Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story

by Duncan Turner (Contributor), Miezan VanZyl (Contributor)

Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story showcases the complete history of the musical on stage and screen, from its origins in ancient Greece to early twentieth century dance halls and vaudeville to the golden age of cinema productions to the record-breaking Broadway musicals of today.

Packed with historical insights, memorabilia, behind-the-scenes gossip, and artifacts, Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story takes you on the ultimate behind-the-scenes tour of the best-loved musicals, such as Chicago, Les Misérables, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, and many more.

In all, Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story features more than 140 notable stage and film productions and the stories of the people who created them. Throughout, clear infographics, rich black-and-white and color photography, and a clever, informative design make this comprehensive overview of musical theater and movie musicals a true showstopper.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Theatre, History, Reference, Biography, Pop Culture

360 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed this one from my library’s new books section, not really knowing what to expect. Illustrated? Yes. Definitive? Not quite. I was inspired to pick it up because I do enjoy musical theater and had recently read Julie Andrews’s first autobiography, where I learned that she originated the roles of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and Guinevere in Camelot.

Musicals is strongest when discussing early musical theater and the big names we still know today. It’s the type of book I’d reach for before attending a musical, to orient myself in the story itself and the story of the production. My favorite part was being able to see the big picture of the history of musicals, the endless reinventing of the genre, and the bottomless creativity of writers, composers, and showrunners.

Some of the book’s design choices felt discordant to me, especially coming off the heels of Home by Julie Andrews. The spreads for My Fair Lady and Camelot discussed the stage productions, but only had photographs from the film adaptations. The extra-long spread for The Sound of Music only had photographs of the original stage production, none from the film, which has lasted in cultural memory like few other movie musicals. Mary Poppins was originally made for film, yet none of the film stills included Andrews. I likely wouldn’t have noticed Andrews’s absence so much if I hadn’t been reading this soon after her first autobiography. Was permission for photos of her denied? Was there some weird dispute between Andrews and whoever put this book together? Andrews had a major impact on musical theater with the roles she originated or starred in, and her absence from the visuals felt deliberate and off-putting.

Overall, the book displays favoritism for film adaptations of musicals in its choice of pictures. On one hand, I understand that: films are photographed, the staging is made to fit in a frame, and it’s easier to capture the essence of a production in a film still. On the other hand, it’s disappointing to see a shot from The Wizard of Oz on the page for Wicked, and lose the incredible efforts of set designers, costumers, and Broadway performers who can’t fix things in post-production or do a second take. The treatment of West Side Story was notable, because it included images from both stage and film productions. Would that all film/stage duos received such treatment.

Musicals that don’t garner their own spreads are often included with a paragraph or two of description in the back of the book. Not every musical is included (making this book less than definitive), but most major productions are there. Showboat (1927) is the first profiled musical. The main section of the book goes up to 2016, ending with Dear Evan Hansen and Waitress, but the “Other Musicals” section includes The Greatest Showman and Be More Chill. “Musical” is never tightly defined, but the book leans toward live-action productions, profiling Broadway productions of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Frozen, but not their animated counterparts.

A personal peeve--I hate it when people make a big deal about the audience’s laughter when Lin-Manuel Miranda first performed a rap from what would become Hamilton at the White House. (Video for reference.) Folks weren’t laughing at Miranda, who was riding high on the success of In the Heights and eager to plug his next idea in the most appropriate venue in the world. We laugh when we show up at surprise parties for the same reason folks laughed when Miranda introduced his idea: shock and delight. The laughter during his performance is delight at the execution, which you can see in the faces of the audience. In an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Rob Petrie tries to explain comedy to his son’s class, and lands on “laughter is a response to the unexpected.” Only a mind like Miranda’s would read a biography of Alexander Hamilton and think, “this man embodies hip-hop.” That’s unexpected--just like how Hamilton became the newest musical sensation.

Recommended to musical theater fans and anyone wanting to learn more about musicals in general.

