Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater

Larry Stempel

W W Norton & Company Incorporated, 2010 - Music - 826 pages

Here for the first time is the whole history of the musical, on Broadway and off. Stempel combines original research—including a wealthy of primary sources and archival holdings—with deft and insightful analysis, and explores the rich strands of musical theater by genre and type, looking at not only how musicals work but also how they serve as barometers of social concerns and bearers of cultural values.

Beginning with the scandalous Astor Place Opera House riot of 1849, Stempel traces the growth of musicals from minstrel shows and burlesques, through the golden age of Show Boat and Oklahoma!, to such groundbreaking works as Company and Rent. Stempel examines musicals in their cultural and historical context and includes detailed portraits of all the influential figures—the creators, directors, and performers—who made it all possible.

What people are saying

Review: Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater

User Review - Goodreads

Really enjoyed this book, read most of it on a cruise. Appreciated the analysis of American culture as well as the shows themselves. Missed any reference to Forbidden Broadway.

Review: Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater

User Review - Goodreads

Fun book, if only to see how my favorite musicals fit into the history of Broadway. Of more interest to me was how Broadway "evolved", and Stempel was up to the task.

About the author

Larry Stempel , an associate professor of music at Fordham University and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, was a member of Lehman Engel's BMI Musical Theater Workshop. He lives in Mount Vernon, New York.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater
• Author: Larry Stempel
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: W W Norton & Company Incorporated, 2010
• ISBN: 039392906X, 9780393929065
• Length: 826 pages
• Subjects: Music / Genres & Styles / Musicals; Performing Arts / Theater / Broadway & Musical Revue; Performing Arts / Theater / History & Criticism