AmericanTheaterWeb Original News & Reviews

Tackling the topic of musical theater in its broadest sense – theater, film and television – in just over 2,000 entries seems to be a Herculean, if not fool-hardy, task, Yet in The Oxford Companion to the American Musical, Tomas Hischak undertakes this goal. The result is a grand tome, one that feels amazingly comprehensive, and at the same time, will have readers, scholars, and aficionados quibbling for some time to come.

Like many of the other "companions" from Oxford University Press, Hischak's book is arranged alphabetically, like a one-volume encyclopedia. The entries include ones for individual pieces (Broadway shows, movies and television productions), performers, major artists (performers, creators), genres and even some awards (primarily the Oscars and the Tonys). At the back of the book are appendices that detail the awards in more detail and there's also a guide to recordings provided by Catherine Hischak.

All in all it's an astounding reference, particularly when you consider the sidebars that accompany some listings. For instance, Hischak provides tables that list the actors who performed major roles in Broadway and movie versions of the same musical, or in cases where a show has had multiple Broadway revivals (like Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company), there's a listing of the principals from the three Broadway casts. Alongside entries for specific musicals (stage or screen), Hischak provides listings of the show's major songs. Rounding out the entries are a generous supply of black and white photographs.

Now, as with any overview like "American Musical," what will set people to talking or carping are the inclusions and omissions. For instance, if you look through the book for listings of the new generation of composers for musical theater, you'll find entries for Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, and Michael John LaChiusa, but Andrew Lippa and Ricky Ian Gordon are not to be found. Granted neither of the latter two men have achieved quite the recognition of Brown and LaChiusa, yet, at the same time, they are important forces in the American musical today.

Similarly, if you hunt up White Christmas, the listing includes no mention of the widely produced and toured theatrical version of this 1954 film, Irving Berlin's White Christmas. The stage show is also unmentioned alongside the movie that introduced this perennial favorite, the 1942 Paramount movie, Holiday Inn. This is not a critical omission, but it is important to recognize where space constraints, and perhaps personal interest or focus, have limited Hischak's work. At the same time, though, it's impressive how up-to-date the book is: it includes references to the just-released film version of Mamma Mia! and the current revival of Gypsy.

Hischak's commentary in the listings, too, will certainly get people talking. For instance, when describing Hairspray, he writes, "a strong cast…under the astute direction of Jack O'Brien and animated choreography by Jerry Mitchell, turned the cliché-ridden tale into a joyous romp." Quite a loaded statement and certainly one that may cause some to raise an eyebrow or two.

Also, in Hischak's excellent entry for "concept musicals," he writes, "Some techniques of the concept musical would work their way into even traditional escapist Broadway musicals, such as Barnum (1980), The Will Rogers Follies (1991), Jersey Boys (2005) and Tarzan (2006)." Again, a judgment call: this time on the construction of these four shows, which, depending on how one views this quartet, might cause a bit of agita. After all, putting Tarzan in the same entry as shows as Lady in the Dark, Cabaret and works by Sondheim?

Yet, despite these quibbles or points for potential debate, "American Musical" offers a vast wealth of information. There's a full entry, for instance, on The Firefly, Rudolf Friml's first Broadway outing (1912) and the subsequent 1937 movie version of the show. Ronald Reagan makes it into the book – not because he ever sang on stage or screen, but because he was featured in seven movie musicals. For those who may still be thinking about buying the soundtrack to Ruggles of Red-Gap, this 1957 television musical even has its own entry.

Overall, this new book from Oxford will be one that should be in theater lovers' collections – a valuable one-stop reference, and perhaps the ideal jumping-off point to more focused reference books, to everything from The Adventures of Marco Polo from television to Ziegfeld Girl on screen and Zorba onstage.

---- Andy Propst

--------------------------

For further information, visit: www.oup.com