Reading Lyrics: More Than 1,000 of the Century's Finest Lyrics--a Celebration of Our Greatest Songwriters, a Rediscovery of Forgotten Masters, and an Appreciation of an Review

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Reading Lyrics: More Than 1,000 of the Century's Finest Lyrics--a Celebration of Our Greatest Songwriters, a Rediscovery of Forgotten Masters, and an Appreciation of an ReviewFinally! A book that not only places song lyrics within the realm of literature, but also contains those lyrics in their entirety, This is the most complete book of English and American lyrics around: It contains all the lyrics (other than a song sheet, where will you find refrain 4 of "The Lady is a Tramp?") to more than 1,000 songs from the late 19th century to 1975, including the prototypical works of Gershwin, Porter, Hart, Mercer, Comden and Green, Berlin, Fields, Cahn, and Strayhorn. Dozens of relatively less prodigious and famous lyricists are included as well.
The book is a dream for jazz lovers. With the complete lyric and verse of "Body and Soul" (for example), one can appreciate Billy Holiday's vocals or Coleman Hawkins' definitive sax, or--warn your housemates--sing along! From "Sweet Georgia Brown" (1925) to "All of Me" (1931) to "Peel Me a Grape" (1962), this is a rich compendium of the English language songbook.
The organization is somewhat confusing: Lyricists are ordered by date of birth. True, one glimpses the evolution of the form, but with little context or theory this presentation is often more confusing than illuminating. (Fortunately, there are capsule biographies as well as a brief but informative introduction.) Other tips to navigating the book: The Index of Songs contains all songs in alphabetical order, the year they were written, the source, if not a recording (e.g., show, nightclub act, film) and the singer most associated with the song. Unfortunately, there is no index of lyricists, so one must search the lengthy Table of Contents, or work backwards and find the lyricist through the Song Index.
Small matter. As far as I know, this is the only book of its kind. A wonderful reference, "Reading Lyrics" makes a wonderful gift for the shower singer, the jazz buff, or the poetry lover. Very highly recommended!Reading Lyrics: More Than 1,000 of the Century's Finest Lyrics--a Celebration of Our Greatest Songwriters, a Rediscovery of Forgotten Masters, and an Appreciation of an Overview

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The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television (Oxford Companions) Review

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The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television (Oxford Companions) ReviewThe Oxford Companion to the American Musical is a surprisingly detailed overview of the the American musicals of Broadway, film and television as witnessed/researched through author Thomas Hischak. The most exciting part of this book is its careful research of the television musical, until now all but glossed over in books on the subject of musical theatre. There was a point in time where television churned out musicals and it is nice to see them get their due. Holiday Specials by Rankin and Bass added much to our song lexicon and it is nice to see them so well represented.
Obviously, the book has its omissions, something that is inevitable when a book has this size and scope. But entries are lovingly chosen and carefully researched and those that are left out are judiciously put aside, or accounted for under other entries. For example: I am a big fan of the musical flop Nick and Nora. N&N does not have it's own entry, but it is mentioned in several other places such us under Joanna Gleason's entry.It is amazing, through cross referencing, just how much author Hischak has accounted for.
One special note: an earlier reviewer of this book makes mention of the musical Destry Rides Again as being named merely "Destry." This is false, as any student of Stanley Greene's Broadway Musicals: Show By Show will tell you. The musical was indeed called Destry Rides Again.
Any true fan of musical theatre will find minor quibbles with any book that may leave out the particular pieces of minutia that fascinate them. However, this book is one of the best of its kind and it is cram packed FULL of wonderful details and oft cast aside information. A must read.The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television (Oxford Companions) Overview

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Pick Yourself Up: Dorothy Fields and the American Musical (Broadway Legacies) Review

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Pick Yourself Up: Dorothy Fields and the American Musical (Broadway Legacies) ReviewIt's good to have this engaging and informative work, which gives descriptive due to a great sweep of American musical history--from the early twentieth-century to near its end.
The problem is that its central character remains something of a bit-player in the otherwise rich narrative. Who WAS Dorthy Fields? Her psychology? Her work methods? What did her lyrics do and HOW? How, actually, did she navigate a field almost exclusively controlled by men? What of her personal life?
Alas, Greenspan has, for whatever reasons (perhaps due to a dearth of revelatory materials) scrimped in addressing these basic questions and similar others. Slowly, the reader's interest wanes.
By all means buy this book if you care about the American musical. But don't expect to learn more than a summary amount about one of the great practitioners of its craft.
Pick Yourself Up: Dorothy Fields and the American Musical (Broadway Legacies) Overview

