today's narrow audience of those on the far left (case in point, the tamperings in "Damn Yankees" which this book comments on, concerning the tacky aside about J. Edgar Hoover which doesn't work in the musical's book and is the biggest exercise of self-indulgence so typical of the arrogant left wing mindset that dominates today's theater).

As such, it is a wonderful breath of fresh air to find this book by Mark Steyn, a theater critic who happens to be a political conservative, offering a good deal of telling insights as to why Broadway has largely lost its way the last couple decades, though it is very unfair and typical of the left-wing arrogance of some of the writers below that all of his criticisms are rooted in his ideology. To blast today's musicals on their inability to provide a good integrated score and book, as well as good songs is the kind of criticism that a liberal like Richard Rodgers, who walked out of "Hair" after Act One, would have no problem with. (Indeed, apart from "Memory" when was the last time a Broadway song made into the standard repertoire of American popular music?) Steyn proves to be provacative at times, and also very funny as well on a number of occasions that you have to applaud his brilliance even if you don't end up agreeing with him all the time. His chapter on Stephen Sondheim is priceless, showing the strange contradiction of how the works of Sondheim that are so timeless in their appeal ("West Side Story" and "Gypsy") are the ones that are put down the most by his most die-hard fans in favor of his forgettable flops.

One other note to MssOtis@aol.com who likes to use the term "McCarthyism" with the same reckless abandon so typical of the militant left, yet like so many of its members does so in total ignorance of the actual events that spawned the term. One, Senator McCarthy didn't send anyone to jail, and two he had nothing to do with the investigation of Hollywood Communists (all of whom went to jail for the very real crime of contempt of Congress, not their poltical beliefs and the fact that they were leftists or in some cases committed Stalin bootlickers). "McCarthyism" is a term which in its proper context refers to unproved or reckless accusations against someone with the intent to damage or smear merely beacuse of one's political associations. It has nothing to do with sending people to jail for their beliefs. And in its proper context, MssOtis@aol.com by smearing Mark Steyn because he is a conservative who writes for the American Spectator on occasion, is the true practitioner of "McCarthyism" in the end.

The Great White Way is in trouble. It's condition is terminal but not serious, as the Russians say. Whatever you think of the causes for that, you will enjoy this book, if you love theatre. Mr. Steyn provides an excellent, if short history of Broadway, interspersed with lively criticism of the 'state of the stage'. Sondheim, in particular, receives some cutting thrusts. Reading it, I alternatively wanted to shout in Mr. Steyn's face and shake him by the hand. I laughed, I cried, I threw the book across the room at least three times, but I couldn't put it down.

This is one of those gem of a books that come along every once in a while. After the first reading I started all over again. The writing is that good. The book is laid out like a Broadway show, dividing itself into a two act play with scenes. In Act I, Mr. Steyn traces the evolution of the musical from its beginnings in Vienna through its importation to the America by European trained musicians to its eventual takeover and refinement by American composers. We see the beautiful progression from the dance hall Ziegfeld folly to organic synthesis of music and dialog in such wonderful works of art as Show Boat and Fiddler on the Roof. Act II is the decline and fall of this wonderful artform as it reverts back to its operatic beginnings with such good shows like A Chorus Line and Chicago to abominations like Cats and Starlight Express.

This is an author who loves his subject. His first hand interviews with some of the great luminaries of the Broadway theater like Jules Styne, George Abbott, and Cy Coleman bring the backstage evolution of the musical to life. His marvelous command of the English language make the subject matter even more interesting.

The other reviewers who suggest "homophobia" on Steyn's part are way off base. It is his forthright acknowledgement of gay accomplishment in the theater along with the terrible scourge of AIDS that has had a significant impact on the musical because its greatest modern practitioners are dying off without passing on their wisdom. Of what relevance is the fact that Steyn is a political conservative or a sometime writer for the Wall Street Journal have anything to do with the subject of Broadway musicals?

Enjoy this book for what it is; a glorious paean to a great art form.

