Customer Reviews

Opening Night on Broadway: A Critical Quotebook of the Golden Era of the Musical Theatre, Oklahoma!

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I bought "Opening Night on Broadway" when it was first published. I found it to be much more than a written recorded history of the Broadway Musical. It is a time capsule that captures the feeling of the periods when these shows first opened. The reader can almost feel what it was like to be there in 1956 at the opening of "My Fair Lady". Mr. Suskin gives useful biographical information about some of the theater's biggest stars. As someone involved in the business end of the theatre, I also enjoyed finding out whether or not a show was a financial success or failure. My only criticism is, I wish the book was laid out chronologically, not alphabetically. That way readers could get a better perspective of what else was running when "Guys and Dolls", or "Kiss Me Kate" or even "Donnybrook opened" All in all though, I found "Opening Night.." to be the hit of the season

If you love musicals, you can spend hours poring over this collection of reviews for the Broadway musicals that followed in the wake of OKLAHOMA. Hits and flops, all are here -- with some great insights and theatre diah provided by Suskin. For serious research or just plain fun reading, this is one of the most rewarding books ever published on the subject. (And the sequel is equally worthwhile!)