ABSTRACT
The glorious tradition of the Broadway musical from Irving Berlin to Jerome Kern and Rodgers and Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim. And then . . . Cats and Les Miz. Mark Steyn's Broadway Babies Say Goodnight is a sharp-eyed view of the whole span of Broadway musical history, seven decades of brilliant achievements the best of which are among the finest works American artists have made. Show Boat, Oklahoma!, Carousel, Gypsy, and more. In an energetic blend of musical history, analysis, and backstage chat, Mark Steyn shows us the genius behind the 'simple' musical, and asks hard questions about the British invasion of Broadway and the future of the form. In this delicious book he gives us geniuses and monsters, hits and atomic bombs, and the wonderful stories that prove show business is a business which -- as the song goes --there's no business like.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |146 pages
Overture: The Fix
part Act One|136 pages
Act One
chapter i|9 pages
The Op'nin'
chapter ii|7 pages
The Show
chapter iii|16 pages
The Music
chapter iv|17 pages
The Lyrics
chapter v|12 pages
The Book
chapter vi|14 pages
The Jews
chapter vii|16 pages
The Cues
chapter viii|13 pages
The Take-Home Tune
chapter ix|11 pages
The Property
chapter x|19 pages
The Genius
part |158 pages
Intermission: The Real World
part |144 pages
Act Two
chapter i|15 pages
The Brits
chapter ii|18 pages
The Line
chapter iii|17 pages
The Fags
chapter iv|15 pages
The Rock
chapter v|13 pages
The Jokes
chapter vi|13 pages
The Star
chapter vii|8 pages
The Flops
chapter viii|11 pages
The Depilators
chapter ix|14 pages
The Maximalist
chapter x|18 pages
The Future
part |14 pages
Exit Music: The Survivor