On March 31, 1943, the musical Oklahoma! premiered and the modern era of the Broadway musical was born. Since that time, the theatres of Broadway have staged hundreds of musicals—some more noteworthy than others, but all in their own way a part of American theatre history.
With more than 750 entries, this comprehensive reference work provides information on every musical produced on Broadway since Oklahoma’s 1943 debut. Each entry begins with a brief synopsis of the show, followed by a three-part history: first, the pre–Broadway story of the show, including out-of-town try-outs and Broadway previews; next, the Broadway run itself, with dates, theatres, and cast and crew, including replacements, chorus and understudies, songs, gossip, and notes on reviews and awards; and finally, post–Broadway information with a detailed list of later notable productions, along with important reviews and awards.

John Stewart is the author of non-fiction books on a variety of topics including African states and rulers, Antarctica, the British Empire, Moons of the solar system, Italian movies, Broadway musicals, the British circus, Lord Byron, Jefferson Davis, and Confederate spies. Winner of numerous reference book awards, he lives in West Jefferson, North Carolina.

John Stewart
Foreword by Hal Prince
Format: softcover (8.5 x 11 in 2 vols.)
Pages: 1050
Bibliographic Info: bibliography, appendix, indexes
Copyright Date: 2014 [2006]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9565-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0329-2
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword by Hal Prince      ix

Preface      1

Chronology of Openings      5

BROADWAY MUSICALS      11

Appendix: Other Musicals      663

Bibliography      805

Song Index      807

Personnel Index      893

“splendid…an accessible format with excellent indexes…a wealth of information…recommended for academic libraries and large public libraries”—Booklist; “a solid resource…recommended”—Choice; “a treasure chest of fascinating facts and hard to find information”—Against the Grain; “there is so much anecdotal information, including a summary of critics’ assessments, that this tome becomes more than just a standard reference work. This excellent work merits a place on the reference shelves in all performing arts collections as well as larger academic and public libraries”—ARBA; “indepth…an incredible achievement…essential”—Big Reel; “a valued addition…so invaluable…readers will find a vast wealth of information…impressive tome”—American Theater Web; “most impressive”—Potomac Stages; “exhaustively covered…thousands of facts to pour over”—Communications Booknotes Quarterly; “valuable…a high level of accuracy”—Potomac Stages.