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Title: One More Kiss: The Broadway Musical in the 1970s by Ethan Mordden ISBN: 031223953X Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Pub. Date: 01 June, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33
Rating: 4
Summary: A thoroughly-detailed, colorful trip through 1970s musicals.
Comment: There's plenty to admire in Ethan Mordden's series of books about the art and craft of American musical theatre, and examples of some of the best of it can be found in his most recent volume, One More Kiss: The Broadway Musicals of the 1970s. In discussing some of the biggest hits (A Chorus Line, 1975), biggest flops (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue), and most groundbreaking (Follies, from which he derived the title of the book), Mordden provides a wild ride through a difficult decade in which the very nature of what made a musical--and what about the musical appealed to the theatregoing public--was changing irrevocably. His writing style is opinionated, yes, but also neat, with an incredible number of facts, and plenty of references to his exquisite knowledge of matters both musical and theatrical.
The book, however, reads very quickly, and is almost over before it's begun. While the length of the book cannot rightly be considered Mordden's fault, still greater detail about the decade's shows would have improved the overall flow of the book, as would have more of the social and showbiz atmosphere that made his earlier books (particularly Comin' Up Roses: The Broadway Musicals in the 1950s) such a joy. He also runs out of steam right at the end, when he really needs to wrap things up and not just... stop. As this is his last planned volume (chronologically), to let so much just drop is somewhat irresponsible, and prevents the book from achieving its full dramatic power and usefulness as a reference book.
Still, it's a highly entertaining read, and a must-have for those who have followed Mordden through previous decades in the Broadway musical's Golden Age.
Rating: 4
Summary: Recommended With Caveats
Comment: Ethan Mordden has added another volume to his valuable series of books covering Broadway musicals, decade-by-decade, from the twenties to the seventies. One More Kiss, the Broadway musical in the 1970s, is the most personal of all the volumes. In many ways, this is one of its strong features as the author has personally seen all of the shows and can give an impression of it beyond what the critics have left. This strength, though, can often be the book's weakness as the author's personal feelings spill over all the pages. His political conservatism often shadows his opinions in ways that tell one more about the author than about the shows he is discussing. Still, it is an interesting book, sometimes fascinating and informative, sometimes shrill and bitchy, but always well-informed and particularly strong in its analysis of the major hits (Chorus Line, Chicago, Annie, etc.) and the Sondheim shows. A fascinating, frustrating addition to this series.
Rating: 5
Summary: Alas, the Last Kiss of All
Comment: There have been numerous histories of the American Musical and, like that unique art form itself, their quality has varied. Some have been excellent such as Gerald Bordman's "The American Musical", some dreadful (kindness forbids naming names, but you know who you are Mr. Flinn!). And then there is one that is sui generis. Actually, that one is six. Ethan Mordden's six volumes, each covering a decade from the '20 when what we define as American musicals began through the '70's when, as Mr. Mordden mordantly beilieves, it ended. The genius of these works (really only one long work) lies in both its completeness (what other work on the subject would include "Smith", a Don Murray starring fiasco of the early '70's?) and the brilliant evocation of each show in its time and place in American theater and culture. Mordden manages this feat even for shows he couldn't possibly have seen unless he's old enough to make Bob Hope seem a comparative teen-ager. I am not stating anything radical when I say that this is NOT a book to everyone's taste. We can't get people to GO to musicals anymore, let alone READ about them. But for those who care, this is THE one to read.
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Title: Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical "Follies" by Ted Chapin ISBN: 0375413286 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: Colored Lights : Forty Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration, and All That Jazz by John Kander, Fred Ebb, Greg Lawrence, Liza Minnelli ISBN: 057121133X Publisher: Faber & Faber Pub. Date: November, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title: I Got The Show Right Here: The Amazing, True Story of How an Obscure Brooklyn Horn Player Became the Last Great Broadway Showman by Cy Feuer, Ken Gross ISBN: 0743236114 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
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Title: Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s (The Golden Age of the Broadway Musical) by Ethan Mordden ISBN: 0312239521 Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Pub. Date: November, 1901 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title:Nine - The Musical (2003 Broadway Revival Cast) ASIN: B00008Z1NB Publisher: P.S. Classics Pub. Date: 17 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $17.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $13.99 |
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