[Daniel Qiu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. The book was very interesting, but I felt like they could have given some more fun facts or things that made each musical stand out. Each of the sections felt like they described the same thing,I think that a little fun fact box or something would make the book more appealing to people other than die hard Broadway fans like me or Sam. This book felt like it was focused more on the creative team (director, producers, book writer, score, choreography, costumes), it would be cool if they highlighted some of the cast members, like "this person was in the original ensemble of this show, but she went on to play the lead role in this show". This book probably has a more updated version, so they only highlighted shows up to 2014, which was a little disappointing for me because I started following musicals later than that so most of the musicals I know and love opened after the book was published. I guess it's not the author's fault though because he or she couldn't control when the book came out and definitely can't predict the future. Another thing that confused me was that they never said how long any of the shows ran, which is pretty definitive for Broadway shows. The longer a show runs, usually the more successful it is. A little box on the page saying how long it ran for each show highlighted would make the reading experience more interesting for a Broadway fan like me. The final thing I was a little iffy about was why some hugely successful shows like Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables or Chicago only got one page to explain them. In this book, usually the more important or successful it is, the more pages it gets. But Phantom of the Opera, which is the longest running shows in Broadway history, only got 1 page, when the maximum amount is 4. However, the were a lot of good things about the book too. I really enjoyed the part where they had a box or page dedicated to a specific actor/actress, or someone who made a impact on the "modern musical". I especially enjoyed the timelines they had on each of those people, so I could see what shows they had written/contributed to, and the paragraphs about their change to the musical as we know it today. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but would only recommend this book to a big Broadway fan, and warn them about some possible improvements.

[ALLEN · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is profusely illustrated, but in no sense definitive. It seems to have been edited for maximum razzle-dazzle with lots of color photos, but the story they tell isn't always coherent. Is the section on "Kiss Me Kate" meant to represent the 1950 B'way show or the 1953 MGM musical? It tries to discuss both, but in a confused way that makes it informative of neither. Why are key musicals like "Company" omitted?

I'm sorry I bought this mish-mosh of a pseudo coffee-table book and would NOT recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about the history of the Great White Way. Try anything by author/theater critic Ethan Mordden instead, such as his Anything Goes: A History of American Musical Theatre.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW!

This book is one of the most in-depth looks into musical theatre.
The book is structured by traveling through the decades...from the early years to 2019.
The book talks about the development, running time, original teams and casts, and even the show's plot broken down and its correlating musical numbers.
From the shifting times of vaudeville and then the book musical to unique artistic methods of musical theatre, the book's wealth of knowledge covers over 200 shows.
Interesting to note, not all 200+ shows are solely from America or Great Britain. There are influential musicals from France, Germany and even a brief mention of Bollywood.
The book breaks up the eras by uncovering the little gems of design or famous people's biographies.
It showcases the stars, designers, dancer-choreographers, directors, lyricists, librettists, musicians and composers. Their individual stories are highlighted throughout the book's journey, telling these talented individuals' stories as well.
Of course, musicals aren't just onstage, but on the big screen too. Many of the influential films from Busby Berkeley, Vincent Minelli and later down the road, Disney and blockbuster cult-classics like Grease and Rocky Horror Picture Show are also mentioned.

Despite its ENORMOUS size, this coffee table read, is one I would keep. As a fan of musical theatre, I thought I knew my history about MANY of these shows and films. The book doesn't provide nerd-dom level of depth into these shows, BUT it does provide some really cool trivia about each as well as its backstory. That's where some of the magic for me comes from.

If you want to visit the theatre, but aren't necessarily able to (Curse you 2020), this is a great alternative. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

*Cue the Applause.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely a coffee table skim book. It was helpful as a list of musicals to explore and had great pictures. However, I don't think the racial controversies of the predominately POC musicals were treated with enough detail or tactfully. I like Miss Saigon, but its Wikipedia page had better information on the musical's public reaction. I also listened to Thoroughly Modern Millie and I was surprised to hear Chinese in it. West Side Story is notorious for white actors playing Puerto Rican roles. I don't have an argument for the morals of acting or accents, but the public reaction to musicals have evolved. I think the music can still be appreciated while the content is scrutinized. There are more actors of color getting famous for musical theater now, so I hope the white playwright and lyricists of these coveted musicals face more reevaluations.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

