Broadway: An Encyclopedia

by Ken Bloom

Overview

This volume is another example in the Routledge tradition of producing high-quality reference works on theater, music, and the arts. An A to Z encyclopedia of Broadway, this volume includes tons of information, including producers, writer, composers, lyricists, set designers, theaters, performers, and landmarks in its sweep.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781135950194
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/15/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	656
File size:	45 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Ken Bloom has been involved in the theater as a writer, director, producer and box office manager. He is the former editor of the "Washington Season," in the Washington Post, and has spoken on the American musical scene for NPR and the Canadian Broadcasting Co. He is a grammy-nominated record producer.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments, Introduction, Entries A-Z, Index

Editorial Reviews

Theater historian Bloom (Hollywood Song: The Complete Film and Musical Companion) has expanded and updated his 1990 chronicle of New York City's Broadway. Following a brief historical overview, he presents 394 alphabetical entries with multiple cross references for easy browsing. The most substantial entries cover theaters, playwrights, composers, directors, performers, and producers, with a special emphasis on composers and lyricists because Bloom believes that "they had greater impact on American theatrical history." There is some repetition, e.g., in the lengthy articles on the Hammersteins (Arthur, Oscar I, Oscar II, and William), which does serve to make each entry complete and self-contained. Bloom adds a touch of atmosphere with entries on critics, restaurants, publicity stunts, nightclubs, and other periphery characters and incidents that are so much a part of the Great White Way. As much a storyteller as a chronicler, he uses anecdotes and a plethora of black-and-white photographs, many never before published, to produce an entertaining as well as an informative work. Highly recommended for all theater collections. (Index and bibliography not seen.)-Laura A. Ewald, Murray State Univ. Lib., KY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

'Bloom adds a touch of atmosphere with entries on critics, restaurants, publicity stunts, nightclubs, and other periphery characters and incidents that are so much a part of the Great White Way. As much a storyteller as a chronicler, he uses anecdotes and a plethora of black-and-white photographs, many never before published, to produce and entertaining as well as an informative work. Highly recommended for all theater collections.' – Library Journal

'Recommended. All academic and public library theater and cultural studies collections.' – Choice

'No other reference work on Broadway includes coverage as vast or as comprehensive. Bloom's classic Encyclopedia is the single best guide to Broadway available anywhere.' – The Guide to Musical Theatre

'This fact-packed, entertaining survey of the highlights of American theater is truly an outstanding value for both academic and public libraries.' – Lawrence Looks at Books

From the Publisher