
The Secret Life of the American Musical
How Broadway Shows Are Built
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Narrated by:
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David Pittu
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By:
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Jack Viertel
For almost a century, Americans have been losing their hearts and losing their minds in an insatiable love affair with the American musical. It often begins in actors and reaches its passionate zenith when it comes time for love, marriage, and children, who will start the cycle all over again. Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical?
In The Secret Life of the American Musical, Jack Viertel takes musicals apart, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he invites us to fall in love all over again by showing us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate audiences, and how one landmark show leads to the next - by design or by accident, by emulation or by rebellion - from Oklahoma! to Hamilton and onward.
©2016 Jack Viertel (P)2016 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
Featured Article: The Show Must Go On—Premier Audiobooks Now Playing for Theater Fans
A good play or musical is emblematic of what we love about entertainment—a chance to escape, to be fully immersed in another world, to engage with our most human emotions in a moment brought brilliantly to life by the talents of impeccable performers. It's possible to get your fix of the Great White Way in the comfort of your own home. Here are just a few of our favorite theater audiobooks to tide you over until curtain call.
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An Informative Lecture
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So detailed
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He uses iconic shows such as “Gypsy”, “Guys and Dolls”, “My Fair Lady”, “Hairspray”, “Follies”, “The Book of Mormon”, West Side Story” and “South Pacific” (to name just a few) to explain and explore the patterns underlying much of musical theater.
If you are a musical theatre fan this will be a trip to Disneyland for you. I finished this book in 2 days and I LOVED every single “behind the scenes” minute of it!
Read this book!
What a delight to read!
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For the former theater kids
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I wish my theater degree had included a course taught by him!
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Just finished this book and plan to go back and order some CDs based on the author's recommendations.
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While his heart is with the great classic shows that he grew up with—he was born in 1949—he is open-minded enough to be able to recognize the merits of more modern successes like Hamilton, even when they break the rules. Even if you've heard some of the stories he tells before (I have), the book is still a hugely enjoyable tour of the Broadway musical as a form.
A Treat for Lovers of the Broadway Musical
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Brilliant
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Would you consider the audio edition of The Secret Life of the American Musical to be better than the print version?
The reader comes close to actually performing some of the music, which is something I couldn't do reading the lyrics.Who was your favorite character and why?
Stephen Sondheim -- always brilliant!What does David Pittu bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
A love of the material that never flags. A wonderful reading.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No -- like a box of chocolates, it should be read slowly, and savored.Any additional comments?
A sequel would be terrific -- Secrets of the British Musical perhaps...Reminded Me of How Much I Love Musicals
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Musicals make so much more sense
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