They didn't give Next to Normal its own page, which is just... not right (to quote the show). Otherwise interesting and pretty to browse.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story is a gorgeous volume sure to please any musical theatre fan. The book has a beautiful layout that perfectly blends text and image, and I particularly enjoyed the 'timelines' for each featured show, which mark the placement of songs within the action. I was also thrilled to see a handful of foreign-language musicals included, as so often European shows are left out of these sorts of books in favor of a solely English-language focus. Good to see them finally getting the recognition they deserve. This is definitely a book I could happily flick back through again and again.

[Wagrobanite · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it's got some great details, it's called musicals yet there are movie musicals and I wasn't expecting that. Also it ignores a lot of other musicals that are important for the zeitgeist. Overall it's a good book.

[Anna Scales · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for any musical theatre fan!! I highly recommend it. The only downside is, it was published a little while ago so it doesn’t feature modern musicals like beetlejuice, mean girls, be more chill, and Dear Evan Hansen, and there is only a short summary of Hamilton in the back. However, there is great information about older shows, even some from the early 2010’s, and the pictures are really cool too!

[Emilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I found most disappointing about this book was that some movie musicals received 2 or more pages and then important musicals that probably should have received more than a paragraph literally only received that, which was incredibly disappointing. There were certain musicals that I was hoping to read more about which were barely mentioned as well.

I did like the author style though. I particularly like Sondheim and I liked the spread that he received., and the attention given to his musicals. While it was less a definitive story, it was pretty and it did have a lot of cool tidbits that I didn't know.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spanning more than 100 years and covering shows from all over the globe, this well-researched tome is a comprehensive look at everything tied to musicals.

This book is arranged chronologically into four sections. At the beginning of the book is a history of the musical up to 1939, and then an introduction to the modern musical. After this, we see the shows and the year that each was produced. We get other information, including Key Facts, sometimes a Cast List, a brief intro about the show, a 1-2 page narrative about the show, including any adaptations, quotes, colorful pictures, sometimes a playbill, and more!

This book also looks at the people, and not just the stars. We learn about the producers, authors, directors, composers, lyricists, set designers, make-up and costumes, choreographers, and so many more!

Then there are the innovators -- musicals seem to constantly be reinventing themselves to not only hold an audience's interest, but to also stay relevant to the times.

I thought I was just going to browse this book, but there were so many things to see and even more to learn, that I ended up reading / studying this thoroughly. Some of the interesting tidbits that I picked up:

While looking at "Swing Time" (1936), "Of all of the places the movies have created, one of the most magical and enduring is the universe of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers." -- Roger Ebert

Hollywood Musicals -- Screen musicals often celebrate the joys of life on a large scale. Musicals that are produced as movies can be purchased or rented, or enjoyed on television.

Looking at the stars of many of these shows ... it was interesting to see their earlier works and then realize I knew them from a different genre in the entertainment industry. One of these was Betty Garrett, a star in ""On the Town" (1944). Upon further research, I learned that she had been blacklisted (because she and husband, Larry Park, were once members of the Communist Party). When this happened, her musical career hit the brakes. I remember her from her stint as Edna Babish on the hit comedy, Laverne and Shirley.

People in the "biz" are often tied to one another through familial connections. Agnes De Mille (1905-1993) was the niece of Cecil B. DeMille and daughter of director and writer William. She was a choreographer and performer who pioneered an American style of dance that combined modern, ballet, and folk idioms. In addition to Carousel (1945), she choreographed the great musicals Oklahoma! and Brigadoon, among others.

"Annie Get Your Gun" ran for 1,147 performances and Ethel Merman played the role throughout. In 1998, the album of the original 1946 Broadway cast recording was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Hollywood never entirely took to Merman, and it was Judy Garland who was originally cast as Annie in the 1950 MGM movie. However, repeated clashes between Garland and the movie’s director, Busby Berkeley, led to her being replaced by Hollywood star Betty Hutton. The movie received four Oscar nominations and won the award for Best Music Scoring of a Musical Picture.