When the reader reviews of a book are so at odds with one another, then perhaps one can say that "Broadway Babies Say Goodnight" is one hell of a work of criticism and Steyn has done his job of stirring the pot quite well indeed. "De gustibus" and all that. If you think musicals hit the skids in the `70s and thereafter, have mixed feelings about Sondheim, and bemoan recent elephantine "hits," you've probably found your man. If, on the other hand, you adore "Rent" and "Ragtime" and Lloyd Webber is your cup of tea, prepare to fling the book into the fireplace or, better yet, avoid it altogether. One thing is certain - pace the reader who thinks Steyn is a "cranky, old guy" and not "all that great a writer" - if you enjoy snappy, colorful prose, you'll find Steyn as enjoyable a writer as they come. He cut his teeth in the swaggering, polemical British press style, not as an acolyte of the sedate, smooth-edged style book of the NY Times; so if you can handle someone who likes to wear his wit and impolite opinions on his sleeve (often thrusting them in your face), you're in for a treat. Yes, Steyn often goes that extra, unjustifiable mile to reach for a pun, and he relishes cleverness sometimes just for its own sake. But his judgements often cause you to reassess your own, and his narrative arc and roster of Broadway heroes are convincing on the whole. Even his assessment of Lloyd Webber is more modulated than one would expect by extrapolating solely from the negative reviews. Of course, one can quibble with this pronouncement and that judgement, and Steyn's disdain for current modes of speech and thinking, usually labeled "PC" for lack of a better term, might strike some as indecorous, to say the least. But Steyn is incapable of writing a dull page. And did I mention "de gustibus . . ."?

(By the way, to the reader from St. Louis who thinks no one in his or her "right mind" would ask an art form "to go backward": classical music has done just that in recent years, and Part, Glass, and Rochberg, among many others, have taken a different tack from post-Webern serialism that some have labeled a "retreat" and some a necessary correction to non-listenable, overly theoretical compositions. Taking the long view, we won't know how the dust will settle for a while yet (although I'm willing to place my own bet now). But those who sincerely believe in the primacy of tonality are in their right minds, just as those who prefer Pierre Boulez are in their right minds, too. Similarly, I hope you do not think that the legions of Broadway theater-goers who, dissatisfied with current fare, flock to one musical revival after another and therefore long "for the old days" are nuts.)

Marc Steyn is a Brit transplanted to New Hampshire who writes mostly political commentary for papers in Chicago, London, and Canada plus columns for National Review, but this volume harkens back to his days as a theater critic and historian to give us a complete, though opinionated, picture of the history of the musical theater--first on Broadway and then in London. His writing is full of puns and wit, but more importantly, the stories he tells and the quotes from every major figure ranging from Lerner & Lowe to Andrew Lloyd Webber put the whole mysterious world of how musicals are born, rehearsed, and then live or die into perspective that both the outsider looking in and the theatrical professional can appreciate. He also uses his knowledge of history to put shows and their popularity into the context of their times--for example sharing the fact that literally hundreds of shows in the immediate post-Civil War period dealt with ghosts and spirits because the strong belief in an afterlife gave the nation a spiritual soothing after the horrors of massive death in the war itself. He covers the songwriters, the book writers, the hits, the flops, the stars---even the whole CONCEPT of a "star" and how it has changed over the years--and you will be entertained and enlightened indeed.

This is a book perfect for a gift for anyone you know who loves theater, music, or hopes to be a part of the professional world of it or is already. It isn't exactly a tale with a happy ending--the current state of the musical is pretty grim in many ways Steyn elaborates on--but it does point out the way "home" to real successes in the future, too.

From obscure historical stuff you'd never find anywhere else to major "name" showbiz stars and their gossip, "Broadway Babies Say Goodnight" is a superb read for the theater fan.

Steyn is one of the wittiest writers around these days. The comments from MssOtis and the reader from St. Louis (e.g., "Mark Steyn, who has written for right-wing publications like The Wall Street Journal...") show the usual intolerance toward anyone with conservative views, especially ironic coming from people who seem to champion "tolerance" as the world's greatest virtue. My gosh, he's written for the Wall Street Journal!? Horrors! Surely that means he can't have anything worthwhile to say! Give me a break. This sort of guilt by association, when there is in fact nothing to be guilty of, used to be called "McCarthyism" (before liberals redefined that term to mean "criticizing liberals for their views.")