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Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked Review

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Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked ReviewFor decades, I have been fascinated by Broadway musicals and Broadway music, even though my occupation has nothing to do with the field of entertainment. However, it does deal with creativity. I think this is part of the reason I was drawn to the work of such composers and lyricists as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Gershwin, Kern, Porter, Lerner and Loewe, and Sondheim. I have read everything I could get my hands on about this individuals and others. What in their background led them to this occupation? What led them to become so successful?
Stephen Schwartz is a member of the current generation of Broadway composers and lyricists. Probably because there are so few opportunities for individuals with this talent and desire, each generation produces a very small number of successful composers and lyricists. In his case, Schwartz is both a composer and lyricist. Anyone with an interest in show music will have his or her favorite shows and favorite songs. Schwartz is the composer-lyricist of WICKED, my favorite of his shows and an amazing accomplishment. He wrote the lyrics to the songs from Disney's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (and the German stage production of it) and to the song "If I Never You" from POCAHONTAS, also bordering on masterpieces in my opinion.
The author of this marvelous book is Carol de Giere. This book is not only extremely interesting to read, the author has capured the story of the steps along the path that led Schwartz from childhood to where he is today. This includes such great successes for someone so very young to great diappointments and how he handled them. We are left with an extraordinarily talented artist who received encouragement when he needed it and possessing an abundance of self-confidence.
There have been many movies in the past about composers (including Rodgers and Hart, Kern, Gershwin, and Porter). As I read this book, I thought: This book would make a good basis for a very interesting movie. For those individuals interested in Broadway, Broadway musicals and the people who create them (and creative people in general), I highly recommend this book and compliment the author.Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked OverviewDefying Gravity takes readers into the creative world of Broadway and film composer Stephen Schwartz, from writing Godspell's score at age 23 through the making of the megahit Wicked. For this first authorized biography, de Giere draws from 80 hours of interviews with Schwartz and over 100 interviews with his colleagues, friends, and family. Her sympathetic yet frank narrative reveals never-before-told stories and explores both Schwartz's phenomenal hits and expensive flops. The book also includes a series of "Creativity Notes" with insights about artistic life, and more than 200 photographs and illustrations.

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Hollywood Musicals: The 101 Greatest Song-and-Dance Movies of All Time Review

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Hollywood Musicals: The 101 Greatest Song-and-Dance Movies of All Time Review
Every major Hollywood musical is in this book. There are dozens of performers with pictures to boot. Composers are on every page, and writers, and designers. Each film is presented over several pages, and the pictures are fantastic. The author uses a very distinctive template so you know what to expect for each musical. With every story you are going to see the following:*A plot synopsis
*The Cast
*Song lists
*Production details
*Behind the scenes anecdotes
*QuotationsIt's the photography that is very special in this book. There are color photographs and black and whites as well. You will see production stills, and off camera shots that are intriguing. Each musical also has the original film poster that was associated with the show. Among the more than 100 musicals that are portrayed in this book are:*An American in Paris
*The Music Man
*My Fair Lady
*Oklahoma
*Singin' in the Rain
*The Sound of MusicCONCLUSION:I bought the book for my former wife who runs a theatre school, and then I started to look through it before I gave it to her. I wound up reading the whole book. It was that enthralling. I don't think it is possible to just glance at Hollywood Musicals. Once you pick it up and open it, you get hooked. Then you start looking for your favorites, and you get hooked even more. I guess I'm going to have to get my own copy and thank you for reading this review. Richard C. StoyeckHollywood Musicals: The 101 Greatest Song-and-Dance Movies of All Time OverviewA spectacular, information-packed celebration of the most beloved movie musicals, from My Fair Lady and Singing in the Rain to Moulin Rouge and High School Musical. The follow-up hit to the bestselling and acclaimed Broadway Musicals, Hollywood Musicals pays grand tribute to the 101 most popular and enduring musical movies. Beginning in 1927 and continuing to the present it celebrates all of the greatest films of the genre including Yankee Doodle Dandy, Cabaret, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, A Star is Born, West Side Story, Funny Face, The Jazz Singer, and All That Jazz, as well as more recent movie musicals such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Organized alphabetically, each film is featured across several spreads, which are jam-packed with expert commentary that places the film in historical and cultural context. Also included are features on the film's creators and cast, plot synopses, song lists, production details, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, original movie posters, and much more. Beautifully reproduced photographs of the most memorable and pivotal scenes, the stars, and off-camera shots adorn the pages and illuminate the text. Sidebars include cast albums, flops, the greatest scores, and lesser-known musicals.