The biographies of some key people in the industry were engaging. Each of these told the name of the person, their role in the industry, the years they were born and died, a narrative detailing their life and legacy, a timeline of their life, a list of Key Works, and pictures, photos, and more.

“It wasn’t until Broadway came along that I felt I had really made it.” – Julie Andrews

The first Broadway production of “The Pajama Game” (1954) won Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Featured Performance by an Actress in a Musical, awarded to Carol Haney, who played Gladys. Haney’s understudy was then the unknown Shirley MacLaine, who had to take the lead while Haney recovered from an injury. As a result, MacLaine was spotted by Hollywood producer Hal Wallis, who set her on the path to movie stardom.

“Dance is like life, it exists as you’re flitting through it, and when it’s over, it’s done.” – Jerome Robbins

“Kismet” (1953) belongs to a small group of Broadway musicals from the 1950s that set lyrics to classical music; in this case, pieces written by the Russian composer Borodin. A movie version was released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 1955.

The song, Seventy-Six Trombones, from “The Music Man” (1957) was played by a 1,076 piece marching band for the 1971 grand opening of Disney World, Florida.

First released in 1965, “The Sound of Music” (movie) had been produced at a cost of $8.2 million. Despite lukewarm initial reviews, the movie was to become a massive international hit, and up to the end of 2014 had grossed $286 million worldwide.

The opening sequence took 12 takes, as Julie Andrews kept being knocked down by the downdraft from the helicopter used to film the scene.

Many people believe that Edelweiss is a traditional Austrian folk song, but in fact it was an original composition by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The original West End (London theatre) run for “Oliver” (1960) was 2,618 performances.

Many big American stars of stage, movie, and television have appeared in the musical, “The Fantasticks” (1960), including Liza Minnelli, Elliott Gould, Jerry Orbach, F. Murray Abraham, David Canary, Robert Goulet, Glenn Close, Keith Charles, Kristin Chenoweth, Richard Chamberlain, John Carradine, and Ed Ames.
The whole discussion about the clash between Australian-born author, P.L. Travers and Walt Disney about many aspects relating to “Mary Poppins” (1964) was riveting!

“The truest expression of a people is in its dances and its music. Bodies never lie.” – Agnes De Mille

The narrative about “Hair” (1968) was fascinating. It really was a musical that experimented with a lot of facets and in a variety of ways.

In the article about “New Inventions,” I loved reading about Stephen Sondheim (one of my favorites) and the explorations that he has taken with some of his shows.

“Jesus Christ Superstar” (1971) was the first “rock opera” to take the stage. The information about the reviews and demonstrations really made me sit up and take notice. Wow!

A detailed explanation of “Rock Opera” may be found on page 189. There is a picture of Elton John performing Pinball Wizard in “The Who’s Tommy” (1975).

Absolutely LOVED reading about the Rocky Horror Picture Show (1973), a cult-favorite, that I first saw as a movie, when I was in college (over 25 years ago)!

Interesting information about “Chicago” (1975). The movie with Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Renee Zellweger is one of my all-time favorites!

The musical Evita came out in 1978. The movie rights were purchased in 1981, but it took FOURTEEN (14) years of negotiations before production on the movie could actually begin.

The number of people who had a hand in the music and lyrics of “Grease” (1978) was HUGE!

Grease was another production that introduced actors that I recognize in more recent venues, including Didi Conn (Benson), Michael Tucci (Diagnosis Murder), Dinah Manoff (Empty Nest), etc.

“Live like you’ll die tomorrow, work like you don’t need the money, and dance like nobody’s watching.” – Bob Fosse

LOVED reading about Stephen Sondheim! I love him! My favorite musical of all-time is “Into the Woods.”

“West Side Story” is considered an adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet.”

In 2010, in celebration of Sondheim’s 80th birthday, Broadway’s Henry Miller Theatre was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
A lot of times, a movie is adapted from a show. For “42nd Street” (1980), the show was adapted from the film.

