Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
The Great Courses (2006), 12 hours, 16 lectures
Description
A series of sixteen lectures by Bill Messenger on the origins and variety of Broadway musicals.
User reviews
LibraryThing member grunin
A good overview, especially of the earlier, hard to find material.
The only shortcoming that affects the whole course is that Messinger is a piano player and not a singer; so when he wants to illustrate a point with a song, he plays the melody and speaks the words, which isn't very effective.
Near the end, Messinger starts to run aground: he really hates Hair; feels that Sondheim's lack of major commercial success is a sign of his lesser worth, compared to the likes of Miss Saigon and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
16 lectures:
The Essence of the Musical
The Minstrel Era (1828 to c. 1900)
Evolution of the Verse/Chorus Song
The Ragtime Years (c. 1890–1917)
The Vaudeville Era (1881 to c. 1935)
Tin Pan Alley
Broadway in Its Infancy
The Revue versus the Book Musical
Superstars on the Horizon
Transition into the Jazz Age (1916–20)
Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern—Contrasts
George Gershwin’s Legacy (1919 to c. 1935)
Rodgers and Hammerstein Era (1940s)
Golden Age of Musical Theater (1950s)
Rock 'n' Roll Reaches Broadway (1960s)
Big Bucks and Long Runs (1970s–Present)
The only shortcoming that affects the whole course is that Messinger is a piano player and not a singer; so when he wants to illustrate a point with a song, he plays the melody and speaks the words, which isn't very effective.
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Sometimes he brings in other performers, but the best parts are where he uses original period recordings.Near the end, Messinger starts to run aground: he really hates Hair; feels that Sondheim's lack of major commercial success is a sign of his lesser worth, compared to the likes of Miss Saigon and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
16 lectures:
The Essence of the Musical
The Minstrel Era (1828 to c. 1900)
Evolution of the Verse/Chorus Song
The Ragtime Years (c. 1890–1917)
The Vaudeville Era (1881 to c. 1935)
Tin Pan Alley
Broadway in Its Infancy
The Revue versus the Book Musical
Superstars on the Horizon
Transition into the Jazz Age (1916–20)
Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern—Contrasts
George Gershwin’s Legacy (1919 to c. 1935)
Rodgers and Hammerstein Era (1940s)
Golden Age of Musical Theater (1950s)
Rock 'n' Roll Reaches Broadway (1960s)
Big Bucks and Long Runs (1970s–Present)
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Language
Original language
English
Physical description
9 inches
ISBN
1598032011 / 9781598032017
Local notes
[1] Essence of musical [2] Minstrel era (1828 to c. 1900) [3] Evolution of verse/chorus song [4] Ragtime years (c.1890–1917) [5] Vaudeville era (1881 to c. 1935) [6] Tin Pan Alley [7] Broadway in its infancy [8] Revue versus book musical [9] Superstars on horizon [10] Transition into Jazz Age (1916–20) [11] Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern: contrasts [12] George Gershwin's legacy (1919 to c. 1935) [13] Rodgers and Hammerstein era (1940s) [14] Golden age of musical theater (1950s) [15] Rock 'n' roll reaches Broadway (1960s) [16] Big bucks and long runs (1970s–present)