Research Catalog

Title

We'll have Manhattan : the early work of Rodgers and Hart, 1919-1931 / Dominic Symonds.

Author

Symonds, Dominic

Publication

New York : Oxford University Press, 2015.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xx, 332 pages : illustrations, music; 25 cm.

Summary

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart are one of the defining duos of musical theater, contributing dozens of classic songs to the Great American Songbook and working together on over 40 shows before Hart's death. With hit after hit on both Broadway and the West End, they produced many of the celebrated songs of the '20s and '30s--such as "Manhattan," "The Lady is a Tramp," and "Bewitched"--That remain popular favorites with great cultural resonance today. Yet the early years of these iconic collaborators have remained largely unexamined. We'll Have Manhattan: The Early Work of Rodgers & Hart provides unprecedented insight into the first, formative period of Rodgers and Hart's collaboration. Author Dominic Symonds examines the pair and their work from their first meeting in 1919 to their brief flirtation with Hollywood in the early 1930s as they left the theater to explore sound film. During this time, their output was prodigious, progressive, and experimental. They developed their characteristic style and a new approach to musical theater writing that provided the groundwork for the development of the Broadway musical. Symonds also analyzes the theme of identity that runs throughout Rodgers and Hart's work, how the business side of the theater affected their artistic output, and their continued experimentation with a song's dramatic role within a narrative. We'll Have Manhattan goes beyond a biographical or historical look at Rodgers and Hart's early years - it's also an accessible but authoritative study of their material. Symonds documents their early shows and provides deft critical and analytical commentary on their evolving practice and its influence on the subsequent development of the American musical. Fans of musical theater and devotees of Rodgers and Hart will find this definitive exploration of their early works to be an essential addition to their Broadway library [Publisher description].

Series Statement

The Broadway legacies series

Uniform Title

Broadway legacies.

Alternative Title

We will have Manhattan

Subject

• Rodgers, Richard, 1902-1979 > Criticism and interpretation
• Hart, Lorenz, 1895-1943 > Criticism and interpretation
• Hart, Lorenz, 1895-1943
• Rodgers, Richard, 1902-1979
• 1900-1999
• Musicals > United States > 20th century > History and criticism
• MUSIC > History & Criticism
• MUSIC > Genres & Styles > Musicals
• Musicals
• United States

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-314) and index.

Contents

Foreword by Geoffrey Block -- Introduction: "We'll have Manhattan" -- The summer camps and varsity shows -- The breakthrough in revue : the Garrick gaieties (1925, 1926) and Fifth Avenue follies (1926) -- The Rodgers and Hart revolution : Dearest enemy (1925) -- Pleasing the producers : Herbert Fields, Lew Fields and The girl friend (1926) -- A London odyssey : Lido lady (1926), One dam thing after another (1927), Ever green (1930) -- Big fish : Peggy-Ann (1926), Ziegfeld and a flop called Betsy (1926) -- A commercial success : A Connecticut Yankee (1927) -- Castration and integration : Chee-Chee (1928) -- Coping with the crash -- Epilogue: The end of an era.

Call Number

JNE 15-51

ISBN

• 9780199929481
• 0199929483

LCCN

2014016376

OCLC

879329758

Author

Symonds, Dominic, author.

Title

We'll have Manhattan : the early work of Rodgers and Hart, 1919-1931 / Dominic Symonds.

Publisher

New York : Oxford University Press, 2015.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

The Broadway legacies series

Broadway legacies.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-314) and index.

Connect to:

Table of contents

Chronological Term

1900-1999

Research Call Number

JNE 15-51