Customer Reviews

Lady in the Dark: Biography of a Musical

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have so far only read half of this book and am thoroughly enjoying it. It is very detailed and the description of the opening night performance is fascinating. Those without a background in music may be a little put-off by how technically it goes into the music (I have a background in music and was still a bit confused). But, so far, so good. A great book for Broadway, Gertrude Lawrence, Kurt Weill, Moss Hart and Ira Gershwin fans, as well as those who want a good look into the puting of a Broadway musical in 1941.

Having no prior knowledge of "Lady in the Dark", I found this book to be incredibly well-written and informative. I have never read a biography of a show before, and it's a fascinating way to not only re-live the experience of 60 years ago, but to also learn the backstory of the show, its actors and creators, and the widespread effect of this ground-breaking musical on Broadway and society in general.

In one of my favorite chapters, Bruce McClung goes into incredible detail on the musical score, showing how virtually every note had a distinct purpose and was conceived to be an integral and vital part of the performance. Since this musical was written in a style completely different than those of its era, Bruce shows clearly that it wasn't just a coincidence that it worked so well; it was conceived to be vastly original. The other chapters of his book are just as exhaustively researched, with original photos, interviews and quotes from written and telegram correspondence, copies of the work during the creative process, and even tie-in merchandise.

This book is a truly remarkable look at this show and also how a major work of art can influence society and entertainment. One thing I found really interesting was the contrast between how actors and the entertainment industry responded during WWII, as compared to the actions of today's entertainers and celebrities during the current war.

Another fascinating aspect is that with the normal run of revivals of older shows, "Lady in the Dark" was too 'modern' to its era to be successfully revived without major overhaul. One more interesting contrast between today's society and that of the 1940s.

I hope that this book will generate interest in this show and introduce theatre and musical fans to an influential work, perhaps one that they are not familiar with. It is very well-written and although very detailed, it is presented in a way that kept my interest even in sections that I'm not well-versed on.

For anyone who has an interest in the musical play Lady in the Dark, this book is a Bible of knowledge for the reader! McClung misses nothing and dissects the score, production, development and every nuance present in making a full diagnosis of this exceptional musical piece. The introduction, most notably, is one of the most impressive points, where McClung recreates scene-by-scene Opening Night of Lady in the Dark at the Alvin Theater (now the Neil Simon Theater) back in 1941. His insights and deep understanding of the plot, music and structure opens doors to how (and how not!) to update this piece for the current Broadway stage, which hopefully, this book will be the first step in the process. He also paints a lasting picture of one of the stage's most talented actresses, Gertrude Lawrence through interviews with the remaining living cast members of the original production and other sources.

In a personal review point, I thank McClung for writing this book, as Lady in the Dark has been a favorite show of mine for many years and I have always wanted to know more about it but the resources were scarce. With this book, almost every resource is there, and nearly every question answered. And even for those who don't know Lady in the Dark, this is the perfect opportunity to learn, and this book makes a precedent of how great musicals should be dissertated and studied.

A stellar piece of writing, a must read for anyone interested in the stage or musical theater history.

I think that this is the most complete discussion of a musical show that I have ever seen. 'Lady in the Dark' is certainly worthy of study. It was a musical that broke new ground in theatre.

Mr. McClung begins with the first concept sketches for staging and costumes. From there it's on to discussion of the first drafts of the play, production scripts, and more on to final drawings for for the sets. With a cast of 101, it was a huge production with what was for then a sky high budget.

When it opened it broke new ground in that the leading lady (played by Gertrude Lawrence) is going through psychoanalysis.

Since its closure all three of the shows originators have died (Moss Hart, Ira Gershwin, Kurt Wheill). Their indivitual estates have rights to their particular parts of the play. It would be a major undertaking to put together such disparate people to revive the show. It hasn't happened yet. Perhaps this book will spark enough interest that a revival becomes possible.

To the people who download the sample and wonder "will the links to the notes work in the full edition?": the answer is no. But this is such a wonderful book, that didn't bother me. Of course, I don't know what it would be like to access a note as I'm reading, so I don't know what I might have missed. I liked this book so much, I might buy a dead tree version, and read it again WITH the notes.

Another caveat: the text doesn't look as good as it should. And that's not just a problem with my Kindle or my eyes. I remember reading that Lawrence had come to America with the Andre' Charlot troupe, but I wanted to check the year because Charlie Chaplin and Cary Grant had similar immigrations. So I did a search for "charlot" and for "charl", none of which yielded results. When I searched for "music hall", I found the passage. I navigated over to the name Charlot, and it gave me the dictionary definition for "chariot." So the text was what - scanned and reinterpreted? (By the way, Lawrence came to America more than a dozen years later than Chaplin, but about 4 years after Grant.)

But I re-emphasize: this is a great book for those who are interested in this musical or the history of musical theatre in general. I loved the description of opening night and the set and costume changes. I loved the chapter on the cultural context for the run of the play, especially since 1941-43 straddled American isolationism through our complete immersion in the war, and therefore enormous changes in attitudes toward women in the workforce. And I loved the chapter on the theatrical context of this musical, comparing it with contemporary milestone musicals "Pal Joey" and "Oklahoma!"

My 1-star deduction is only for the issues with the Kindle edition.

I also recommend seeing the movie Star!, where you can watch Julie Andrews portray Gertrude Lawrence, singing a beautiful (of course) rendition of "My Ship" and swashbuckling her way through a spectacular staging of "The Saga of Jenny," both from "Lady in the Dark." Also well worth the effort: finding the 1954 telecast of the play with Ann Sothern. (If anyone knows how to get a color version of this, please post! I found the b/w kinescope version on DVD from a private collector on one of those auction/trading sites.)

While I am a big fan of the show and music from the musical "Lady in the Dark," this book, Lady in the Dark; Biography of a Musical left me somewhat cold. There is a big trend in academic books to rake up as much as possible much as Mannerist painters used to fill canvases with all manner of cupids and Greek columns and the like. Frequently one could not tell just what myth the artist was attempting to paint. The same is true here.

The narrative on this book kind of lags and then cannot seem to finish. First there is the original staging of the show itself which starred the great English actress Gertrude Lawrence. Bruce McClung has managed to rake up every single published article on Gertrude Lawrence while she was starring in "Lady in the Dark" and what she did on tour. I was kind of hoping that this was leading somewhere, but it wasn't. One does not remember Gertrude Lawrence for her war bond work, but because of the timing of the book, this is a focus of her activities. Why McClung should focus on this aspect of her tour seems to be nothing more than padding. He has discovered all these old press accounts and so he feels compelled to share with us (bring on the cupids and Greek columns).

If he has trouble getting started, McClung has even greater difficulty bringing his narrative to a close. After Lady in the Dark has its Broadway run there are accounts of revivals and even a discussion of the Julie Andrews picture that postulates that Lady in the Dark was auto-biographical (nice try, but Moss Hart wrote the book). This would all be so much better if any of this was going anywhere. It doesn't really. The claims that McClung makes for the show's influence seem forced and are not terribly compelling.

It is somewhat frustrating to finish a book and find oneself asking "what happened here?" If anyone really wants to experience Lady in the Dark, Ute Lemper's Kurt Wiell record is a significantly better way to experience it.