The Big Parade: Meredith Willson's Musicals from The Music Man to 1491 (Broadway Legacies)

In the 1950s, Meredith Willson's The Music Man became the third longest running musical after My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music : a considerable achievement in a decade that saw the premieres of other popular works by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe, not to mention Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls and Bernstein and Sondheim's West Side Story . The Music Man remains a popular choice for productions and has been parodied or quoted on television shows ranging from Family Guy to Grace and Frankie . Though 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 at the age of 55. McHugh also gives an in depth look at the reception of The Music Man and examines the strengths and weaknesses of Willson's other three musicals, with his sustained commitment to innovation and novelty. The Big Parade is packed with new revelations about the processes involved in writing these works, as well as the trials and tribulations of working in the commercial theatre. "In the 1950s, Meredith Willson's The Music Man became the third longest running musical after My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music: a considerable achievement in a decade that saw the premieres of other popular works by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe, not to mention Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls and Bernstein and Sondheim's West Side Story. The Music Man remains a popular choice for productions and has been parodied or quoted on television shows ranging from Family Guy to Grace and Frankie. Though 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 at the age of 55. McHugh also gives an in depth look at the reception of The Music Man and examines the strengths and weaknesses of Willson's other three musicals, with his sustained commitment to innovation and novelty. The Big Parade is packed with new revelations about the processes involved in writing these works, as well as the trials and tribulations of working in the commercial theatre." -- Provided by publisher Title_Pages IntroductionMeredith_Willsons_The_Music_Man From_The_Silver_Triangle_to_The_Music_ManCreating_the_Book_for_an_Original_Musical Seeking_the_Roots_of_The_Music_ManMeredith_Willsons_Cultural_Eclecticism Composing_the_Score_for_a_Musical_about_Music Marching_Still_Right_TodayThe_Music_Man_from_Philadelphia_to_Broadway_and_Beyond Singing_through_Evil_TimesHeres_Love_Miracle_on_34th_Street_and_the_Challenge_of_the_Musical_Adaptation After_The_Music_ManThe_Unsinkable_Molly_Brown_in_the_Shadow_of_a_Hit Notes 1491The_Final_Voyage Bibliography Index Credits