Broadway Musical

Moving behind the anecdotes and production histories of Broadway, this survey of the most important musicals examines how the great Broadway composers used the traditional tools of composition - melody, harmony, tonal movement, rhythm and texture - to become powerful dramatists in their own right. Over 150 musical examples show how "Showboat", "Oklahoma!", and "Carousel" changed the course of the Broadway tradition, and how such diverse material as Shakesperean drama ("Kiss Me Kate"), and modern conflict ("Fiddler on the Roof") was transformed by Broadway. Covering the work of composers - Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Frank Loesser - and songwriting teams - Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, and Rice and Lloyd-Webber - this trip down memory lane ends with a look at the future of the Broadway musical play.