Crouch Books
Crouch books (located on the "Print" side of Crouch) contain information on Broadway's roots, its most recent shows, instruction on directing and managing musical theater, and biographies on those involved in music theater.
Books about Musical Theatre
"No Legs, No Jokes, No Chance" : A History of the American Musical Theater by Patinkin provides a chronological narrative, covering musicals from their European beginnings through 2007.
Our Musicals, Ourselves : A Social History of the American Musical Theater by Bush focuses on plays that spoke to the issues, achievements, and anxieties of their time; and explores the interchange between social and political values and their expression on stage.
Broadway : The American Musical; based on the documentary film by Michael Kantor by A companion to the six-part PBS documentary series, Broadway: The American Musical is the first comprehensive history of the musical, from its roots at the turn of the 20th century through the smashing successes of the new millennium.
Musical Theatre : A History by A comprehensive history of stage musicals from the 1840s all the way up to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Broadway as it we know it today.
Choreographer - Agnes de Mille
Choreographers also play an important roll in the making of a musical. Here's a link to a number of categories of books about choreographers. Agnes de Mille Biography, Where the Wings Grow.
Below is a segment from the dream sequence in Oklahoma, choreographed by de Mille.
Performers
Performers are vital to a show's success and popularity and performers often effected how and what the composers wrote. Here are some examples (notice some are not located in Crouch):
Crouch Reference Collection
Crouch's Reference Collection offers a wide variety of resources for a wide range of topics. Listed here are only a few reference books that Crouch has to offer.
- American Musical Theatre : A ChronicleWith detailed show, song, and people indexes, Bordman provides a running commentary and assessment as well as providing the basic facts about each production.
- Catalog of the American Musical : Musicals of Irving Berlin, George & Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers & Lorenz HartShows are listed in chronological order, giving for each a page of general information on the production. Numbers from the show are listed, including those that were dropped.
- The Musical : A Research And Information GuideSections include: general histories; musical theatre surveys; film musicals; creators and works; performers; performance studies; periodicals; sets and series of printed material; discographies; and recorded anthologies.
- The Encyclopedia of the Musical TheatreArticles on specific works include plot summaries and information on performers and production places, dates, and details.
- The American Musical Theatre Song EncyclopediaOffers an alphabetical listing of musical numbers in Broadway shows from 1866 to 1994, with plot descriptions and brief notes on the composers and the original casts, plus an alphabetical listing of musicals and their songs, original production dates, and number of performances to date. Includes a glossary of theater terms, and a list of alternate song titles.
Biographies = call number "ML410____"
In biographies you may find hidden gems about a certain show or song you are researching. Here are some examples:
Choreographers - Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse's Broadway - A show-by-show analysis of one of Broadway's preeminent American choreographers, the angular and jazzy Bob Fosse.
Below is an example of Fosse's choreography from The Pajama Game.
