Closer than ever : the unique six-decade songwriting partnership of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire /
"Composer David Shire and lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr., two of the most gifted songwriters of our time, are revered among musical theater lovers for their ground-breaking off-Broadway revues Starting Here, Starting Now and Closer Than Ever, as well as for the Broadway musicals Baby and Big. Yet...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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New York, NY :
Oxford University Press,
[2024]
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| Series: | Broadway legacies.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | "Composer David Shire and lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr., two of the most gifted songwriters of our time, are revered among musical theater lovers for their ground-breaking off-Broadway revues Starting Here, Starting Now and Closer Than Ever, as well as for the Broadway musicals Baby and Big. Yet relatively little has been written about them and their work. In this book, composer/conductor/music journalist/Yale and NYU professor Joshua Rosenblum sets out to increase appreciation for Maltby and Shire's large and impressive body of work and establish their place in musical theater history. The book chronicles their six-decade partnership, giving full behind-the-scenes accounts of their musicals, interspersed with illuminating analyses of standout individual numbers. The two songwriters, engaging and articulate, are quoted liberally throughout the book in exclusive interviews. Additionally, the book covers other well-known artistic figures who feature prominently in the Maltby/Shire story, including Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Francis Ford Coppola, Craig Lucas, Mike Ockrent, Susan Stroman, John Weidman, Charles Strouse, Adam Gopnik, Jason Robert Brown, and Jonathan Tunick. Attention is also given to Shire's separate career as an Oscar- and Grammy-winning film and TV composer, and Maltby's as a Tony Award-winning director. Finally, the book explores the very nature of artistic collaboration: how do songs actually get written, and what enables some partnerships to last for decades. Written for a wide range of readers, the book has a broad appeal that will extend from Maltby/Shire devotees to anyone interested in the creative process and Broadway musicals in general"-- |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xvi, 311 pages) : illustrations, music. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780197758267 0197758266 9780197758250 0197758258 9780197758243 019775824X |