“Rent” (1996) brought Broadway to a new kind of theatregoer: younger and perhaps less affluent. This new audience has brought something radical and fresh to the scene.

“The Lion King” (1997) is loosely based on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” (I had NO idea) and set in Africa. It features enchanting animal costumes, masks, and mime. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, “The Lion King” won six Tony Awards in 1998.

“The Producers” (2001) began as a nonmusical movie, released in 1968. Mel Brooks directed and wrote the screenplay, but it was considered so controversial that few cinemas showed it, leaving it for arthouse cinemas that could take bigger risks. The movie came to the attention of a wider audience when it won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and word-of-mouth reviews assured its place as a much-loved comedy. Following their success on stage, Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprised their roles in a musical adaptation for the big screen, and the movie was released in 2005.

It was good to see the inclusion of Bollywood. Mumbai, India is home to Bollywood, which is the center of the world’s largest Hindi language movie industry and one of the largest movie production centers in the world. A LOT of foreign films originate here, and are VERY popular at my library.

“Avenue Q” (2003) – I saw this live at the Wynn Las Vegas. I call it Sesame Street for adults. The show, itself, warns that it includes “Full Puppet Nudity” and that this musical is not suitable for children. While I thought it was a great show, I’m not sure that I really needed to see it with my parents and aunt & uncle.

After a slow start caused by technical problems, success came swiftly for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2013). The day after its opening, it was announced that the show’s run was to be extended by six months. New Year 2014 saw it set a new record for the West End’s highest ever take over a week: $1,698,450 (American dollars); a further increase was to follow.

The annual Tony Awards are more than just a celebration of excellence in the Broadway theater – they are Broadway’s biggest advertisement. On this, I would have to agree. A few shows also receive some advertisement via the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“Into the Woods” (2014) proves that venturing deep into the woods of life and human consciousness can be surprisingly enjoyable when we are accompanied by some enchanting tales. Efforts to make a movie of “Into the Woods” had been going on since the beginning of the 1990’s. Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope company had envisaged a version starring Robin Williams and Goldie Hawn (really?). The rights then passed to Sony and Jim Henson Productions, who tried to set up a movie with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan (again, really?). This project was last heard of in early 1997.
I cannot imagine any of these actors playing parts in this venture. As I stated earlier, this is my favorite musical. However, after listening to the soundtrack, I just could not see the movie. Bernadette Peters will ALWAYS be the witch. She nails this part, every single time. While I like Meryl Streep, … her timing with the music just didn’t resonate for me.

At the end of the book is a brief synopsis of “Other Musicals.” These seemed to be minor in the grand scheme of the genre.

There is also a detailed index and list of acknowledgements.

DK always does a magnificent job with everything that they produce and distribute. I am always amazed at the consistently high quality of their products. Therefore, I was a bit surprised to find [just] a few grammatical errors throughout this book. One glaring error may be found in a quote by Susan Stroman on the bottom of page 292.

Still, this was an excellent piece, and the errors, while they did trip me up, were not so horrible to detract from the overall piece.

Fabulous!

[Cathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suppose I would give this a 4.5 rating, rather than just 4 stars, because it was so much fun. The only negatives were the inclusion of shows which really aren't that great and leaving out some really outstanding ones. But my taste is not the same as other people's, so I won't harp on that too much. Also, another negative about this book was its size. It was big and heavy and sometimes a bit awkward to hold. But really, that's not exactly a major problem for this kind of book.

I glanced at this book at the library, and with its bright gold cover, how could I not pick it up and look inside? And after doing that, how could I refrain from checking it out? Impossible! This was a good book for the Christmas holidays. With all that was going on, it was fun to pick this up, read a few pages, enjoy the marvelous pictures, learn all sorts of new tidbits about some of my favorite Broadway shows and movie musicals, and not have to worry about following a plot. From Stephen Sondheim to Fred Astaire and everyone in between, this book was a blast!

[Gabriella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great look at many of the musical highlights of the past century as they detail the history and development of musical theatre during this time. The format and information included was a little repetitive which made for a less engaging read, but my main frustration was with the extreme amount of typos, grammatical errors, and even incorrect and contradictory information.

