Description
Book SynopsisThough Meredith Willson is best remembered for The Music Man, there is a great deal more to his career as a composer and lyricist. In The Big Parade, author Dominic McHugh uses newly uncovered letters, manuscripts, and production files to reveal Willson's unusual combination of experiences in his pre-Broadway career that led him to compose The Music Man.
Trade ReviewScholars, fans, and performers alike will find much to celebrate and awe over in this book, which alone is a magnificent accomplishment. * Jake Johnson, Journal of Musicological Research *
The legacy of Meredith Willson is hugely enhanced by this fine, meticulous, and compelling book by Dominic McHugh, whose perspective as a researcher and talent as a writer coalesce into a book that reveals much previously unknown information about a hidden giant of the theatrical and musical world. * Michael Feinstein, Singer, Founder of The Great American Songbook Foundation *
Dominic McHugh has done two remarkable things: written a well-documented and rich history of Willson's The Music Man and his other, lesser-known musicals, and filled an important void in musical theatre history. This book will fill a niche in our understanding of this time period and build on the work of other notable historians in painting a picture of one of the most fertile periods of musical theatre. * Elizabeth Wells, Professor, Mount Allison University *
Table of ContentsForeword by Series Editor Geoffrey Block Chapter 1: Seeking the Roots of The Music Man: Meredith Willson's Cultural Eclecticism Chapter 2: From The Silver Triangle to The Music Man: Creating the Book for an Original Musical Chapter 3: Composing the Score for a Musical about Music Chapter 4: Marching Still Right Today: The Music Man from Philadelphia to Broadway and Beyond Chapter 5: After The Music Man: The Unsinkable Molly Brown in the Shadow of a Hit Chapter 6: Singing through Evil Times: Here's Love, Miracle on 34rd Street, and the Challenge of the Musical Adaptation Chapter 7: 1491: The Final Voyage Index
