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Coming up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s Paperback – November 26, 2000

by Ethan Mordden (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 35 ratings
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The 1950s saw an explosion in the American musical theater. The Broadway show, catapulted into the limelight in the 20s and solidified during the 40s thanks to Rodgers and Hammerstein, now entered its most revolutionary phase, brashly redefining itself and forging a new kind of storytelling. In Coming Up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s, Ethan Mordden gives us a guided tour of this rich decade.
With loving detail, Mordden highlights the shift in Broadway from shows that were mere star vehicles, showcasing a big-name talent, to the bolder stories, stuffed with character and atmosphere. During this period, subject matter became more intricate, even controversial, and plots more human and complex; Mordden demonstrates how, in response, musical conventions were polished, writing became more finely crafted, and dance became truly indispensable. Along the way we meet the key players: such greats as Ethel Merman, George Abbott, Jerome Robbins, Gwen Verdon, Bob Fosse, Stephen Sondheim, Frank Loesser, Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, and many others. We get the backstage scoop on why Guys and Dolls is so well-made, why West Side Story is so timeless, why The King and I and Gypsy pushed the envelope, and why no one ever talks about Ankles Aweigh. All this is peppered with a dash of industry gossip--the directorial struggles, last-minute script rewrites and cast replacements, the power of the poster listings--that made Broadway so nerve-wrackingly vibrant.
This passionate and informed study illuminates a crucial period in American musical theater and shows us the origins of many of the musicals recently revived to huge success on Broadway.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  4. Publication date
    November 26, 2000
  5. Dimensions
    8.03 x 0.58 x 5.35 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0195140583
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0195140583
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This account makes an excellent companion to its immediate predecessor, Make Believe.... [Mordden's] analysis is always intelligent and well put.... A must for any fan or student of musical theater."--Kirkus Reviews

"This volume offers a rich compendium of hits and misses that kept theatergoers lining up at the box office during the decade many remember as bland white bread.... Brimming with opinions, reminiscences and anecdotes, the pleasure here comes from Mordden's jaundiced eye, sharp wit and passion for his subject. This is must for every theater lover."--Publishers Weekly

"...as a tightly focused discussion of Broadway during its last decade of growth, this isn't a bad little book."--Jack Helbig,Booklist

"Coming Up Roses may not be an exhaustive treatment of the 1950's musical, but it's canny and intensely readable."--Randy Hall,Star

"While well-researched and of interest to the scholar, this lively book is as entertaining as its subject and will be enjoyed by the casual reader as well"--Library Journal

Book Description

A lively look at Broadway's most exciting decade

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (November 26, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195140583
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195140583
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.03 x 0.58 x 5.35 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

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Ethan Mordden

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
35 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Allen Smalling
5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive decade of the Broadway musical
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
The 1950s was the decade in which the Broadway musical, having been propelled upward by OKLAHOMA and other Rodgers & Hammerstein shows in the 1940s, reached its most popular heights. It seems astonishing now, but the musical trends we call "American Songbook," "Tin Pan Alley" and "Popular Music" all ran combined to a great degree, and the new LP's with cast albums and soundtracks were embraced by the American home. Consider that even today, people recognize tunes like "A Bushel and a Peck" (GUYS AND DOLLS, 1950); "Whatever Lola Wants" (DAMN YANKEES, 1955); "Till There Was You" (THE MUSIC MAN, 1957); and the title of this book, from GYPSY (1959). We sing them at home, in school, hear them in performance, wince when they are adapted into commercial jingles. Can you say the same of anything from RAGTIME or AVENUE Q?

