From Show Boat and Oklahoma! to Wicked and Hamilton, the musical is constantly evolving thanks to the contributions of some of theatre’s most prominent figures. Never have musicals been more popular than they are today. With live television broadcasts of shows like Rent and Hairspray and films like Mean Girls and Shrek being adapted to the stage, musicals—as well as the creators and artists who bring them to life—are at the forefront of popular culture. In 100 Most Important People in Musical Theatre, Andy Propst profiles the individuals who have helped shape this beloved art form. Songwriting greats such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Stephen Sondheim, and Andrew Lloyd Webber are some of the familiar names in the book. So, too, are performers such as Nathan Lane, Ethel Merman, Audra McDonald, and Patti LuPone, and directors and choreographers such as Bob Fosse, Harold Prince, Jerome Robbins, and Tommy Tune. Readers learn not only about these men and women’s exceptional lives and achievements, but can peek backstage at such groundbreaking shows as Show Boat, Oklahoma!, West Side Story, Company, and A Chorus Line, among others. Period reviews and interviews highlight both the shows and the people who contributed to them. The profiles in 100 Most Important People in Musical Theater provide a terrific history of musical theater, guiding readers from the era of operetta and the ascendancy of the book musical to the emergence of the concept musical and contemporary productions—from The Mikado and The Phantom of the Opera to Fun Home and Hamilton. This book is an invaluable addition to any musical theatre fan’s library, and will also appeal to researchers and scholars.