Some examples: In the four pages devoted to The Lion King, Simba's father was referred to correctly as 'Mufasa' 9 times, but incorrectly 5 times as 'Mustafa'. The composer and lyricist for Crazy for You are correctly listed as the Gershwin brothers on it's single page spread, but later it is anecdotally referred to as being written by Rodgers and Hammerstein - not only factually incorrect, but contradicting with previous information.

I did not notice as many errors earlier in the book, but towards the end I was spotting at least one error every few pages which was incredibly frustrating.

[Gavinder Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually received this as a gift from my university, as I was planning to study performing arts. As someone who went into this with a healthy knowledge of musical theatre history, but hadn’t actually read about it, this was especially effective in refining my knowledge and giving a greater sense of clarity as to which works were written in each era and by whick composer/lyricist/book-writer. Don’t expect just to get the basics that everyone knows. Reading this, you’re certain to want to listen to more cast recordings and watch more films/proshots of musicals. If you’ve never gotten to reading about musical theatre history, this, coupled with additional research (cast recordings, proshots, televised performances) can help get you to the next level in theatre geekery.

[MK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not at all familiar with musicals, but I enjoyed this book thanks to DK's editing skills.

It's an extremely valuable experience, as we can't really enjoy the feeling of seeing a live musical unless you go to the musical theater.

These days, entertainment often comes from watching movies, reading books, and listening to music at home, so if I find a theater while traveling, I'll take the opportunity to see a musical.

[Kimberly Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love musicals, and some of this book was really interesting. But some of it was not (the foreign language musicals that no one has heard of. The producer/writer/director names that went on and on). And even though this says it’s “the illustrated story,” there really weren’t that many pictures of the actual musicals…

[Grace Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars only because of the varied amount of info per musical. Also only goes until 2013/14. Everything you need to know about the best in theater from Broadway to the Hollywood musical. This book has encouraged me to revisit the classics (Mame, Hello Dolly, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, etc)

[Ian Illingworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this dash through musical history but found the approach to “featured” vs “other” musicals inconsistent. Some musicals with longevity and impact (eg Blood Brothers) are relegated to a single paragraph where some lesser known musicals re given whole phenotypes even 2 page spreads. Overall I learned a lot and enjoyed the illustrations very much.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

*2.5⭐️

[Bobpritch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love musicals - this book has beautiful photos and interesting backstories.

a must have for any theatre nut

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent summaries of individual musicals while covering the history of the genre. It was fun!

[RYAN PHAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. I did not know about mega modern musicals before this. Also, you Don’t have to be different to be good. Being good is already different enough to stand out

[Le Chapelier Lettré · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bel ouvrage... Mais incomplet !

Un livre intéressant mais qui s'adresse avant tout aux néophytes ou aux inconditionnels de Broadway. Le contenu, indéniablement de qualité et bien illustré, se cantonne pour l'essentiel aux productions étatsuniennes.
Rien de regrettable en soi, sauf qu'il se présente (et est donc vendu) en tant que Definitive Story. Une histoire à laquelle il manque pourtant bien des chapitres.
Même côté anglophone, des œuvres importantes sont éludées. Aucun signe de Thrill Me, Bat Out of Hell, & Juliet, Hadestown, Bare, Heathers... L'édition présente est parue en 2021, pourtant elle passe à côté de nombreuses créations contemporaines.
Moins excusable, l'incroyable Maury Yeston est également très peu cité dans cet ouvrage. Ainsi, vous n'y trouverez ni Phantom ni Grand Hotel ; seul Nine a le droit aux honneurs, Titanic se contente d'un petit paragraphe.
Rien de très probant non plus du côté des scènes hongroises, russes ou japonaises, pourtant très prolifiques en la matière... Et totalement absentes sur le papier !
A peine plus chanceux, les Autrichiens devront s'accommoder de deux (excellents) titres, à savoir Mozart! et Elisabeth.
Les Français, eux, se contenteront de quelques incontournables chantés dans la langue de Molière : Les Misérables, Starmania, Les 10 commandements, Notre-Dame de Paris ou Le Roi Soleil sont évoqués.

