Customer Reviews

Deconstructing Harold Hill: An Insider's Guide to Musical Theatre

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This book is really quite amazing--I wasn't prepared for everything I learned from it. Mr. Miller thoroughly takes apart and reconstructs some of the most classic works of musical theatre, such as The King and I, Camelot, and The Music Man, as well as more recent shows like Chicago, Sunday in the Park With George, March of the Falsettos, and Passion. This book discusses in depth the connections that exist in each show between the music, lyrics, and book, and thoroughly explores the characters and plot structure in a way every bit as thoughtful as so many other books have talked about the works of other authors like Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, or Arthur Miller. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to be surprised at how complex and well put-together some of the shows are that we've taken for granted for decades.

I loved this author's first book, From Assassins to West Side Story, but I wasn't prepared for the further depth and greater brilliance of his second book, Deconstructing Harold Hill. This is a man who knows his theatre, who understands human nature, and who cares enough about great art to treat it seriously and respectfully without being afraid to criticize it or demand fresh approaches. This is a work of great intellect that is still accessible to readers with no theatre or music background (a rarity), and yet, I would guess, in depth and surprising enough to aid the most experienced professional.

In his introduction, Mr. Miller complains that American directors don't come at older American musicals with fresh enough perspectives, and the rest of the book does what those directors can't -- it looks, as if for the first time, at a collection of wonderful, important musicals, looking at them fresh, taking the time to think about and question the things nobody else will.

His discussin of the use of musical themes in The Music Man is incredble -- there's so much there I hadn't noticed before -- and his writing makes it all accessible for someone with no music background. His discussions of the character of Harold Hill -- basically a villain who acts like a hero -- is fascinating. He sees glorious little details in this show I've never seen before.

His chapter on Camelot opened my eyes like never before to the depth and possibilities of this show that usually falls into the shadow of My Fair Lady. Mr. Miller sees complexity and nuance in these characters that I've never seen explored before. How amazing it would be to see a production of Camelot that used Mr. Miller's ideas. The show would be transformed instantly from a pretty musical into a soaring, searing piece of tragic theatre.

His chapter on Chicago makes a compelling case for why the revival doesn't do the show justice. And his chapters on Sondheim musicals (Passion and Sunday in the Park) confirm for me that Mr. Miller is the preeminent American interpreter of Sondheim's works. Though I live in Seattle, I may just venture down to St. Louis to see Mr. Miller's ideas at work on his own stage. How lucky the people of St. Louis must be to have an artist this intelligent, this passionate, and this emotional working in their city.

I am a Lecturer in Acting and Music Theatre at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Bachelor of Music Theatre program) and DECONSTRUCTING HAROLD HILL is on my book list for the students. Why?

Because underneath your writing is an undeniable energy, love, support for our craft; this fragile crystal of a business called 'show'. I am not really concerned whether or not I agree with your opinions, apothesis, arguments, discussions etc...what I want is my students to be infected by PASSION and your book is an undeniable example of that. Like you and me, I WANT them to have opinions, to engage in lively and researched debate, to listen to/see the works of the repertoire, to know which song/scene comes from what and that takes energetic, rigourous and PASSIONATE research. If your book goes a wee way to get them off their arses and into action...so be it.

I thank you for a book that has not only enthused my students but that goes one step further towards securing the fragile architecture of our business...

WILL CONYERS

No author has ever taken such a clear and enlightening look at what makes great Broadway musicals tick. I can't say that I agree with everything Miller has to say (his view of the uneven ASSASSINS is a bit too adoring) but I don't mind a differing opinion that is so intelligently and passionately presented. What a joy it is to see someone reveal in flawlessly researched detail why CAMELOT, MUSIC MAN, THE KING & I and other "family" classics have more going on in them than many have ever realized. As he points out, its a pity that only foreign directors seem capable or even willing to offer fresh & exciting Broadway musical revivals. Scott Miller's text is extremely well written -- I devoured it cover-to-cover in no time. How refreshing to find a book on musical theatre that is free of factual errors -- a sad rarity these days! As someone who worked in Broadway production for more than a decade, I hope Miller offers more such books in the future covering more musicals. His insights are needed! If musicals are an important part of your life, you can't afford to miss this book.

As a bi-continental director (London, New York, and Los Angeles), I was delighted to find that Miller doesn't have an American prejudice in his work -- in fact he highly respects the work non-American directors have done on American classics and that's quite refreshing. His books (this one and "From Assassins To West Side Story") are the best examples I've seen of serious considerations of important, interesting musical theatre, yet with a sense of fun and joy, and with a devilish penchant for denying conventional wisdom when it doesn't make sense. In fact, he makes cases (in both books) for changing the conventional wisdom on a number of American classics. These terrific books are must-reads for both the theatre professional and the rabid fan as well -- both are inestimable treasures.

