Looking for some info on The Music Man

[GuyWithCheese]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:20pm

Hey to all, I've got a big favor to ask. I'm working on a presentation on The Music Man for my American Musical Theater class and would like to know if anyone could direct me to a place where I could find some reviews of the original Broadway version.

Also, I'm having trouble finding information on the revival in 1980 starring Dick Van Dyke. It ran for a little over 20 performances, so was it similar to the recent Gypsy on Broadway or just didn't work out?

Thank you so much in advance for the help.

[cunegande2]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:24pm

http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=13314
Not sure if this will be much help but it might give you a place to start

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:25pm

Try this book...

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:28pm

The 1980 Broadway revival of THE MUSIC MAN was indeed a major flop.

The recent Broadway revival of GYPSY with Patti LuPone was only a 'special engagement', which is why it only ran a few weeks. It was never intended for a regular run, hence why they were able to cast the show with the talent it had and why it was presented at City Centers. From the day it was announced, it was always was known it would run so many days.

[jmacisawesome]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 9:28pm

We did this last year for a project, and we looked at the archive of the New York Times that our school has. The day after it premiered in the Arts section.

I believe they just made their archives available for free online, so I'd look there.

[JBSinger]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 12:14pm

Pre-Internet, we used to have to research this stuff at the local library (or college library). There are hard bound books that list articles and then you have to track them down on Microfiche. Most stuff from the 1950s isn't going to be archived online yet (even NYT). It takes a little longer, but you should get some great material (don't forget magazine reviews in your search, not just NY papers).

Good luck!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 1:00pm

The Times archive is free only going back to 1981. Prior to that, they only have selected reviews and articles for free. Lucky for the original poster, Brooks Atkinson's original review of THE MUSIC MAN from 1957 is one of those selected reviews:

http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=FC77E7DF173BE062BC4851DFB467838C649EDE

Updated On: 10/22/07 at 01:00 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 1:08pm

And here are reviews of a few other productions of THE MUSIC MAN from the Times archive:

http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9D01EED91639F932A05753C1A965948260

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFD61539F930A35750C0A96E948260

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E2D91E30F93BA15757C0A9669C8B63

[jmacisawesome]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 1:22pm

Actually, about three weeks ago the Times increased their archive. I've been using it for research on the Civil War.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 1:28pm

If you're close enough to the NYC, go to the Lincoln Center Library's drama criticism shelves. They have big books of reviews arranged by season. Some of the newer ones are photocopies, but you go far back enough, you can actually see hard copies of the newspapers, which is really cool.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/22/07 at 1:32pm

ACTUALLY, jmacisawesome, back on September 19th when the Times ended TimesSelect, it only made articles from its archive from 1851 to 1922, and from 1987 to the present free (all theatre reviews going back to the beginning are also free, as are some selected theatre commentaries and articles). However, articles from 1923 to 1986 remain in their PAID archive and are only available for purchase as single articles or as article packs.

http://www.nytimes.com/membercenter/faq/timesselect.html#tendsqa24

Updated On: 10/22/07 at 01:32 PM