Best Musical Books?- Page 2

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 11:26am

Unfortunately, good musical theatre books are few and far between these days. It seem that for almost every new musical, it's always the same thing: "the [score/staging/acting] was great, but the book..." I know writing a good musical book is difficult, but it's really pathetic how few good ones there are these days. That said, here are some recent ones that I actually think are good: 

-Dear Evan Hansen

-Band's Visit

-Billy Elliot

-Fun Home

-Gentleman's Guide 

-Hamilton

-Waitress

-In The Heights

-Matilda

-The Scottsboro Boys 

-Book of Mormon

Plus, here are some great older ones: 

-Annie

-Fiddler 

-Follies

-Hello, Dolly

-Man of La Mancha

-The King & I (FANTASTIC book) 

-Sweeney Todd

-My Fair Lady

-She Loves Me 

-Cabaret 

-South Pacific

-The Fantasticks

-Gypsy

-A Little Night Music

-How to Succeed

[Loopin’theloop]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 11:37am

There is a really great book, on this subject called ‘Deconstructing Harold Hill’ which I highly recommend. It takes a handful of musicals and goes into great detail about their construction. It’s a really great book on the subject of musical books.

To truly answer the question you posted, I second everything the poster above has written!

Updated On: 7/31/18 at 11:37 AM

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 12:07pm

Ravenclaw's list is perfect.

I might also add one of my all-time personal favorites: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 2:08pm

I guess I'm in the minority feeling like Gypsy's book has bad pacing.

People made a comment about how "the book of Gypsy could be a play" right. Gypsy feels like long scene, then a song. Long scene, then a song. There's no flow. 

Rose's dialogue always feels larger than life to me. I just never completely buy her. Louise has a great arc and is written well. 

To me a good musical book is a book where it feels effortless with the score. It's a marriage. Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Wicked, Legally Blonde even with some of their book flaws the marriage of score to libretto is impeccable. The scenes are scenes cause it's necessary for them to be scenes. 

A good book should make 2 and a half hours feel like an hour and a half. 

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 2:18pm

Gypsy, Fun Home, Cabaret, Sunday in the Park with George, The Band's Visit, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Fiddler on the Roof, South Pacific, Caroline, or Change, Hamilton, The King and I, Hello, Dolly!, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee are a few of my favorites.

My Fair Lady would make my list except that the ending really goes against what the rest of the piece is saying, which kind of bothers me.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 2:54pm

I get what you mean with My Fair Lady. When I was younger, I was like "yeah! They've become more or less equal and should be together." Now that I'm older and have been in and observed a lot of different sorts of adult relationships, I'm feeling the ending really does go against the rest of the material big time. That said, it gives new productions something to think about in how to stage that ending these days and the rest of the show to me is a masterclass in adaptation of a play to a musical. 

Gypsy on stage can go back and forth with me. Some times genuine Louise scenes does clash with Rose's arc, but I think when the show finds the right balance, it finds it. I only wish the stage productions I've seen could have slowed down the transition from "Mr. Goldstone" to "Little Lamb". I always find that transition to be really harsh and makes "Little Lamb" seem out of place when it really should be one of the highlights of the show. I actually think the much-maligned 1962 film version did a good job of showcasing "Little Lamb" or maybe it was just the camera work on Natalie Wood's face.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 3:55pm

I remember Laura Benanti's performance of Little Lamb made me cry. It's the only time that song has worked for me. I often feel like most actresses don't grasp the subtext of what Sondheim wrote in those lyrics. They seem simple, but there's a lot bubbling under the words. Part of the thing about Gypsy is that the actors either don't take the text to the fullest potential or they do. I've seen both. The Lupone production was expertly acted and Benanti and Lupone gave two of the greatest performances that I've ever seen. They really showed off the material. I also thought Peters was great especially her complete emotional breakdown at the very end after Rose's turn, but the supporting cast didn't meet her. The Staunton production is an example of how to make the Gypsy book fall completely flat.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 4:21pm

