Our Musicals, Ourselves: A Social History of the American Musical Theater

by John Bush Jones, Sheldon Harnick (Foreword by)

The first comprehensive social history of the American musical theater, this social history will appeal to both students and fans of Broadway.

Genres: Theatre, History, Music, Nonfiction

383 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[Skylar · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic book, was for research but also an awesome read

for any history or even musical fans this is super educative and also interesting, the author put so much research into this it’s crazy

10/10

[Kerri Killeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

An interesting survey of American musical history informed by the socio-political culture. Much of the language is dated and the tone veers towards overly academic. That said, it presents an interesting framework for musical theatre history. The author presents many thought provoking interpretations of seminal musicals. (His thoughts on West Side Story and Urinetown stand out in particular.) At times, he presents his opinion as fact and several of the overviews of the selected musicals are dense and hard to follow with too many asides.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. Great analysis

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essential reading for not just lovers of musicals but history as well. The author traces the American musical from the beginning and it was fascinating learning the social and political histories of the various decades. Also shout out to the podcast My Little Tony’s that regularly uses this book as a source for their research.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good as far as textbooks go, it was actually enjoyable to do my readings for class

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great addition to any theatre library. This book provides the social context of many of the titles and trends in American Musical Theatre history. Good stuff.

[Seniorprojectbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was overall informative, though rather long and boring in some parts.