History of American Musical Theatre

[sadiem100]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 5:58pm

Hey guys-- I'm writing a paper for my US History class on American musical theatre. I'm not really sure exactly what my thesis is going to be, but I was thinking about the reflections of society appearing in musicals over the decades. It could go off in any direction though. I was wondering if any of you could provide me with any advice or suggestions for good websites, books, articles, etc...maybe your own knowledge. Thanks for your help!

[BkCollector]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 6:03pm

Is this a Hs or a college paper?

If its a college paper, I STRONGLY suggest you stay away from pseudo-scholarship along the lines of Mandlebaum and anyone else who(m)? Applause or publishing houses like that publishes. Those are not scholarly texts, they are coffee table books at best.

Your professor will thank you.

[sadiem100]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 9:12pm

It's a high school paper. Alright thanks for the advice!

[mc1227]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 12:39am

There's a really good DVD collection and I believe its called Broadway, The American Theatre or Musical or something like that. It covers the entire history of Broadway and what was going on in society at the time and how the shows reflected that. Very enjoyable and you should be able to get it at the library. There might be about 4 DVD's in the collection.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 12:45am

Totally agree with Broadway: The American Musical. It also has a companion book, if you can pick it up.

[gettinhep]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:09am

Our Musicals, Ourselves, (2003), John Bush Jones, Brandeis University Press.

This is a social history of the American Musical. Even if you don't use the book itself, it gives you a wide-ranging bibliography.

[nyc_etoile2]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 1:19am

I actually took a History of American Musical Theatre class last semester in college, and our textbook was Our Musicals, Ourselves: A Social History of the American Musical Theatre by John Bush Jones. I LOVE this book. He basically takes each decade of America 20th century and writes about what was happening in that decade and how that translated to the stage in musicals. Which sounds like exactly what you want. There's World Wars I and II, Depression, Roaring Twenties, Cold War, Black and Jewish musicals, Issue musicals in the civil rights era, etc. I highly recommend it.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 2:19am

The American Musical And the Performance of Personal Identity by Raymond Knapp, and Ever After: The Last Years of Musical Theater and Beyond by Barry Singer, in addition to the stuff already mentioned.