The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater

by Richard Kislan

This revised and expanded edition of Kislan's acclaimed study of America's musical theater includes a new section on “Recent Musical Issues and Problems.” “The ancient union of drama and song, known as musical theater, comes in many forms – vaudeville, burlesque, comic opera, minstrels, etc. The author reviews these and other highlights of American musicals ... with a fascinating background on the elements that contribute to the success of a Showboat .” – King Features • “Worth study by anyone who still thinks that the musical is a collection of songs.” – The Stage

Genres: Theatre, Textbooks, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1979

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 2 out of 5]

The American Musical has proven itself a powerful form of expression and entertainment over the past century. It has given us so many creative artists for its words, music, social commentary and historical perspective. The form has been used equally effectively for comedy and tragedy. Kislan’s book gets into the history of this art form and what it takes to “put on a show.” Now, with “Broadway going dark,” I wanted to find a way to appreciate what is no longer available.

There is a lot to like in parts of this book (that strikes me as more of a text than an appreciation). But I found some of what Kislan determined as “necessary” to border, at times, on the tedious. We get significant space devoted to minstrels, vaudeville, burlesque, revue and comic opera. This means that there is less space in the less than 300 pages for more modern musicals.

Kislan is very helpful with observations about the elements and function of certain aspects of presentation. Here, for instance, he discusses the “theater song.” “To be effective, the title must appear early in the refrain. Such important information must not be buried deep within the text. Oscar Hammerstein II knew this and taught it to Stephen Sondheim. Even in an innovative musical like Company where the songs comment on the action, rather than further it, the song titles appear early in the refrain.”

Hammerstein and Sondheim get a lot of space, and deservedly so. It peeved me that some of the time devoted to Andrew Lloyd Webber might have been better served by acknowledging Meredith Wilson. Yes, that is correct. For what ever reason, Kislan refuses to acknowledge Wilson or his iconic American musical, The Music Man. Yeesh!

Thus, my peevish rating of 2.5*

[Pamilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

For all the Broadway Theater lovers, this is a must read. The evolution of American musical theater, from its historical beginnings, is a phenomenon. We took something passed down from the Greeks to the Europeans, and we created something truly American that the world now enjoys. This book covers the history of Musical Theater from beginning to the 1990s, and is broken down into three parts: historical evolution, the creative players, (with their ideas and contributions), and the individual parts that make up the whole. We have gone from the "happy ever after" to the "down and dirty" social issues that plague many lives. This and more is all staged with elaborate sets/costumes, great music/lyrics, and comes with a hefty price tag--we are more than willing to pay. Read how and why in Richard's simply written book. I learned a lot about something I love--Musical Theater.

[Dinosaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, brief history into the American musical, particularly for a theatre geek. Enjoyed reading about the differences between musical comedy and musical play, as well as some background info on Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hammerstein and especially Stephen Sondheim.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very Author-Opinionated and not very objective in his facts.