RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN. Ethan Mordden. Harry N. Abrahms; 1992

This huge, heavily illustrated, and beautifully written coffee table tome on the wonderful duo of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II is not only a visual treat but is packed with information on these two gentlemen and musical theater in general. R&H began their collaboration with the influential Oklahoma, then followed this with such great musicals as Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific, The Sound of Music and others. Mordden writes with enthusiasm, wit, and knowledge about these works, and also devotes a chapter to the team's one and only score written specifically for a film, State Fair. Mordden also provides backstage details and looks at the cast members of these shows, some of whom were famous, some of whom faded into obscurity. Mordden also looks at the film  versions of such shows as Oklahoma, South Pacific, the mega-hit Sound of Music and others, comparing both versions with his usual verve. An absolute must for devotees. Mordden has written many other books on musical theater and this is one of his best.

Verdict: Superb book! ****.

ROADSHOW: The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s

ROADSHOW: The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s. Matthew Kennedy. Oxford University Press; 2014.

If you've reached a certain age you may remember going with your parents to see big, splashy, over-produced versions of Broadway musicals such as The Sound of Music, which I saw at the Rivoli in New York when I was a kid. You may not remember that many of these films were released as "roadshows" -- you got tickets and reserved seats in advance -- and while most of these roadshows were musicals, a few were not. They were long, often had intermissions, and, of course, higher ticket prices. [The last roadshow I remember seeing was, of all things, Last Tango in Paris.] In any case, with wit, solid research, and large doses of amiability, Matthew Kennedy traces the birth and death of the roadshow musical in this marvelously entertaining and very well-written volume. Once upon a time Julie Andrews [Darling Lili] was seen as the greatest thing since sliced bread, but that was before she appeared in Star! and others and soon her "mega-star" days were over. Then we have all the musical adaptations -- Paint Your Wagon, Camelot, Goodbye Mr. Chips -- in which most of the lead performers could not sing.  When producers ran out of Broadway shows to adapt (Funny Girl, Hello Dolly) they made musicals out of films that originally had no music in them  (the aforementioned Mr. Chips) or adapted films, such as Dr. Dolittle and The Happiest Millionaire, from other medium. And we mustn't forget the hilarious "feud" between Barbra Streisand [A Star is Born] and Carol Channing [The First Traveling Saleslady] when the former got the coveted part in Hello Dolly which Channing felt should have been hers. Roadshow dissects what went wrong with most of these over-bloated pictures, whose musical values were often lost behind inappropriate actors and overblown budgets, as well as producers and directors who often had no idea what they were doing, such as Joshua Logan of Paint Your Wagon. Broadway adaptations of the previous decade may have been more effective (Carousel, The King and I etc.), but  in the sixties for every Sound of Music there were half a dozen or more critical and financial mega-turkeys.

Verdict: Compulsorily readable! ****.