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Whether they appeared on Broadway or the Strand, the shows appearing in 1924 epitomized the glamor of popular musical theatre. What made this particular year so distinctive - so special - was the way it brought together the old and the new, the venerated and the innovative, and the traditional and the chic. William Everett, in his compelling new book, reveals this remarkable mid-Roaring Twenties stagecraft to have been truly transnational, with a stellar cast of producers, performers and creators boldly experimenting worldwide. Revues, musical comedies, zarzuelas and operettas formed part of a thriving theatrical ecosystem, with many works - and their leading artists - now unpredictably defying genres. The author demonstrates how fresh approaches became highly successful, with established leads like Marie Tempest and Fred Stone appearing in new productions even as youthful talents such as Florence Mills, Fred and Adele Astaire, Gertrude Lawrence and George Gershwin now started to make their mark.
List of contents
List of abbreviations; List of plates and figures; Acknowledgements; Chronology; Part I. From One Year to the Next: 1. Legacies; 2. Transnational connections; 3. Playing on the past; 4. Getting ready for 1924; Part II. From Winter to Spring: 5. A new year begins; 6. A tale of two operettas; 7. The coming of spring; 8. The resplendence of the revue; Part III. From Summer to Autumn: 9. Summertime frolics; 10. September sensibilities; 11. An abundant autumn; 12. November pairings; Part IV. From December Onward: 13. The first day of the last month of 1924; 14. In the days and weeks that followed; 15. Legacies of 1924; Selected discography and videography; Permissions; Sources; Index.
About the author
William A. Everett is Curators' Distinguished Professor of Musicology Emeritus at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He is contributing co-editor to The Cambridge Companion to the Musical (with Paul R. Laird, 3rd edition, 2017) and currently edits the series 'Cambridge Elements in Musical Theatre', which is also published by Cambridge University Press.
Summary
The musicals playing in 1924 were a stunning combination of the old and the new. William Everett reveals, in this compelling new book, a transnational network of stars, creators, producers and shows where established performers appeared alongside youthful talent that included George Gershwin, Gertrude Lawrence, and Fred and Adele Astaire.
Report
'William Everett examines the musical across continents, genres and languages in the seminal year of 1924, when the constellation of current and future stars aligned to create works of artistic brilliance and great popularity. For the first time in critical musical theatre scholarship equal treatment is given to cultural capitals across the Atlantic such as Madrid, Buenos Aires, New York, London, Berlin, Vienna and Milan, and to the multitude of genres that comprise musical theatre. Everett casts his net widely to include the usual characters - the Astaires, the Gershwins, Coward, Kern, Hammerstein, Romberg - and also less well-known figures, such as Sissle and Blake, Florence Mills, Emmerich Kálmán and Amadeo Vives - all of whom are part of the history of the musical in 1924. Beautifully researched and engagingly written, this is a virtuosic tour de force.' John Koegel, Professor of Musicology, California State University
