The 16 Greatest American Musicals in the Golden Age, according to the Library of America

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 7:11pm

The list is not in order of greatness, but in chronological order, beginning with Showboat in 1927 and ending with "1776" in 1969. (Pictured is the last volume of the boxed set.)
As editor Laurence Maslon explains, his selection is based on how well the book and lyrics *read* not in how great they've been on stage.

Is it legitimate to judge them in this way (page, not stage)? Any outrageous inclusions or omissions?

The 16 Greatest American Musicals in the Golden Age, according to the Library of America

[Fantod]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 7:31pm

Funny, I am just reading through this book now. I think that i you are going to publish musicals in print format it is fair to judge them based on how well they read, just as when you publish musicals in cast album format it is fair to judge them based on their score. I do question putting in a revue and leaving out such shows as West Side Story, Hello, Dolly!, The King and I, and every single non integrated musical comedy.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 7:36pm

Saw 13 out of 16 - either originals or revivals. Agree with most but not all of the choices. No Damn Yankees? No WSS?

Updated On: 11/2/14 at 07:36 PM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 8:35pm

Lawrence Maslon talks about the selection process in this article at Slate.com. As far as West Side Story, it is explained that one of the reasons it isn't in the set is that its late author refused for it to be included if the set also included Pal Joey.

Lawrence Maslon at Slate.com

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 8:45pm

Ok

No idea why the hard on for Pal Joey but this explain why WSS not there. There is still the Damn Yankee ommission

Updated On: 11/2/14 at 08:45 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 8:56pm

I think that Carousel should replace Oklahoma. While Oklahoma is a nice musical, it is nothing more than fluff. "Oh the farmer and the cowman should be friends" Poor Laury, people will think her in love. And as is pointed out, these are chosen by how they read, so that cuts out Oklahoma's dream ballet.

However, Carousel deals with spousal abuse, absentee fathers, the amount of good a person does in their life, judgment, facing adversity

Carousel is the stronger piece on paper.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 9:12pm

I think it's cheap to use this page to create traffic. I say this as someone who did it for a minute and now regrets it.

[ggersten]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 9:17pm

I have Stanley Richards' book "Great Musicals of the American Theatre Volume One (originally published as Ten Great Musicals of the American Theatre) which has Of Thee I Sing; Porgy and Bess; One Touch of Venus; Brigadoon; Kiss Me, Kate; West Side Story; Fiddler on the Roof; Gypsy; 1776; and Company. It's from 1973.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 9:23pm

How interesting that only four of Maslon's selections are the same as Stanley Richards' - Kiss Me Kate, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, and 1776.
(Company he rules out because it's after the cut-off date of 1969 - and he believes it heralded a new age of Broadway musical)

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 9:31pm

"I think that Carousel should replace Oklahoma. While Oklahoma is a nice musical, it is nothing more than fluff."

You either haven't seen OKLAHOMA! or you didn't think about it. It is basically the same story and themes as 1776, but manages to do them in a fun, non-literal way.

CAROUSEL "deals" with domestic abuse? Yeah, it says if you love someone then a slap feels like a kiss. That's some serious "dealing" there.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 9:35pm

FINIAN'S RAINBOW (WTF? Has the professor even read the script? Great score but jeez!) but not one of the Princess musicals?

I find the selections historically inadequate even though I realize any such list is going to be somewhat subjective.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 9:36pm

I have seen and read Oklahoma. It does not equate to 1776.

And while your point about Carousel's "slap" is worthy of debate, the fact that people are debating it shows how much weight the musical has. It was an issue that wasn't discussed in musicals in those days.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 9:39pm

"FINIAN'S RAINBOW (WTF?"

I do agree with you in that Finian's Rainbow doesn't belong on the list because it has a book that is less than stellar. It's simply on the list because it deals with racial issues. I can think of no other reason for including it.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 9:48pm

Damn Yankees over Finian's. A no brainer.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 10:07pm

The thing about 1776 is that it's highly fictionalized. I guess in judging a work they don't take into consideration how they took real events and twisted them into something that didn't happen.

I also find that 1776 really bogs down in the middle. For example, Momma Look Sharp, while an interesting song, doesn't move the story along any. Same with He Plays The Violin. Maybe they are there to humanize these characters, but they bog the show down.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 10:08pm

"Devoid of its music, its dancing, and its performance components, West Side Story simply isn’t a good read.”

Maybe the most idiotic thing I've ever read.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 10:10pm

It is a modern reworking of Romeo and Juliet

Is this guy kidding?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 10:40pm

I think that Carousel should replace Oklahoma. While Oklahoma is a nice musical, it is nothing more than fluff. "Oh the farmer and the cowman should be friends"

And Carousel has "This Was a Real Nice Clambake" and "June is Bustin' Out All Over". Oklahoma carries its dark weight in the character of Jud. While Carousel has a couple of songs that are some of R&H's greatest, I've always found Oklahoma to be the stronger of the two shows. Not to mention the monumental influence Oklahoma had on the direction of musical theatre as an art form.

And while your point about Carousel's "slap" is worthy of debate, the fact that people are debating it shows how much weight the musical has.

At best, it's a lightweight debate about the material being dated. A Similar debate could ensue over the flop show, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but that doesn't prove how much weight the musical has, either.

[Fantod]

Posted: 11/2/14 at 11:21pm

While I agree that Carousel is the greatest of Rodgers and Hammerstein's work, I think both should be included because Oklahoma is such an important work in the history of musical theatre and is a great show as well. I would replace Finian's Rainbow with Carousel and maybe 1776 and Forum could be replaced by West Side Story and The King and I (sorry Dolly, but I think it would have to be left out), but other than that it is a great collection of librettos.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 3:03am

I'm just thankful for the trouble that went into it in tracking down as close as possible the original *performance* versions of these shows.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 3:19am

""But, lest readers think that I am peculiarly perverse in my tastes, I will own that one acclaimed musical theater writer refused to allow his show in the Library of America anthology if Pal Joey were also included. Discretion forbids me to name names, but he is no longer with us and he wrote the book for West Side Story."

So obviously that Arthur Laurents... Could that be another reason that WSS wasn't included? But I'm confused. Gypsy was included. And I can't think off the top of my head of another Arthur Laurents musical from that era that would be included.

Am I blanking on something?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 5:45am

No Eric you're not "blanking" on anything. It's curious to me that Laurents allowed GYPSY but not WEST SIDE STORY. If Laurents' issues with PAL JOEY are to be believed then he would have refused both from being included.

So the reason given for WEST SIDE STORY's exclusion doesn't make any sense to me.

I can't think of another Laurents musical from that era that would be included. Certainly not ANYONE CAN WHISTLE or HALLELUJAH, BABY!

Updated On: 11/3/14 at 05:45 AM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 11:33am

Or Do I Hear a Waltz. Would Laurents and/or his estate have more control over who gets to publish WSS than Gypsy? (which seems kinda odd since Gypsy feels more like a "book show" to me...) Or maybe he has no legal rights and the comment didn't matter anyway because they chose not to include WSS? Still--to throw in a comment like that and not explain it is...annoying (at least to a theatre geek like myself.)

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 11:50am

With the exception of As Thousands Cheer, all of these musicals have been made into movies.

And with the exception of As Thousands Cheer, all of these musicals have had Broadway revivals. (As Thousands Cheer did have an off-Broadway revival.)

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 11/3/14 at 11:56am

no KING AND I?...REALLY?...not possible...