Musical Theatre: A History

Musical Theatre: A History presents a comprehensive history of stage musicals from the earliest accounts of the ancient Greeks and Romans, for whom songs were common elements in staging, to Jacques Offenbach in Paris during the 1840s, to Gilbert and Sullivan in the UK, to the rise of music halls and vaudeville traditions in America, and eventually to “Broadway’s Golden Age” with George M. Cohan, Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Leondard Bernstein, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.   The 21 st century has also brought a popular new wave of musicals to the Broadway stage, from “The Producers” to “Spamalot.”   Musical Theatre: A History covers it all, from the opening number to the curtain call, offering readers the most up-to-date history of the art form. As informative as it is entertaining, Musical Theatre offers an accessibly written history of the musical theatre, richly illustrated with anecdotes of shows and show people.   It is cause for celebration for those working in the theatre as well as its legion of devoted fans.