Musical Notes

?The entries in this Guide' are arranged alphabetically, providing information on authorship and original production, a substantial synopsis of the story-line, notes on the production of the show (which include Tony Awards, ideas on technical and costume requirements, possible pitfalls, and budget suggestions), a list of songs of special interest, and details of instrumentation. A supplementary section on Concept, Rock, Nostalgia and Others' differs from the main body of entries in providing abbreviated overviews rather than detailed synopses. Appendixes on "Music Theatre Annual' and Chronology of Long-Running Musicals' present, respectively, a chronological listing of productions from 1915 to 1985 and a listing of those productions with the lengthiest tenure both on and off Broadway. The great virtue of the volume is its eye to use, to putting on the shows, and so further appendixes list songs and their performance requirements for use in workshop or class study, and compile addresses of licensing agencies and specialist stores. In addition to a substantial bibliography, the volume concludes with indexes to shows and their years of production, songs and their sources, and professionals and their specialities. It would be difficult to imagine a more thorough or more useful guide to mounting a musical production: this volume ensures that the shows will go on.?-The Year's Work in English Studies