Overviews
The Oxford Handbook of the American Musical by Call Number: Print version: ML1711 .O95 2011Also available as an e-book.
Essays on the most important and compelling issues and topics in the growing, interdisciplinary field of musical-theater and film-musical studies.
Histories of the Musical by Call Number: Print version: ML1711 .H45 2018Explores the American musical, concentrating on large, philosophical issues of relevance to the genre.
Musical Theatre: A History by Call Number: ML1700 .K46 2017This 2nd edition focuses on landmark musicals, and on the extraordinary talents and business innovators who have helped musical theater evolve from its roots in the dramas of ancient Athens to the latest hits on Broadway and London's West End.
Broadway: The American Musical by Call Number: Reference (SV) ML1711.8.N3 M37 2019A comprehensive history of the musical, from its roots at the turn of the 20th century through the 2018-19 season, with performer photographs, posters, sheet music, production stills, and essays by theater luminaries.Fifty Key Stage Musicals by
Call Number: ML2054 .F54 2022Overviews of 50 musicals which were seminal in altering the landscape of musical theater discourse in the English-speaking world.
Guides & Bibliographies
Research guides provide annotated bibliographies of the primary and secondary literature on a person or topic, plus other features such as genealogies, chronologies, and indexes.
Companions collate major essays by established experts that address key aspects of the composer's career, creative work, style, and critical reception.
The Essentials of Theater by Call Number: PN2037 .M85 2018Covers all the bases--from a brief history on theater over the centuries and basic terminology to tips on interpreting scripts, developing characters, and utilizing props.
The Cambridge Companion to the Musical by Call Number: Reference (SV) ML 2054 .C35 2017Also available as an e-book.
Presents 21 articles from a variety of perspectives, including historical concerns, artistic aspects, trends, various genres and disciplines, the importance of stars, the influence of race, the musical in varied media, and changes in technology.
The Musical: A Research & Information Guide by Call Number: Reference (SV) ML 128 .M78 E84 2011A first stop for the researcher. Sections include reference works and general histories; musical theater surveys; film and television musicals; works and creators; performers; performance studies; periodicals; sets and series of printed material; discographies; and recorded anthologies.
Older but Still Useful
The Oxford Companion to the American Musical by
Call Number: Print version: ML 102 .M88 H593 2008Publication Date: 2009 (online)With 2,000+ entries, this overview offers a wealth of information on musicals, performers, composers, lyricists, producers, choreographers, and much more.
A Century of Musicals in Black and White by Call Number: ML102.M88 P37 1993Succinct information on almost 1,300 musical stage works written and produced from the 1870s to the 1990s with contributions by Black librettists, lyricists, composers, musicians, producers, and performers, plus thematic materials relevant to the Black experience.
Specific Topics
Bigotry on Broadway by Call Number: Firestone Library, PN2232 .B54 202114 writers comment on the long-standing bigotry on Broadway towards many different ethnic minorities.
Changed for Good by Call Number: ML1711 .O95 2011Demonstrates how women have dominated the musical since the mid-1940s--women onstage, in the wings, and offstage as spectators and fans.
Gender, Sex, and Sexuality in Musical Theatre by Call Number: ML2054 .G46 2023A broad look at musical theater across a range of intersecting lenses including race, nation, form, dance, casting, marketing, pedagogy, industry, stardom, politics, and platform.
On Broadway by Call Number: PN2277.N5 H63 2016qFeaturing never-before-heard backstage stories of 20 years of theatrical productions.A Problem Like Maria by
Call Number: ML2054 .W65 2002Shows how musicals of the 1950s and early 1960s celebrated strong female characters who defied the era's gender expectations.