Yes, Steyn is opinionated, but that's what makes him worth reading. (Another irony. Champions of modern -- read: left-wing -- art forms always talk about how the purpose of art is to challenge people or to somehow shock them. Yet when someone writes a book like this that challenges their own orthodoxy, they're not too happy.) His essential point, though, is correct. Most of today's practitioners of the musical have forgotten that musicals should be entertainment first, art second. There's nothing wrong with entertaining people, for goodness' sake! I am reminded of a scene in the film version of "The Band Wagon." Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant are describing the plot of their new light-hearted musical to Jack Buchanan, who plays a very "serious" director that they want to get to direct the show. Listening to the plot, he decides that it reminds him of the Faust legend. He immediately starts revising the plot, and excitedly envisions a final scene in which we will see the lead character "engulfed in the flames of eternal damnation," or words to that effect. There is a pause, and Oscar Levant says, mordantly, "That'll leave 'em laughing."

That, in a nutshell, is what has happened to the Broadway musical. The idea that musicals like "Ragtime" are on a par with the great musicals of the past is laughable. As I was walking my 7-year-old son to school this morning, he asked me, out of the blue, whether I knew a song called "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'." I told him that I did, and we sang it together. It seems he had learned this song in his school's music class yesterday. I told him that it was from a show called "Oklahoma," and proceeded to sing several other songs from that show to him, songs which are embedded in my memory, even though I have not listened to the soundtrack in many years.

By contrast, I saw "Ragtime" just a few months ago. Leaving aside the fact that it was appallingly tendentious, my main complaint is that I can't remember a single piece of music from it (and this was true the morning after I saw it). I GUARANTEE you that in 55 years, 7-year-olds will not be learning the songs from "Ragtime" in school.

I took a chance in purchasing this book when looking for material about changes in conventions of musical theatre. By the time I read the first chapter I knew I had come across one of the most insightful view of musical theatre.

It discusses numerous productions (in brief) but in particular landmark productions such as Show Boat, Oklahoma!, West Side Story (and others) and a good discussion on that 'tricky' subject called Sondheim. What I appreiciated was that Steyn doesn't follow a chronological format, but Steyn rather discusses shows when relevant to the topic. The book is highly entertaining and humourous, filled with little bits of interesting trivia as well as plenty of useless trivia (which we all love) for those who already know everthing.

I would certainly recommend this as a light read for anyone with a love for muscials who want more than a ABC of what we already know. Steyn certainly has a lifetime of knowledge to share.

Steyn's *National Post* bio (Canada) says this book "was published to critical acclaim in London and somewhat sniffier reviews in New York. " That one, throwaway line convinced me that the man's touted self-righteousness is nothing of the sort... rather it's a refreshingly blunt literary voice that shines through in this volume. Read and have fun. I truly enjoyed it.

"if you think PC is awful and white straight men have a right to insult everyone with no regards to manners or kindness, then you might enjoy it"

That's great! That was the review that prompted me to buy this book. That rare sort of quality humor doesn't come along all too often these days. National Lampoon used to be the pinnacle of elite humor, back when my comic idol, P.J. O'Rourke was Editor-in-Chief.

As always, Steyn entertains like no other. Buy this book; you'll want to re-read it quite often.

The writer below lists several recent musicals as examples of why Steyn is wrong about the state of the musical today: RAGTIME, FLOYD COLLINS, etc. Of course, he unwittingly proves Steyn's point. These are preachy, self-important musicals, drunk with the delusion that they must be profound because they play around with Important Themes. The musical as the great form of entertainment it was--the form that, at its best, raises entertainment to the level of art--is gone. Who writes musical *comedy* on Broadway today? Dance has become almost irrelevant (except in revues), and no one except Sondheim bothers to write witty lyrics in the tradition of Porter or Hart. Now, you can say that this is all "progress." It isn't, though. It's a step backward. The problem with the musical isn't that it went forward, but that it abandoned its roots. Steyn isn't a perfect writer, but he traces the process of this abandonment, and will leave anyone who loves musicals--as opposed to pretentious pageants--feeling justifiably depressed.