Unlike many recent books on musicals, the reader doesn't have to sift through mounds of errors to get information. Mr. Miller has done a stunning job of breaking apart the musicals he's chosen as examples. His chapters on Camelot and Music Man alone could provide a semester's work for any college course on musical theatre. One of the most useful parts of his deconstructions is his explaining how the music--whether underscoring or song--supports the story and aids the audience's understanding of what they're seeing. As someone who has performed in or directed musicals for over 30 years, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I am a Lecturer in Acting and Music Theatre at the Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Bachelor of Music Theatre program) and DECONSTRUCTING HAROLD HILL is on my book list for the students. Why?

Because underneath your writing is an undeniable energy, love, support for our craft; this fragile crystal of a business called 'show'. I am not really concerned whether or not I agree with your opinions, apothesis, arguments, discussions etc...what I want is my students to be infected by PASSION and your book is an undeniable example of that. Like you and me, I WANT them to have opinions, to engage in lively and researched debate, to listen to/see the works of the repertoire, to know which song/scene comes from what and that takes energetic, rigourous and PASSIONATE research. If your book goes a wee way to get them off their arses and into action...so be it.

I thank you for a book that has not only enthused my students but that goes one step further towards securing the fragile architecture of our business...

WILL CONYERS

I loved this book. I've been studying musicals for years, directing them, performing in them, even writing them, and I don't know if I've ever come across anybody who understands them -- or loves them -- like this guy Miller. I thought I knew it all but he talks about stuff I never even THOUGHT about. If you love musicals, you'll love this book. It's got lots of substance but never gets boring or dry. It's every bit as informative and smart as a textbook but a lot more fun. I can't wait to read Miller's other book "From Assassins to West Side Story." Get this -- you'll love it.

I was immediately cautioned by Scott Miller's line in his "Overture" that "truly brilliant works like Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins, William Finn's A New Brain, and Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry's Parade can't sustain a long run in New York, perhaps it's time for us to stop looking to Broadway as a role model for our work." He's right, it may be time to stop looking at Broadway as a role model, but the reason these shows could not sustain runs of any length is because they are pretentious, artistically monotonous, and most importantly, DULL. He also praises the productions of foreign directors, for instance the recent revivals of Cabaret, Company, The King and I, for their "daring" - "daring" meaning, evidently, making the shows dark, darker, darkest. He praises Hal Prince's revival of Show Boat, a production that in many ways subverted the text (cutting songs, inserting scenes with no textual authority - or artistic merit) and often directly perverted the authors' intentions.

As he begins analyzing his few model shows (two admitted classics: The King and I, The Music Man; two semi-classics: Camelot, Chicago; one modest hit: March of the Falsettos; one modern hit: Ragtime; and two snob hits: Passion and Sunday in the Park with George - interesting that all but one of his examples have a healthy share of "darkness" to begin with; whatever could he do with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum or Anything Goes?), Mr. Miller continues the trends that have helped to destroy new musical theater in the late 20th Century, potted psychologizing and directorial arrogance. Discussing Camelot, he attempts an amateur (and amateurish) analysis of Alan Jay Lerner's relationship troubles, conveniently ignoring Lerner's work that celebrates the possibility of a mature relationship (look at Love Life, for instance). He also analyzes Lancelot in Camelot as possibly homosexual because he "loves" Arthur. (A note to Mr. Miller: love does not always imply sex.)

He is also given to making generalized statements, such as "All well-drawn characters change over the course of their story..." Well, sometimes, but not always. And only in certain European traditions of the last century or two - other literatures and theaters have different standards. For instance, do the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest change, grow, develop? Is this not acknowledged as one of the few perfect comedies?

Mr. Miller has some relatively interesting things to say in his book, and he does throw a crumb or two to the daring notion of traditional stagings and interpretations; but these are drowned beneath his whole-hearted love of the dark and psychologically twisted. The death of modern musical comedy has many causes, the most important of which is the loss of a common musical vernacular between shows' creators and the audiences they must satisfy. But an equally important cause is the increasing ponderous, pretentious seriousness of the shows being written, reaching its apex (or nadir) in the works of Frank Wildhorn, where a laugh is scarce to be found. Seriousness of intent and seriousness of execution in art are always necessary, however frivolous the results - prentention can have no place. Mr. Miller's book, unfortunately, promulgates pretention.

This book is a wonderful companion piece to From Assassins To West Side Story fromt he same author. It continues his detailed reviews and clues as to how look at some common musicals. The information he provides about the librettists' and composers' conceptual intentions has definitely helped me to look at some shows I once considered stale and overdone in a completely new light.

An invaluable tool for any director or theatre teacher.