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This new second edition of Enchanted Evenings offers theater lovers an illuminating behind-the-scenes tour of some of America's best loved, most admired, and most enduring musicals.
The title of the book is a reference to the song "Some Enchanted Evenings " from South Pacific and shows such as Show Boat, Carousel, Kiss Me Kate, Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Phantom of the Opera are all covered here plus more ! Block provides a documentary history of each of the musicals, showing how each work took shape and revealing, at the same time, how the American musical evolved from the 1920s to today, both on stage and on screen. The book's particular focus is on the music, offering a wealth of detail about how librettist, lyricist, composer, and director work together to shape the piece. Block also includes trenchant social commentary and lively backstage anecdotes. Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hart, Kurt Weill, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Frank Loesser, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and other luminaries emerge as hardworking craftsmen under enormous pressure to sell tickets without compromising their dramatic vision. The second edition includes a greatly expanded chapter on Sondheim, a new chapter on Lloyd Webber, and two new chapters on the film adaptations of the main musicals featured in the text (including such hard to find films as the original 1936 version of Anything Goes and the 1959 film adaptation of Porgy and Bess).
Packed with information, including a complete discography and plot synopses and song-by-song scenic outlines for each of the fourteen shows, Enchanted Evenings is an essential reference as well as a revealing history of the Broadway Musical.
Overture
1: Introduction: Setting the Stage
Act I: Before Rodgers and Hammerstein
2: Show Boat: In the Beginning
3: Anything Goes: Songs Ten, Book Three
4: Porgy and Bess: Broadway Opera
5: On Your Toes and Pal Joey: Dance Gets into the Act and "Sweet Water from a Foul Well"
6: The Cradle Will Rock: A Labor Musical for Art's Sake
7: Lady in the Dark and One Touch of Venus: The Broadway Stranger and His American Dreams
8: Stage vs. Screen I: Before Rogers and Hammerstein
Act II: The Broadway Musical After Oklahoma!
9: Carousel: The Invasion of the Integrated Musical
10: Kiss Me, Kate: The Taming of Cole Porter
11: Guys and Dolls and The Most Happy Fella: The Greater Loesser
12: My Fair Lady: From Pygmalion to Cinderella
13: West Side Story: The Very Model of a Major Musical
14: Stage vs. Screen II: After Oklahoma!
Epilogue: The Age of Sondheim and Lloyd Webber
15: Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George: Happily Ever After West Side Story with Sondheim
16: Phantom of the Opera: The Reigning Champion of Broadway
Synopses
Discography: Selected Original, Revival, Film, and Studio Casts
Appendix A. Sources, Published Librettos, and Vocal Scores
Appendix B. Long Runs 1920s-1980s
Appendix C. The Forty Longest-Running Book Musicals on Broadway
Appendix D. Show Boat
Appendix E. Anything Goes
Appendix F. Porgy and Bess: Songs, Arias, and Themes
Appendix G. On Your Toes: Broadway 1936 and Broadway Revival 1983
Appendix H. Pal Joey: Broadway 1940 and Broadway Revival 1952
Appendix I. The Cradle Will Rock: Broadway 1937
Appendix J. Lady in the Dark: Broadway 1941
Appendix K. One Touch of Venus: Broadway 1943
Appendix L. Carousel: Broadway 1945
Appendix M. Kiss Me, Kate: Broadway 1948
Appendix N. Guys and Dolls: Broadway 1950
Appendix O. The Most Happy Fella: Broadway 1956
Appendix P. My Fair Lady: Broadway 1956
Appendix Q. West Side Story: Broadway 1957
Appendix R. Follies: Broadway 1971 and London Revival 1987
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
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