Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim (Hardcover)

by Geoffrey Block (Author) "The central subjects in this book are fourteen "book" musicals that premiered on Broadway between the late 1920s and the late 1950s, beginning with Show..." (more)
Key Phrases: opulent adornment, libretto drafts, published vocal score, New York, West Side Story, Pal Joey (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Subtitled The Broadway Musical from "Show Boat" to Sondheim, Geoffrey Block's book concerns itself with the creative process that made hits out of 14 musical comedies, such as Guys and Dolls and My Fair Lady, rather that just interpreting the impact of the finished projects. Block is adept at demonstrating how musical themes are used by the witty composers to tell or buttress the stories in subtle ways; there seem to be as many passages of sheet music recreated in the pages as there are photos. The book leans more heavily on scholarly analysis than others in the genre, but many of the insights and examples are developed here in print for the first time. Especially fascinating are the sections on the development of beloved numbers that went from ideas to hits, such as "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" in Porgy and Bess and "Bianca" in Kiss Me Kate.

Review
"I can't think of another book, on any subject, in which the author shows such firm control over his materials, in this case scholarly as well as journalistic writing on the Broadway musical, reviews of shows, correspondence, the music itself, and archival materials of various sorts relating to the early stages of creation. Enchanted Evenings is fascinating, original, compelling."--Charles Hamm, Professor Emeritus of Music, Dartmouth College, and author Irving Berlin: 1907-1914

"Enchanted Evenings contributes substantially to the intellectual history of the American musical theater. And those who read Geoffrey Block's book with memories of these works in their ears are sure to experience moments of recognition and joy."--Richard Crawford, School of Music, University of Michigan,

"I can't think of another book, on any subject, in which the author shows such firm control over his materials, in this case scholarly as well as journalistic writing on the Broadway musical, reviews of shows, correspondence, the music itself, and archival materials of various sorts relating to the early stages of creation. Enchanted Evenings is fascinating, original, compelling."--Charles Hamm, Professor Emeritus of Music, Dartmouth College, and author of Irving Berlin: 1907-1914

"Enchanted Evenings contributes substantially to the intellectual history of the American musical theater. And those who read Geoffrey Block's book with memories of these works in their ears are sure to experience moments of recognition and joy."--Richard Crawford, School of Music, University of Michigan

"A trained musicologist, Block...provides wonderful close readings of musical scores that are detailed enough to fascinate Broadway devotees but not so dry that they will fail to enlighten novices. "--Booklist

"A solid and frequently fascinating work that should become a model of how to investigate and report on the evolution of a muscial.... [Block's] research is persuasive and his writing vivid.... Enchanted Evenings is indispensable for anyone who cares to know more about Broadway musicals than Playbill can provide..."--Steven Bach, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Enchanted Evenings shows how the genre has transformed from the 1920s to the present, with a keen understanding of musical forms and structures and of the evolution of the unique collaborative quartet of librettist, composer, lyricist and director."--American Theatre

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First Edition edition (October 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195107918
• ISBN-13: 978-0195107913
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #423,364 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Geoffrey Block's 'Enchanted Evenings', January 29, 1998

By A Customer

The contents of this book are very thorough, complete, and factual. The subject is very interesting, but if you don't understand music, he is sometimes hard to follow. He was my professor and this was a class text. Without his oral interpretation, I was, at times, left wondering what he meant. The book is filled with great pictures and original score. If your interested in how musicals are created, definately read this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Well done, June 28, 2009

By	Robert J. Seidman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A detailed analysis of the Broadway Musical. Very helpful to the student or scholar.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This author knows music but not theatre, December 10, 2005

By	Scott E. Miller "author, director, composer" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim (Paperback)

Block clearly knows his music theory, but he doesn't really understand musical theatre in any serious way. If you want some college music theory analysis of some show tunes, you might like this -- if you want insights into musical theatre, you won't get much of value here. And more than that, he appears to be one of those who believes musicals today all suck and only the old-fashioned ones have any value. All in all, not a great book...