From Library Journal
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Entries are generally at least two paragraphs in length and can be as long as three pages (e.g., for Richard Rogers, Franz von Supp{‚}e) and start with a brief identifier (e.g., "Musical comedy in 2 acts by Harold Atteridge"). For people, basic biographical information is given with lists of the musicals in which they were involved. When available, biographies or autobiographies are listed. Plot summaries and international performance history are given for musicals. Film adaptations are described, and some recordings and books are cited. The 315 black-and-white illustrations include cast shots and covers of playbills and sheet music. The arrangement is alphabetical; cross-references and an index are lacking.
G„nzl's introduction indicates that he collects everything he can find on musicals but also does library and archive research to verify his facts. The writing here is informal and slangy, often in a British vein. For example, the article on Casanova comments "on those allegedly rare occasions when he was not out putting it about."
Other reference books on musical theater are more narrow in scope (Bordman's American Musical Theater, 2d ed. [RBB Jl 92]; Stanley Green's Encyclopedia of the Musical Theater [Da Capo, 1980]; Swain's The Broadway Musical [Oxford, 1990]) and may suffice in many public libraries. G„nzl's Book of the Musical Theatre covers 300 shows from seven countries in much greater detail than this encyclopedia. The coverage in this new set is wide, and articles are readable and informative. Although seemingly adequately researched, it is not written in a scholarly style. An index and/or cross-references would have greatly increased access to the information. This is a must for music collections and is worth considering for academic and large public libraries. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