Critic/novelist Ethan Mordden has given us a great gift in this series of books that detail the most prolific Broadway decades of the 20th Century and COMING UP ROSES is, in my opinion, the best of them. Mordden has a great knack for melding the history of top musicals from composition to performance and after-life with enchanting backstage details and a sharp eye for libretti as literature. "Mama Rose" in GYPSY, for example, has been analyzed for years as a dominating, smother-mother; Mordden goes beyond the first-stage Freudianism to reveal just how primal and scary the woman was. I can recommend this book without recommendation to any fan of Broadway musicals, even film musicals, and postwar American culture in general.
4 people found this helpful
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Tom
5.0 out of 5 stars Be Prepared to Buy a Lot of Original Cast Albums!
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2001
Verified Purchase
I'd probably enjoy reading a dictionary if Ethan Mordden wrote it. It's probably the highest praise I can give to say that this book had me reading about shows I'd never even heard of with the same zeal I'd generally reserve for a well-written suspense novel. As much as this book is about Musical Theater, it's about Ethan Mordden -- his wit, his stunning knowledge of his subject, and his ability to place what might seem trivial into a context that both illuminates and fascinates. Reading this book amounts to the best kind of education: one you simply can't wait to continue. As the previous customer reviews have already covered the general contents of this book, I'll only add that "Coming Up Roses" is one of a series of books by Mordden which catalogs the history of American Musical Theater. Before I even finished "Roses," I had purchased copies of his "Beautiful Mornin'" (about Musicals of the 1940's) and "Make Believe" (the 1920's). His next edition -- "Open a New Window: Musicals of the 1960's" -- will be published November 2001. I'm absolutely hooked, and if you have a passion for Musicals, you're going to be, too. About that title of mine....Mordden's book has me hunting in used record stores for recordings of long-forgotten (and sometimes obscure) titles. This author has done a tremendous service to countless composers, performers and theater artists in recalling their work in its original incarnation, and causing us to reflect upon it one more time. Maybe we're the lucky ones, in fact; thanks to Ethan Mordden, the curtain keeps going up again and again and again.
18 people found this helpful
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Bradley Friedman
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Fun!
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2009
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I spent the entire summer reading through all of Mordden's "decade by decade" books. It felt like I was listening to someone who was on the spot for every production, which seems logical until you realize that Mordden would have to be around a hundred to have been present at each opening night. The author combines an abiding love of the art form and a deep sense of scholarship with amusing and occasionally bitchy stories about the personalities involved. If you read them in order, you have before you an exceptional chronicle of the rise and fall of musical theatre, an analysis of its structure and a passion for musicals that revitalized THIS drama teacher all over again!

This particular volume was especially upbeat in that the 1950's saw musical theatre rise to the top of its form and popularity. I grew up listening to cast albums and Broadway songbooks sung by some of the greatest singers. Even so, I have uncovered so much new history here and uncovered many new show titles. (I even started buying some CDs of shows I had never heard - or heard of - before!) Mordden is anything but unbiased in his praise and putdowns: some true Broadway icons get smacked around a lot. (Watch out, George Abbott fans!) But he still provides a wonderful description of many shows, classic and now forgotten, from inception to reception. I'm very grateful to Mordden for providing the modern reading audience, as well as those of us in foreign climes (California) who never got to attend a Broadway opening night, with his rich and funny take on the history of musical theatre.
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Dennis Howard
3.0 out of 5 stars ... he talking directly to friends who already have a great deal of Broadway
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2014
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author's writes as though he talking directly to friends who already have a great deal of Broadway knowledge
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J. Stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis of musicals.
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2021
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Loved the detailed breakdown of structure of various musicals, reasons why some flopped and others didn't and how the 1950's reflected changes in the form.
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voracious reader
4.0 out of 5 stars "But Give It To Me Every Hour, 40 Hours Every Week!"
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2014
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A good look at Broadway during its Golden Age. Mordden is quite opinionated at times, but its a good look at a great era!
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Calicokid
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2021
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Ethan Mordden is always an informed and entertaining author. Particularly regarding his knowledge of 'Flops' and also rans. Look forward to reading more of his theatre and musical books. Thanks.
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JOHN D. PARKINSON
5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting read,
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2018
Verified Purchase
Every single musical produced on Bway during that decade is examined.
Mordden is thorough. He's also a wonderful writer who doesn't let
your interest in what he's saying fall away.
He's of course opinionated, and one can't help wondering how he formed
such well-defined evaluations - I mean, he didn't see ALL of those shows,
did he?
But it doesn't matter. His breezy writing style carries us along, and one
prefers not to doubt his knowledge of the subject. This is a writer very
much in charge of his material.
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Top reviews from other countries

Jonathan Rogers
5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining and knowledgeable account
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 11, 2021
Verified Purchase
A real page-turner for anyone who loves musicals, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the 'Golden Age' with many new and pertinent insights re the creation and staging of the great musicals of the 20th century. Unputdownable!
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Miss M P O'Regan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for nostalgia
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
If you're old enough to remember seeing these on stage, this is a real treat. Quirky, opinionated, but genuine reactions. I thoroughly enjoyed it
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