The story of a pivotal 10 years in American musical theater, limned by one of its most skillful historians. The second volume in a decade-by-decade history of the Broadway musical by the prolific film historian and novelist Mordden (The Venice Adriana, 1998, etc.), this account makes an excellent companion to its immediate predecessor, Make Believe: The Broadway Musical in the 1920s (not reviewed). Given the general silliness of the ’20s musical, especially when placed alongside the works of a decade dominated by Rodgers and Hammerstein and such other major voices as Bernstein, Loesser, and Sondheim, the juxtaposition may seem odd. Yet it’s precisely because the music has traveled so far in so little time that Mordden’s analysis in the new book compels and satisfies our craving. The 1950s represents “the fourth decade of [the genre’s] golden age,” and also the last. As Mordden ruefully notes in his concluding chapter, rock music would arrive shortly to displace Broadway as the primary source of the common coin of American popular music. But until then, the Broadway musical enjoyed a glorious ascendancy, buoyed by the freedom hurled into the form by Rodgers and Hammerstein, whose pervasive influence runs through both the book and the decade. As a result, the ’50s was a period when “no one knew what the rules were any more” and theatrical creators were able to experiment with darker materials, adapting such unlikely sources as Sean O’Casey (Juno) and Homer (The Golden Apple). The results weren—t always sparkling, but Mordden grasps why the great ones worked and the lesser ones didn—t. His analysis is always intelligent and well put, although the tone of Roses is a bit less flashy than his very best writing. A must for any fan or student of musical theater.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-19-511710-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1998
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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