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Article: American Musical Theater - Shows, Songs, and Stars.
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- October 13, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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American Musical Theather--Shows, Songs, and Stars
THOUGHT IT HAS been taken over by dubious receivers, the Broadway musical remains a uniquely American product. Combining the best of our popular song, wonderful theater, and the Geist of the American melting pot, it called to itself the best dancers, singers, and comedians of the nightclubs and the popular stage and projected them into stardom. Like burlesque, it created its own forms and conventions--and then, as all art should, cast them aside. For a time, they have turned down the house lights, but the songs and the scores remain.
Because the Broadway musical grew up with the phonograph record, many ...