The Shuberts and their Passing Shows : the untold tale of Ziegfeld's rivals / by Jonas Westover.

Author
Westover, Jonas [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2016]
Description
xxviii, 281 pages : illustrations, music ; 25 cm.

Availability

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Mendel Music Library - Stacks ML1711.5 .W47 2016 Browse related items Request

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    Summary note
    The Shubert name has been synonymous with Broadway for almost as long as Broadway entertainment itself. With seventeen Broadway theatres including the Ambassador, the Music Box, and the Winter Garden, The Shubert Organization perpetuates brothers Lee and Jacob Shubert's business legacy. In The Shuberts and Their Passing Shows: The Untold Tale of Ziegfeld's Rivals, author Jonas Westover investigates beyond the Shuberts' business empire into their early revues and the centrifugal role they played in developing American theatre as an art form. The Shubert-produced revues, titled Passing Shows, were terrifically popular in the teens and twenties, consistently competing with Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies for the greatest numbers of stars, biggest spectacles, and ultimately the largest audiences. The Shuberts and Their Passing Shows is the first-ever book to unpack the colorful history of the productions, delving into their stars, costumes, stagecraft, and orchestration in unprecedented detail. Providing a fresh and exciting window into American theatrical history, Westover traces the fascinating history of the Shuberts' revue series, presented annually from 1912-1924, and covers more broadly the glorious days of early Broadway. In addition to its compelling history of Broadway's Golden Age, The Shuberts and Their Passing Shows also provides a revisionary argument about the overarching history of the revue. Bolstered by a rich collection of documents in the Shubert Theater Archive, Westover argues against the popular misconception that the Shubert's competitor, producer Florenz Ziegfield - responsible for the better-known Follies - was the sole proprietor of Broadway audiences. As Westover proves, not only were the Passing Shows as popular as the Follies but also a key component in a history of the revue that is vastly more complex than previous scholarship has shown. The Shuberts and Their Passing Shows brings to fruition years of original research and invaluable insights into the gilded formation of present day Broadway. -- Amazon.com.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-265) and index.
    Contents
    • Introduction
    • A twelve-hour show squeezed into three: the creative forces behind The Passing Shows
    • A matchless melange of mirth and melody: the stars of The Passing Shows
    • The Hebrew messenger boy and the Thespian: The Howard Brothers
    • A downpour of talent, a Niagara of beauty: chorus girls and chorus boys
    • The mastodon and musical extravaganza: song, dance, and scenic effects
    • A sure cure for the Blues: creating The Passing Show of 1914
    • A carnival of travesty: textual and musical references in The Passing Shows
    • America's foremost musical institution: The Shuberts, Ziegfeld, and the battle for supremacy
    • A new, bright, and welcome as the morning sun: The birth of a legend and the demise of a genre.
    ISBN
    • 9780190219239 ((bound book ; : alkaline paper))
    • 0190219238
    LCCN
    2016008634
    OCLC
    940957879
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