Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s (Golden Age of the Broadway Musical) [Hardcover]

Ethan Mordden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2001 | Series: Golden Age of the Broadway Musical

In the 1960s, the Broadway musical was revolutionized from an entertainment characterized by sentimental standards, such as Camelot and Hello, Dolly!, to one of brilliant and bittersweet masterpieces, such as Cabaret and Fiddler on the Roof. In Open a New Window, Ethan Mordden continues his history of the Broadway musical with the decade that bridged the gap between the romantic, fanciful entertainments of the fifties, such as Call Me, Madam, to the seventies when sophisticated fare, such as A Little Night Music and Follies, was commonplace. Here in brilliant detail is the decade and the people that forever transformed the Broadway muscial.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The prolific Mordden (The Fireside Companion to the Theatre) has juggled two different series in recent years, one fiction and one nonfiction. Now he offers the fourth title in the latter, a decade-by-decade history of American musicals, following on the heels of Coming Up Roses, about the 1950s. Despite Mordden's authoritative, scholarly approach, the book sings with stylish syncopation and chatty humor. The evolution and transition of 1960s Broadway was signaled by the failure of Irving Berlin's Mr. President, Noel Coward's fading glory (Sail Away) and the beginning of The Fantasticks' four-decade run. New concepts emerged, and fresh talents like Bob Fosse and Stephen Sondheim took center stage. With Cabaret in 1966, "the new age begins." Darker themes were introduced in Man of La Mancha, What Makes Sammy Run? and Golden Boy. Detailing the decade's innovations, Mordden tosses in fascinating bits of theatrical lore and history. Hits (Funny Girl) and flops (Sophie) are deftly described with wit, panache and a clever, novelistic eye. Mordden never misses a cue, covering everything from off-Broadway (The Threepenny Opera) to the English musical. Regrettably, the lack of boldface subheads decreases the book's value as a research tool, since many titles are lost in the multitude. Still, scholars will be as anxious to read it as theater enthusiasts. (Nov. 5)Forecast: Readers will wish a CD had been packaged with this tuneful history, but booksellers can fill that gap by displaying the book with appropriate albums. Mordden's regular readers who queue at the TKTS box office will line up at stores for this one.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

With this latest edition in a highly respected series on the history of Broadway musicals, Mordden (Beautiful Mornin': The Broadway Musical in the 1940s) presents a decade of radical change with both the wit and the scholarship that characterized his earlier works. More than a chronology, this work discusses the good and the bad of each production and offers an in-depth discussion of the major shows from Camelot, which Mordden considers the last of the Rogers and Hammerstein era, to Cabaret, which he calls "the essential sixties musical." Mordden doesn't pull any punches in his criticism of the plays, both successes and failures, but he also praises good scores and performances found in many of the plays that never became big hits on Broadway. Throughout, he provides insight into a turbulent era reflected by both the concepts of the shows and the audiences' responses to them. Recommended for all theater collections. Laura A. Ewald, Murray State Univ. Lib., KY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1 edition (November 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312239521
• ISBN-13: 978-0312239527
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,353,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Fine and More Personal Addition to the Series, December 23, 2001

By 

Ricky Hunter (New York City, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s (Golden Age of the Broadway Musical) (Hardcover)

Ethan Mordden's Open a New Window (The Broadway Musical in the 1960's) continues his series looking at the development of musical theatre in New York decade by decade. This book has the burden of describing a decade that will more than likely be a great deal familiar to his readers, certainly more so than previous books. This is more than compensated for by just how personal the author makes the book. The volume interjects opinion into fact (on occasion, blending the two). This element is often quite enjoyable particularly in such juicy (and necessary) asides as George Abbott being taken down a couple of notches. This book is actually more fun as a read than previous volumes while still being consistently sharp in its analysis. A fine addition to this worthy series.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Accessible and Enjoyable Book, July 26, 2002

By 

Michael Samerdyke (Big Stone Gap, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s (Golden Age of the Broadway Musical) (Hardcover)

I discovered Ethan Mordden through his books on movies. I enjoyed his style and then started reading his books on Broadway Musicals.

I am not an expert on musicals by any stretch of the imagination. However, I found "Open a New Window" very readable and interesting. I was continually surprised to find people in musicals that I never would have imagined. (Vincent Price starring in a Broadway musical in 1968? My universe is still reeling.) To someone who knows "Funny Girl" and "Cabaret" as films, it was revealing and useful to read about the plays they started as.

As for complaints that Mordden overlooks the big picture in the development of the musical, I would disagree. Granted, I am no expert, but to me he kept referring to the social changes going on and kept emphasizing how the subject matter of musicals kept becoming darker.

"Open a New Window" isn't a heavy, scholarly tome, but it is fun and accessible to readers who are curious about Broadway musicals while not obsessed with the subject.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the only authority worth reading, February 27, 2009

By 

John Spritz (Portland, Maine) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s (Paperback)

It's interesting to read these Mordden histories together, as I have been doing. The '30s one, "Sing for Your Supper," is downbeat. That era, which we tend to think of as a golden time on Broadway, is for Mordden one of wasted opportunity. The '40s and the '50s are, as you can imagine, when he's in clover.

And I thought this one, on the '60s, would again fall back into despair. But to my delight, he unearths gems I was unfamiliar with, and champions old favorites of mine -- Ben Franklin in Paris, Camelot -- that are either overlooked or pooh-poohed. And there is much in this book that is uplifting, as it points towards the Sondheim shows of the '70s, as it skillfully illustrates the increasing role of economics on the reality of mounting a show.

For anyone with any interest in the Broadway musical -- how it got to be where it is today -- than Mordden is the indespensible guide, guiding us through the nooks and crannies of song.