GeorgeandDot said: "I remember Laura Benanti's performance of Little Lamb made me cry. It's the only time that song has worked for me. I often feel like most actresses don't grasp the subtext of what Sondheim wrote in those lyrics. They seem simple, but there's a lot bubbling under the words. Part of the thing about Gypsy is that the actors either don't take the text to the fullest potential or they do. I've seen both. The Lupone production was expertly acted and Benanti and Lupone gave two of the greatest performances that I've ever seen. They really showed off the material. I also thought Peters was great especially her complete emotional breakdown at the very end after Rose's turn, but the supporting cast didn't meet her. The Staunton production is an example of how to make the Gypsy book fall completely flat."

I actually heard Tammy Blanchard was an effective Louise, but I don't really hear much about her version of Louise whereas I hear about Benanti's all of the time. I think that should really tell me something. Benanti and LuPone (and Gaines) were just perfection from what I was able to see and hear.

Oh gosh, you mentioned the Staunton Gypsy. I was seriously looking forward to watching the video of it after hearing so much buzz about it, and then I saw it and then I read some of the reviews that aligned with what I thought. That was ROUGH. I wonder if the Brits just hadn't seen Gypsy in such a long time and they are just used to thinking Staunton has to be amazing in everything she does that it clouded their perception of what was going on on that stage. That was a Rose who I felt had no subtlety, subtext, or any genuine human emotion. One-note and jarring. Someone made a comment about how Staunton was the first Rose they saw who looked like she was about to grab members of the audience and start punching them. I felt that was pretty accurate and she started Rose out that way and never let up.

Updated On: 7/31/18 at 04:21 PM

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 4:42pm

@Scotty, while I agree with you about Staunton's Rose, I think it's worth noting that those who saw the production in person generally agree that her performance played much better in the theatre. What feels subtle in a 1,000-seat house can read as scenery-chewing on camera. I wish that she had dialed it in for the cameras (as I wish she also did in the NTLive broadcasts of Follies and ...Virginia Woolf?), considering she has done such great film work. But my biggest problem with the production was the pacing--every single line, moment, and scene was rushed, and no moment was allowed to breathe. In the first minutes of the production, it felt like it had been given a jolt of energy, but the uniformity of the approach soon became exhausting.

All of this is to say that a good book is only as good as the production around it. To find that out, one need only look at the sloppily-directed revival of Carousel on Broadway right now. For better or for worse, theatre is a collaborative medium. A poor production can make a good book look amateur, and a great production can elevate a book with serious flaws.

[deClina_daWest]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 5:16pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "Ravenclaw's list is perfect.

I might also add one of my all-time personal favorites: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."

I second this, great example of telling many interleaved stories, as is Come From Away.

For study, Aaron Frankel's Writing The Broadway Musical is inspirational and practical. Cudden's book is good too, but I didn't really understand what he was driving at until I read Frankel.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/1/18 at 1:35pm

Fiddler on the Roof, 1776, A Chorus Line, City of Angels, Falsettos, The Secret Garden, Rent, Urinetown, Spelling Bee and Fun Home immediately spring to mind.

That was a Rose who I felt had no subtlety, subtext, or any genuine human emotion. One-note and jarring. Someone made a comment about how Staunton was the first Rose they saw who looked like she was about to grab members of the audience and start punching them.

LOL...sounds exactly like a description of Merman.  I remember a lot of LuPone detractors saying the same about her (though I loved LuPone in the role).  I didn't have a problem with Staunton at all and it's really less about her than it is the director.  Personally, I don't need a lot of subtlety or subtext from Rose.  I truly don't want a director to lead me into sympathizing with her because there really isn't much in the book to support it.  Perhaps a hint of charm to understand why Herbie sticks around as long as he does, but that's about it. 

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 8/1/18 at 1:55pm

I think if you play her one-note, it has to be a winning note, and to me, Staunton played the wrong note.