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The Complete Book of 1990s Broadway Musicals
Musicals of the 1990s felt the impact of key developments that forever changed the landscape of Broadway. While the onslaught of British imports slowed down, the so-called Disneyfication of Broadway began, a trend that continues today. Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King became long-running hits, followed by more family-friendly musicals. The decade was also distinguished by a new look at revivals—instead of slavishly reproducing old shows or updating them with campy values, Broadway saw a stream of fresh and sometimes provocative reinventions, including major productions of My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees, Carousel, Show Boat, and Chicago.
In The Complete Book of 1990s Broadway Musicals, Dan Dietz examines in detail every musical that opened on Broadway during the 1990s. This book discusses the era’s major hits (Miss Saigon, Crazy for You, Rent), notorious flops (Shogun, Nick & Nora, The Red Shoes), controversial shows (Passion, The Capeman), and musicals that closed during their pre-Broadway tryouts (Annie 2: Miss Hannigan’s Revenge, Whistle Down the Wind). In addition to including every hit and flop that debuted during the decade, this book highlights revivals and personal-appearance revues with such performers as Sandra Bernhard, Michael Feinstein, Patti LuPone, Liza Minnelli, and Mandy Patinkin.
Each entry contains the following information:
Besides separate entries for each production, the book offers numerous appendixes, including a discography, filmography, and published scripts, as well as lists of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, black-themed shows, and Jewish-themed productions.
A treasure trove of information, The Complete Book of 1990s Broadway Musicals provides a comprehensive view of each show. This significant resource will be of use to scholars, historians, and casual fans of one of the greatest decades in musical theatre history.
In The Complete Book of 1990s Broadway Musicals, Dan Dietz examines in detail every musical that opened on Broadway during the 1990s. This book discusses the era’s major hits (Miss Saigon, Crazy for You, Rent), notorious flops (Shogun, Nick & Nora, The Red Shoes), controversial shows (Passion, The Capeman), and musicals that closed during their pre-Broadway tryouts (Annie 2: Miss Hannigan’s Revenge, Whistle Down the Wind). In addition to including every hit and flop that debuted during the decade, this book highlights revivals and personal-appearance revues with such performers as Sandra Bernhard, Michael Feinstein, Patti LuPone, Liza Minnelli, and Mandy Patinkin.
Each entry contains the following information:
Besides separate entries for each production, the book offers numerous appendixes, including a discography, filmography, and published scripts, as well as lists of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, black-themed shows, and Jewish-themed productions.
A treasure trove of information, The Complete Book of 1990s Broadway Musicals provides a comprehensive view of each show. This significant resource will be of use to scholars, historians, and casual fans of one of the greatest decades in musical theatre history.
484 pages, Hardcover
First published September 19, 2016
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May 21, 2026
The 1990s feels like a transitional decade for Broadway. On the one hand, after a couple of decades of financial decline, the Broadway theater district felt thriving and viable again. On the other hand, many critics - including author Dan Dietz - saw the decade as the Disnification of Broadway.
Disney introduced only two musicals during the decade - adaptations of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King - but the overall effect is that family-friendly megamusicals that attracted tourists edged out shows intended for grown-up audiences and local theater buffs. Revivals of books musicals continued to outnumber new productions, including Chicago, which became more successful than its original run and still plays to this day. Speaking of long running shows, any new production on Broadway had to compete with hits like Cats, Les Miserables, and Phantom of the Opera which occupied theaters throughout the decade.
The decade also saw an increase in adapting relatively recent movies as musicals including My Favorite Year, The Goodbye Girl, Big, Victor/Victoria, and Footloose. There were also a number of revues of songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondhem, Johnny Burke, Johnny Mercer, George and Ira Gershwin and blues and swing by Black artists. This trend presaged the 2000s when movie adaptations and/or jukebox musical rely on reiterating the familiar and nostalgic at the expense of the new. Nevertheless, several memorable musicals made their debut in the 1990s including: Once on This Island, The Secret Garden, The Will Rogers Follies, Crazy for You, Falsettos, Jelly's Last Jam, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Passion, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Sunset Boulevard, Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, Titanic, Ragtime, Fosse, and Parade. Dan Dietz, who grows crankier with each volume of this series, disliked most of these shows, and trashed Rent and Ragtime (two shows I love). Dietz's obvious prejudices which manifest themselves in his rents against "political correctness" make this unpleasant read. But I do still enjoy that he's gathered together so many facts about each show in one place that are hard to find anywhere else.
Disney introduced only two musicals during the decade - adaptations of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King - but the overall effect is that family-friendly megamusicals that attracted tourists edged out shows intended for grown-up audiences and local theater buffs. Revivals of books musicals continued to outnumber new productions, including Chicago, which became more successful than its original run and still plays to this day. Speaking of long running shows, any new production on Broadway had to compete with hits like Cats, Les Miserables, and Phantom of the Opera which occupied theaters throughout the decade.
The decade also saw an increase in adapting relatively recent movies as musicals including My Favorite Year, The Goodbye Girl, Big, Victor/Victoria, and Footloose. There were also a number of revues of songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondhem, Johnny Burke, Johnny Mercer, George and Ira Gershwin and blues and swing by Black artists. This trend presaged the 2000s when movie adaptations and/or jukebox musical rely on reiterating the familiar and nostalgic at the expense of the new. Nevertheless, several memorable musicals made their debut in the 1990s including: Once on This Island, The Secret Garden, The Will Rogers Follies, Crazy for You, Falsettos, Jelly's Last Jam, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Passion, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Sunset Boulevard, Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, Titanic, Ragtime, Fosse, and Parade. Dan Dietz, who grows crankier with each volume of this series, disliked most of these shows, and trashed Rent and Ragtime (two shows I love). Dietz's obvious prejudices which manifest themselves in his rents against "political correctness" make this unpleasant read. But I do still enjoy that he's gathered together so many facts about each show in one place that are hard to find anywhere else.
Displaying 1 of 1 review