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Wicked: The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical Review

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Wicked: The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical ReviewFinally, after months of waiting (and a whole week early!). Wicked: The Grimmerie is here. Some may be wondering if they should buy this book, and I'm here to tell you.
The Good News: The cover and design of the book is amazing. The cover looks old and worn and is even padded. The intricate designs are textured and the book is nice and heavy and thick. The inside design is incredible. Each page (printed on very heavy paper) is made to look old, worn and stained and it's wonderful to look at. As for the actual contents... wow. The production photos are brilliantly printed and include photos from the following casts: Original Broadway Cast, 2nd Broadway Cast (Jennifer Laura Thompson and Joey McIntyre), Original Tour Cast (Stephanie J. Block and Kendra Kassebaum), and the 3rd Broadway Cast (Shoshana Bean and David Ayers). There are very few new photos but there are some. Most of them are from the tour cast (most of Kendra and some of Stephanie and one small one of Carole Kane). There are many interviews with every cast member and many from Gregory Maguire (writer of Wicked the novel) and Stephen Shwartz and Winnie Holtzman (writer of script). There is a step-by-step page of how Stephanie gets green before each show. They have a page dedicated to the dance Elphaba does in "Dancing Through Life" and they teach it to us step-by-step. They have many photos of props and sets and wigs, as well as original costume and set sketches. There is a handwritten page from the book and an early version of Defying Gravity. There is commentary on each song by Mr. Shwartz and this isn't even all of it. So much information to soak up!
The Wicked News: Unlike what some people are saying, the book DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FULL SCRIPT. There are bits of dialogue and a lot of it is summed up in a few sentences. (The Cornfield Scene is completely gone) They cut whole scenes (which is dumb, they are all spoiler free about it, even though they talk about the same parts in interviews). I was so hoping they would make a huge deal about the script and splash the libretto with tons of photos from each scene... It's very, very disappointing, yes. Very. But... ah, well. They also didn't include Elphaba's spells like they said they would. There is also a sad lack of production photos. There are so many wonderful photos and they don't use NEARLY as much as they should have... You should also know they don't include the 4th Broadway cast (Megan Hilty, Ben Vereen) or ANY of the Chicago cast (Ana Gastyer and Kate Reinders)... that really bites. The Chicago sit-down cast is only mentioned and that is a shame. If you are an Original Cast fan you may be slightly disappointed. Instead of using only the original cast photos (like the RENT "bible") they mix and match all the different casts. This would be fine except that if you are a big fan or the Chicago cast or the current Broadway cast (as of Fall 2005) you will be disappointed.
But over all, an AMAZING book. Buy it! It's a must for every Wicked fan. A MUST. This is also a wonderful gift.Wicked: The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical OverviewWicked is not just a musical, it is a phenomenon. Every week 15,000 people pack New York+s Gershwin Theatre to see the show. The most successful musical on Broadway in 2004, Wicked is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. It tells the story of Elphaba, the headstrong Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the good witch, growing up in the Land of Oz. The show has cast a spell on fans, many of whom return for second and third viewings. In 2005, the show begins an extensive tour across the United States and Canada, hitting major cities such as Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and many more.This beautifully packaged, whimsical keepsake is designed to resemble the Grimmerie, an ancient book of spells that Elphaba uses in the show. Wicked: The Grimmerie offers fans a behind-the-curtains peek at the musical, profiles of the cast and creative team, and inside stories, with full-color photographs throughout. Some of the irresistible special features include an -Ozian+ glossary, spells, an illustrated family tree, and a step-by-step look at how Elphaba gets green before each show-everything fans need to relive the Broadway experience day after day.

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