About the Book:

The definitive history of the Broadway musical: the shows, the stars, the movers, and the shakers.

Showtime brings the history of Broadway musicals to life in a narrative as engaging as the subject itself. Beginning with the scandalous Astor Place Opera House riot of 1849, Larry Stempel traces the growth of musicals from minstrel shows and burlesques, through the golden age of Show Boat and Oklahoma!, to such groundbreaking works as Company and Rent.

Larry Stempel describes the Broadway stage with vivid accounts of the performers drawn to it, and detailed portraits of the creators who wrote the music, lyrics, and stories for its shows, both beloved and less well known. But Larry Stempel travels outside the theatre doors as well, to illuminate the wider world of musical theatre as a living genre shaped by the forces of American history and culture. He reveals not only how musicals entertain their audiences but also how they serve as barometers of social concerns and bearers of cultural values.

Showtime is the culmination of decades of painstaking research on a genre whose forms have changed over the course of two centuries. In covering the expansive subject before him, Larry Stempel combines original research — including a kaleidoscope of primary sources and archival holdings—with deft and insightful analysis. The result is nothing short of the most comprehensive, authoritative history of the Broadway musical yet published.

What people say:

"I cannot put Showtime down — and it’s a heavy book! Showtime is my new favorite companion." — John Mauceri, chancellor, University of North Carolina School of the Arts

"This is the book we have been waiting for—thoroughly readable and smart, informative and engaging." — Ted Chapin, president, Rodgers & Hammerstein

"Starred Review. Not just a catalog or reference book, but a highly astute, integrative cultural history." — Kirkus Reviews

"Throughout, as Stempel traces the evolution with exhaustive archival research, he offers a penetrating and illuminating analysis of various musical forms and influences. Many of the 105 carefully selected black-and-white illustrations are surprising and revelatory. Theater buffs will be delighted to find that this scholarly, definitive work is also a hugely entertaining read." — Publishers Weekly

About the Author:

Larry Stempel, an associate professor of music at Fordham University and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, was a member of Lehman Engel's BMI Musical Theater Workshop. He lives in Mount Vernon, New York.