Favorite Book By A Musical

[Hope]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 3:34pm

Can anyone share what their favorite book(s) by a musical is(are)? I'm looking to enrich my library collection! I have to say, Sondheim does it for me and I just started it off with Into The Woods and Gypsy.

[jmaclover]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 3:48pm

Do you mean favorite books OF a musical?

Les Mis, Avenue Q, Fiddler on the roof....

[Hope]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 3:49pm

Yes, of a musical! I also forgot to mention Sweeney Todd.

[nystateomind04]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 4:16pm

All of those mentioned are great. Especially Sweeney, Into the Woods, and of course Gypsey too.

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 4:49pm

My favorite Book of a Musical is DO I HEAR A WALTZ? (1965), by Arthur Laurents and a Richard Rodgers/Stephen Sondheim score.

It's the story of a spinster teacher who takes a trip to Venice seeking fun, romance, and excitement... and gets exactly what she wanted and then some.

One of the first musicals with a bittersweet ending. It's available as a book--your local library may have a copy.

PLEASE check it out!!! :)

[JakeB]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 4:53pm

COMPANY.

It's like a comedy with songs.

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 4:55pm

COMPANY started out as ELEVEN one-act plays that George Furth melded into the book for COMPANY.

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 4:55pm

tick, tick... BOOM! and Sweeney Todd. Oh! And a Chorus Line too!

[JakeB]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 4:57pm

TY Mary_Ethel.

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 4:59pm

A CHORUS LINE was based on a series of interviews Michael Bennett had with Broadway dancers; ssking them about their careers and how they felt about working as an artist. (In the original cast, many of the dancers played the parts that were modeled after them: Donna MCKechnie, Carole Bishop, Sammy Williams, etc.)

[showinoff]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 5:27pm

Parade. Jason Robert Brown

[Hope]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 6:00pm

I've written them all down. Thanks! How about Wicked? I see it all the time at Borders, esp. the one on Columbus Circle. I also bought The Exonerated a couple weeks ago and I had such a hard time following it. I didn't get to see the play live.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 6:01pm

Are we all sure that these librettos are published? I don't think that the script to tick, tick... BOOM! is available. I honestly think that Gypsy has one of the greatest books of a musical ever, because the show could almost entirely work using only the script and none of the songs.

Other shows that I think have wonderful scripts are Carousel, Man of La Mancha, Urinetown, Ruthless, and Into the Woods.

[Hope]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 6:06pm

Yeah, I keep hearing that about Gypsy and how the book itself can stand all on its own. I think its so great. I remember Bernadette Peters always mentioned in her interviews regarding Gypsy that the book itself is amazing.

[Hope]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 6:07pm

Also, libretto...is that another name for "book?"

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 6:10pm

It's the entire show, songs and book.

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 6:35pm

GYPSY does work as a story without the songs. Please read the source, THE MEMOIRS OF GYPSY ROSE LEE. It's wonderful--divided into three sections (each one called an Act) and Act I ends EXACTLY where Act I of the musical does--June runs away and Rose decides to make Louise a star.

Folks, head straight to your local library IMMEDIATELY! :)

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 6:36pm

"Libretto" is a term that is used more in Opera--but can also be used to describe the Book of a Musical.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 10/16/04 at 6:43pm

Gypsy, West Side Story, Les Miserables. But the most creative two I think are SITPWG, and Into the Woods. They are both not based on movies or a popular book or play (believe it or not about 80-90% of the american musical is based on SOMETHING, whether it's well known or not).