Musical Theater

Resources on the World Wide Web

• eur.com: Musical Cast Album Database
  A searchable, browsable database which "provides information about cast albums of stage musicals and recordings of film and TV musicals which were released on long-playing records and compact discs."

• fynsworth alley
  Vendor of musical theater recordings. Includes searchable database with detailed recording information.

• Live Sound Effects (Professor Samuel Ebersole, University of Southern Colorado)
  Descriptions of how to create live sound effects. Ex.: BASEBALL HIT WITH BAT--Hold a short piece of rubber garden hose or a small mallet and strike a large piece of bamboo.

• Musical Heaven
  Information on movies, Broadway, Off-Broadway, opera and West End shows. Features message boards, MIDI files, cast lists, synopses, song lists, theatre memorabilia, licensing agents, karaoke, etc.

• On Broadway WWW Information Page and BroadwayOnLine.com.
  The On Broadway WWW Information Page has recently joined forces with BroadwayOnLine.com.

• StageAgent (maintained by students and alumni of Stanford University)
  This searchable site includes show synopses and casting requirements for musicals and operas. Current production listings, audition and callback announcements are searchable by U.S. state or region. Also includes bulletin boards and classified ads.

• Stephen Sondheim Stage

• Theatricopia (Jill Hobgood)
  Links to many musical theater sites.

• Bloom, Ken. American Song: the Complete Musical Theatre Companion, 2nd ed. New York: Schirmer Books; London: Prentice Hall, 1996.
  FA-REF-4 782.8 B65a2 Vol. 2
  Information on over 5,000 productions, on and off Broadway, arranged by show title. Includes alternate show titles. Each listing includes names of persons involved with the productions, opening dates and theaters, songs and notes. Vol. 2 contains name and songs indices and a chronological listing of openings.

• Bloom, Ken. Hollywood Song: the Complete Film & Musical Companion. New York: Facts on File, 1995.
  FA-REF-4 016.7821 B65h Vol. 1
  FA-REF-4 016.7821 B65h Vol. 2
  FA-REF-4 016.7821 B65h Vol. 3
  Volumes 1 and 2 contain an alphabetical listing of films along with associated persons (composer, director, cast, etc.), songs and notes. Volume 3 is a chronology, personal index and song index.

• Bordman, Gerald Martin. American Musical Theatre: a Chronicle, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
  FA-REF-4 782.14026 B72ama2
  Shows arranged chronologically, including opening dates and theaters. Indexes for songs, people, shows and sources.

• Ewen, David. American Songwriters: an H. W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1987.
  FA-REF-4 784.5 E94a
  Biographies of 146 19th and 20th century composers and lyricists, from John Hill Hewitt (b. 1801) to David Shire (b. 1937). Included are American "men and women who ... have a durable place in the history of American popular song through sustained achievement over an extended period of time." Some biographies are quite extensive (Jerome Kern takes up over 8 pages). Includes song index.

• Ganzl, Kurt. Ganzl's Book of the Broadway Musical: 75 Shows, from H.M.S. Pinafore (1879) to Sunset Boulevard (1994). New York: Schirmer Books; London: Prentice Hall, 1995.
  FA-REF-4 782.14 G21g
  Includes discography and index.

• Green, Stanley. Broadway Musicals, Show by Show, 2nd ed. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Books, 1987.
  FA-REF-4 782.8 G79b2
  A chronological listing of shows. Includes indexes to titles, composers, lyricists, librettists, directors, choreographers, principal cast members and theaters.

• Green, Stanley, ed. Rodgers and Hammerstein Fact Book: a Record of Their Works Together and With Other Collaborators. [New York?]: The Lynn Farnol Group, 1980.
  FA-REF-4 782.8 R69
  A chronology, including original casts. Includes index, catagorical listing of songs, bibliography and discography.

• Hischak, Thomas S. The Americal Musical Theatre Song Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1995.
  FA-REF-4 782.14 H67a
  A selective, alphabetical listing of 1800 songs from American musicals encompassing the years 1866-1994. Includes description of song, composer, show, character and actor who originated the role. Also includes glossary of musical theater terms, alternate song titles, a listing of musicals with opening dates and number of performances, and an index.

• Hodgins, Gordon W. Broadway Musical: a Complete LP Discography. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1980.
  FA-REF-4 016.789912 H68b
  Includes title, composer, performer, lyricist, book writer and song titles. Film sound tracks not included.

• Hummel, David. The Collector's Guide to the American Musical Theater. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1984.
  FA-REF-4 016.7899 H92c Vol. 1
  FA-REF-4 016.7899 H92c Vol. 2
  A discography arranged by show title. Vol. 1: the shows; vol. 2: the index.

• Lewine, Richard. Encyclopedia of Theatre Music. New York: Bonanza Books, 1961.
  FA-REF-4 782.803 L66e1
  "A comprehensive listing of more than 4000 songs from Broadway and Hollywood, 1900-1960." -- sub-title. An earlier edition of his Songs of the Theater.

• Lewine, Richard. Songs of the American Theater. New York: Dodd, Mead, [1973]
  FA-REF-4 016.7828 L67s
  "A comprehensive listing of more than 12,000 songs, including selected titles from film and television productions." -- sub-title. An earlier edition of his Songs of the Theater.

• Lewine, Richard. Songs of the Theater. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1984.
  FA-REF-4 016.7828 L67so
  A listing of songs from virtually every musical production appearing on and off Broadway from 1891 to 1983. Includes indexes.

• Lynch, Richard Chigley. Broadway, Movie, TV, and Studio Cast Musicals on Record: a Discography of Recordings, 1985-1995. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996.
  FA-REF-4 016.7821 L98b
  Includes indexes.

• Who Was Who in the Theatre, 1912-1976. Detroit: Gale Research, 1978.
  FA-REF-4 927.92 W621 1912/76, 4 vols.
  A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, directors, playwrights, and producers of the English-speaking theater.

See also:Vocal Music;Opera