En définitive, cet ouvrage qui se veut sans doute être LA référence en la matière reste malheureusement très autocentré. On attend encore la Bible sur le musical qui mettra d'accord les fans du monde entier.

[Katie Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for the Library Journal:
Crack open the glittery gold pages of this volume to reveal a treasure trove of theatrical knowledge, glamour, and stories. Covering almost a century of film and stage musicals beginning in 1927 with Show Boat, this volume features key figures, striking images, show development, premiere locations, etc. The inclusion of story line time lines is particularly original, with each laying out a highlighted show chronologically with settings, songs, plot overviews, and symbols indicating for whom songs are arranged. Profiles of key figures and pages highlighting important historical theater movements add depth to an already robust title. The book is also highly visual, as advertised in the title, and the images are striking throughout. While some omissions seem odd (Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, 1776, and Fame are not profiled) and a number of image choices strange (the Wicked page has a picture from The Wizard of Oz film, instead of the award-winning musical) overall, this title offers a thorough walk-through of the development of musical theater as we know it today. An "Other Musical" section, including information bites about shows that aren't otherwise highlighted, is also included. VERDICT A visual feast for theater fans and an incredible compendium of musical history and development. Highly recommended for anyone interested in theater or cultural history.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a copy of this at my library and, as a fan of musicals, I wanted to check this out for its comprehensive collection of musicals.

This is set up to give you a brief overview of a lot of different shows and the people involved. You get 1-2 pages on the musicals themselves, sometimes an extra 2 pages to go over the story line and how the songs fit into that. You also get 2 page spreads for directors, writers, a couple actors/actresses, and a general overview of jobs or other contributions to the musical genre. As an overview, this was good. I did learn quite a bit about some shows I'd heard of but never seen and didn't know much about beyond the name.

It is a somewhat recent publishing, with the last musical listed being Waitress from 2016. I was hoping to see more from the current era, but the emphasis is definitely more on the beginnings of musicals and the mega-musicals (Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis, etc.). Still, it was nice to see some contributions of the more recent musicals. Book of Mormon, Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton.

This was interesting, though it does get repetitive if you're reading it from start to finish and not as a reference.

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not the definitive story of musicals. A nice stab at a DK-style (lots of color photos, lots of graphics and charts) book about musicals, both movie and stage, but very scattershot in terms of coverage. For example, the entry on Cabaret is mostly about the stage show but has no information about the cast and the photos are all from the movie. Mame is even worse: despite being known as Angela Lansbury's big stage breakthrough, she is not mentioned once in the entry, though Rosalind Russell, who played Mame in the original non-musical play and movie, is mentioned, and the only photo is of Lucille Ball from the awful film version (which is barely mentioned, if at all). Entries on older shows (up to about the mid 50s) are much better, but that's about half the book. The rest is disappointingly slapdash.

[Joey Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it had so many musicals to learn about. All from around the world and all differ time periods. It was not the mos entertaining book to read even though I love leaning about musicals. I learned so much from this book about musicals. I definitely recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading and learning about Musicals but if you are no the biggest fan of learning about musicals then do not read this book because you will think it is boring. I really liked this book and I learned a lot of things I would not of known have I not read it!

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Santa brought this fun coffee table book to me for Christmas this year, and I enjoyed perusing through it. By no means did I read all the text, but I went through cover to cover and spent more time on the parts that most interested me.

While most of my favorite musicals were featured with 2 and even 4-page spreads, some only got a paragraph in the appendix. This is a great trip down memory lane for every musical buff, and also lets one know which gems of musical theater have been missed!

[Mr. Smidl · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I went through more of this title, it was VERY similar to B'Way: The American Musical. There are some small snippets of specific musicals, styles and then profiles of famous Broadway artists. However, I felt that this was catering to the casual fan of musicals and one that would love the film musicals as well. I find it troubling when you list shows like Frozen, Kismet, and Moulin Rogue but don't have a page devoted to Ragtime?!? Seriously? But that's me being picky.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book - I even bought it for my collection!