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Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers
 
 
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Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers [Hardcover]

Steven Suskin (Author, Foreword)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)


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Hardcover, December 16, 1999 --  
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Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
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Book Description

0195125991 978-0195125993 December 16, 1999 Revised
This majestic reference book fully chronicles the shows, songs, and careers of the major composers of the American musical theater, from Jerome Kern's earliest interpolations to the latest hits on Broadway. Gershwin, Rodgers, Porter, Berlin, Bernstein, Loesser, Sondheim, Kander, Finn, Flaherty, and more--this book covers their work, their innovations, their successes, and their failures. Show Tunes is simply the most comprehensive volume of its kind ever produced, and this newly revised and updated edition discusses over 900 shows and almost 8,000 show tunes. The book has been called "a concise skeleton key to the Broadway musical" (Variety) and "a ground-breaking reference work with a difference" (Show Music)--or, as the Washington Post observed, "It makes you sing and dance all over your memory."

The eagerly anticipated Third Edition, updated through January 1999, features the entire theatrical output of thirty-six of Broadway's leading composers, in addition to a wide selection of work by other composers. The listings include essential production data and statistics, the most extensive information available on published and recorded songs, and lively commentary on the shows, songs, and diverse careers.

Based on meticulous research, the book also uncovers dozens of lost musicals--including shows that either closed out of town or were never headed for Broadway--and catalogs hundreds of previously unknown songs, including a number of musical gems that have been misplaced, cut, or forgotten. The book also includes a detailed chronology of the musicals and a show-by-show guide to the careers of Broadway's most important lyricists, librettists, producers, directors, and choreographers.

Informative, insightful, and provocative, Show Tunes is an essential guide for anyone interested in the American musical.


Editorial Reviews

Review

"Three valuable appendixes list the shows chronologically, give data on all collaborators, and offer a bibliography with advice on how to locate the music....the author's comments...provide an excellent narrative about the selected composers....A popular addition for all large collections serving upper-division undergraduates through faculty, professionals, and general readers."--Choice

"All the classics are present in Steven Suskin's dazzingly thorough catalogue raisonne, Show Tunes, along with other musicals that have taken the stage since 1904, from 'Fascinating Flora' (1907) and 'Fluffy Ruffles' (1908) to 'Bar Mitzvah Boy' (1978)." --The New Yorker

"Suskin's commentary for the majority of cited shows is chattily informative, conjoining anecdotes with facts about why a musical did or didn't succeed. He has clearly studied and loves the genre....The first edition of Suskin's work became an indispensable resource; expanded, updated volumes make Show Tunes all the more valuable."--Show Music

"Virtually a musical theatre encyclopedia, chock full of details and rich analyses of the theatre's most celebrated (and less celebrated) lyricists and composers and their shops and songs."--Encore

About the Author


Steven Suskin, a longtime theatrical producer and manager, is also author of the highly acclaimed Opening Night on Broadway (1990) and More Opening Nights on Broadway (1994).

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 608 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Revised edition (December 16, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195125991
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195125993
  • Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.3 x 1.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A most valuable reference tool, April 8, 2000
This review is from: Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers (Hardcover)
Anyone interested in Broadway lore must own at least three books, all by Steven Suskin. The first is <Opening Night on Broadway> which covers 1943-1964 and the sequel, which deals with 1965-81. These are compilations of what the major New York music critics had to say about the openings of every important show on or just Off-Broadway plus the author's comments about each. These books are very readable and an invaluable document of American musical history. Now Mr. Suskin has given us an equally valuable reference tool, but this is more to be used than to be read for enjoyment.

The third edition of his <Show Tunes> (Oxford University Press, 2000) is an encyclopedia of facts about the composers of the shows dealt with in the other volumes. The organization is like this. After several introductory pages, we are given facts about the composers of the early years from Jerome Kern to Harold Rome, new composers of the 40s and 50s, and those of the 60s and beyond. Having dealt with what Suskin considers (mostly rightly) to be the major composers, he then devotes the fourth part of the volume to "Notable scores by other composers": "Irene," "Shuffle Along," "Hair," and so on up to "Parade."

Then comes a feature or two, which to students of the American musical like myself, are almost worth the price of the book alone. There is a year by year listing of all the major Broadway productions from 1904-1998, a list of all people who collaborated on the shows (George Abbott, Guy Bolton, etc.), an index of song titles, and finally an index of show titles. Talk about user friendly!

Turning back to the main section and taking Gershwin as an example, Suskin gives us in chronological order facts about each of the shows from 1916 to a 1951 production that used Gershwin's music. For each, he lists all the published songs, indicates which were dropped by opening night, and gives some general comments about the show itself. Then he ends with an evaluation of Gershwin's Broadway output in general.

Concise, accurate (as far as I can see), beautifully organized. A real Grabbit.

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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars suskin does it again!, June 24, 2001
This review is from: Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers (Hardcover)
for fans of the broadway musical, steven suskin's books are indispensable. this time around he manages to explore the full bodies of work of some 36 broadway composers, as well as the work of various "lesser" lights. if you are any kind of fan beyond the most basic, there will be few reference books on the subject you will turn to more often. mine is beside my cd player, as i constantly am cross-referencing. if i can have a complaint, its that the book is too short -- but im sure thats the fault of suskin's publisher, who cant be making a fortune on this book as is.

btw, highly recommended: suskin's bi-weekly review of new recording....

for fans of show music, this is a MUST HAVE.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Entire Iceberg, June 22, 2011
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This book is the entire iceberg in terms of reference. With a well-written chapter each on the major musical theater composers of the 20th century combined with a chronological list of their shows, stars, performances, and songs, this book is an indispensable reference. Additionally, Steven's thought-provoking point-of-view on each composer prevents the book from being a dryly informational read. The end section on other, stand-alone shows of note nicely covers many other shows by writers that were only heard from once or twice.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The twentieth century began with American musical theatre dominated by European operettas-English, German, and Austrian. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
choreography restaged, closed during tryout, additional songs, unproduced musical, anthology revue, vocal selection, published songs, new lyricist, professional copy, piano selection, modern musical comedy, song listings, developmental workshop, songs published, revised lyric, first published song, quick failure, wartime hit, vocal score, theatre composer, comedy lyrics, individual publication, producing career, song version, musical theatre
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Additional Songs Published, Additional Songs Recorded, New York, Off Broadway, Song Recorded, Ira Gershwin, George Abbott, Additional Song Published, Harold Prince, Lorenz Hart, David Merrick, Oscar Hammerstein, Winter Garden Theatre, Street Theatre, Shubert Theatre, City Center, Howard Dietz, Dorothy Fields, Jerome Robbins, Lew Fields, Richard Rodgers, Alvin Theatre, Florenz Ziegfeld, Guy Bolton, Imperial Theatre
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