Customer Reviews

Writing Musical Theater

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I've read many of the other books about writing musical theatre, and this is hands-down the best one. Not only is it thorough and informative, but it is the only book to my knowledge that has in-depth advice about the actual music element. This is an essential read for anyone writing a musical, or anyone who is curious about how they are constructed.

This book is divided in sections, and explains more about the actual creative process than any other similar book. The authors provide helpful examples and honest advice, and they are not at all about self-promotion like the other leading book on the subject. This book will be as helpful to experienced writers as it will be to novices.

No matter what motivates your interest in musical theater, you should own this book. Each of the authors is a rare blend: a successful artist who can teach effectively about his craft.

One way to think of this book is "the theory and practice of musical theater." The first ("theory") part of the book describes the elements comprising musical theater: staging, stories and music. It also provides a history of American musical theater, showing how these elements evolved to their

present state. Every important point is illustrated with an example. More importantly, each example is accompanied with a well-reasoned explanation of why it illustrates the topic under

discussion. Nothing drags in this section: the years of teaching experience allow the authors to know exactly the right amount of detail to present.

What makes "Writing Musical Theater" unique is the "practice" section, in which two stories are adapted into the musical theater form. The reader can follow the authors' creative efforts, from selecting a story to matching words with music. Even if you have no aspirations to write your own musical, this

section will increase your appreciation for any works in this genre (old or new). Let me emphasize that this section is accessible to both musician and non-musician.

A substantial and well-commented bibliography allows the reader to delve into any of the topics to any desired level of detail. And for aspiring creators, there are many practical suggestions about taking a completed work to its first productions

If this were a musical instead of a book, the ads would read "Two great teachers show you how good musical theater is created...don't miss it." I'm sure "Writing Musical Theater" will have a long run.

There is no book available now that tells you everything you need to know to write a musical, but there are several out now that can collectively give one a very good idea of how to go about it. Latest in the field is WRITING MUSICAL THEATER by Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus. Rosenhaus and Cohen have written a very useful book that can at least get you started. As the authors themselves say, there is no better way to learn than to actually do it and to keep doing it. Other books cover some of the same material, but where this book really has something new to say is in the section dealing with the music.

The most daring section of the book (and perhaps the most useful) is the part where they actually set out to write two new shows for illustrative purposes. One is an adaptation; the other is an original. Their goal was not to create great works of art, but to show how to go about writing a musical. Neither of their examples is going to set the world on fire. In the real world they would in all likelihood be flops, but they brilliantly illustrate the practical problems that arise and some possible solutions. (Bravi, guys, and thanks.)

My only real quibbles with the book are in the bibliography where they list A CLASS ACT, CLOSER THAN EVER and STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW as important musicals. (I would love to know by what logic they arrived at those pronouncements.) They also list Johnny Mercer as an important lyricist of theatre music (none of his really good work was written for the theatre and much of his reputation is a result of self-promotion through his ownership of Capitol Records) and Dorothy Fields is not mentioned. Nor do they place Sheila Davis's brilliant THE CRAFT OF LYRIC WRITING on the recommended reading list. (I consider it The Bible of lyric writing!) They do not place Bernard Grebanier's PLAYWRITING on that list either. (There is no better analysis of what makes a plot anywhere.) But despite these quibbles, I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to the aspiring musical writer. It is an excellent place to start.

This is a first class book; well worth the money. I'm writing my first musical, and I got many many tips and ideas. It was very helpful to watch the authors create their own new musicals, so that I could observe some of the process. It would be helpful for the reader to be very familiar with a broad set of musicals, or be willing to do some research; the authors draw comparisons to other shows throughout the book. Most I knew, but a few I did not. They seem to love Sondheim (thankfully I saw "George" the week before). They crack a bit on Les Mis - one of my fav shows. Outstanding book.

Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus have written a wonderful guide to writing musical theater appropriately title WRITING MUSICAL THEATER. The book is invaluable not only for the aspiring composer, lyricist, and book writer but also for any lover of America's great art form who wants to know just how a show is put together. The experience of the authors (both active practitioners and educators) is evident on every page. I can heartily recommend this book to the student and the aficionado.

This is an amazing book for anyone interested in musical theater. It consists of two main parts:

First is an analysis of the musical. The show is broken down into its basic component parts, then each part is broken down individually and discussed. The main parts are the libretto, characters, lyrics, and of course the music. The discussion explains how each part is needed to make a successful story, and is illustrated with specific examples from shows.

Second is a tutorial that leads you step by step through the first stages of creating a musical based on the principles discussed in the first part. An interesting technique here is the use of two musical projects that were created for this purpose.

A third part of the book consists of the four appendicies that give some history of the musical, recommended reading and listening.

The whole book though has an overtone of extreme knowledge on the part of the authors. They show this by their selection of the parts of shows that exactly illustrate what they are discussing.

I'm not planning to write a musical, just to go to them, This has greatly improved my enjoyment of the couple of shows that I've seen since I read it.

This book was recommended to me, and I have been quite pleased with the depth and structure with which the book gradually leads the reader through the complexity of first understanding what makes musical theater tick, and then in Part II, takes us on a journey of how to shape an idea into the reality of a full blown musical show.

This book is filled with excellent references, and examples, in clear, easy to understand forms, and takes the reader through the benefit of many years of obvious on-the-job development from both the authors. Drs. Cohen and Rosenhaus have definitely hit a chord with this book. On to Book 2 gentlemen!

I hope this becomes a staple of every Musical Theatre Program across the country, as it's an excellent, comprehensive guide to understanding how musical theater works, and why. From students experiencing their first musical to professionals in the field starting into the journey of writing a musical, this a book they do not want to be without. If a student listened to each reference song in Part I of this book alone, they'd have a thorough schooling in the history of musical theater.

I recommend this book to anyone looking to understand how to write, what to write, and the context that the writing needs to address in the broad spectrum of Musical Theater today.

I am writing the book to a musical (my first) and I discovered this gem after completing my first draft. There have been other books on the same subject that have been helpful to me. This book, however, presented the information with another voice, and reading it gives me comfort, as if I have another mentor reenforcing what I have already been told. This book's voice is informative, comforting, clear, concise and very easy to read (if you've ever read "Words With Music", you will know what I mean).

If you are interested in writing musical theater, you must have this book. It is inspirational and instructive. I have several books on musical theater, but this one is head and shoulders above them. Very, very, good!

I own several excellent books on writing musicals, and if I could keep only one, this is the one I'd save.

Both authors are experienced teachers, which is a great benefit to the reader -- the book reads like a well-written instruction manual: clear, concise, straightforward, and practical. It explains the nuts and bolts of a good musical and how to approach them, with examples and explanations of what tends to work and what doesn't. (This is not to say that the authors encourage formulaic writing -- the guidelines are not rigid, and they are reasoned well enough that a reader can make informed decisions).

The most unique feature of this book is that the authors actually brainstormed and wrote an "example" musical and documented their procedures and decisions along the way. This is an invaluable resource which adds a very practical, hands-on dimension to what was already an excellent book.