For Ethan Mordden, the closing night of the hit musical, 42nd St. sounded the death knell of the art form of the Broadway musical. After that, big orchestras, real voices, recognizable books and intelligent lyrics went out the window in favor of cats, helicopters, yodeling Frenchmen, and the roof of the Paris Opera. Mordden takes us through the aftermath of the days of the great Broadway musical. From the long-running Cats to Miss Saigon, Phantom, and Les Miserables, to gems like The Producers, he is unsparing in his look at the remains of the day. Not content to scold the shows' creators, Mordden takes on the critics, too, splaying their bodies across the Great White Way like Sweeney Todd giving a close shave. Once more, it's curtain going up, but Mordden is not applauding.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
Published: 10/15/2004
ISBN: 9780312239541
Pages: 312
Weight: 1.33lbs
Size: 9.52h x 6.42w x 1.05d

Review Citations: Library Journal 11/01/2004 pg. 86
Booklist 11/01/2004 pg. 460
Choice 02/01/2005 pg. 1031