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The Shows

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

Since the 1920s, a core group of composers—from Kern and Berlin, to Gershwin, Porter and Rodgers; from Styne and Sondheim, to Kander, Flaherty, and Guettel—has been responsible for the vast majority ... More

Since the 1920s, a core group of composers—from Kern and Berlin, to Gershwin, Porter and Rodgers; from Styne and Sondheim, to Kander, Flaherty, and Guettel—has been responsible for the vast majority of America’s great musicals. This chapter presents notable shows by other composers which merit discussion. Some were enormous hits and are included for that reason only; others were written by popular or interesting composers who never found Broadway success; and a handful are included simply due to the high quality of the work.Less

Things Change: The Music

in “Do You Know …?”: The Jazz Repertoire in Action

The places players play in shape the content of what is played, but they do not determine the contents of anyone's individual repertoire. Two bodies of material make up the major components of what ... More

The places players play in shape the content of what is played, but they do not determine the contents of anyone's individual repertoire. Two bodies of material make up the major components of what the jazz repertoire has become. The older repertoire persists. Many situations require playing those tunes: the pop tunes that became standards when players selected them, on the basis of tradition and recordings by well-known jazz players, and are permanently embedded in American musical culture; ethnic music; show tunes and other popular genres; and some popular jazz compositions, which had much the same form as the standards. The second body of material consists of contemporary jazz compositions, the character of which varies so much that no musical label can cover all of them. Some musicians and writers refer to this music as “post-bop,” that is, post-Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker and their contemporaries. A major theme is how musicians occasionally turn questions of repertoire and its performance into issues of morality.Less

George Gershwin: Born: September 26, 1898, Brooklyn, New York Born: September 26, 1898, Brooklyn, New York Died: July 11, 1937, Beverly Hills, California

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of George Gershwin. Gershwin grew up in Manhattan, where his Russian immigrant father ran through a succession of unsuccessful businesses. Gershwin displayed a sudden ... More

This chapter examines the work of George Gershwin. Gershwin grew up in Manhattan, where his Russian immigrant father ran through a succession of unsuccessful businesses. Gershwin displayed a sudden musical aptitude at the age of eleven, quitting school four years later to work as a song plugger for Tin Pan Alley publisher Jerome H. Remick. A highly distinctive pianist, Gershwin began supplementing his income by making player-piano rolls. He also began writing music, his first published song being the 1916 When You Want ’Em, You Can’t Get ’Em (When You’ve Got ’Em, You Don’t Want ’Em) (lyrics by Murray Roth).Less

Richard Rodgers: Born: June 28, 1902, New York, New York Born: June 28, 1902, New York, New York Died: December 30, 1979, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Richard Rodgers. It starts with an interesting commentary of his career. The chapter gives details on productions, with data and song information. Rodgers grew up ... More

This chapter examines the work of Richard Rodgers. It starts with an interesting commentary of his career. The chapter gives details on productions, with data and song information. Rodgers grew up steeped in show tunes. His parents, operetta enthusiasts, kept music in the house; from the age of seven, Rodgers’s ambition was clearly set on musical theater. In 1916 Rodgers discovered Kern—via a subway-circuit touring production of Very Good Eddie (Kern: December 23, 1915)—and began writing songs of his own. The following spring Rodgers’s older brother took him to the annual Columbia Varsity Show. The fourteen-year-old boy was impressed by the lyrics, so brother Mortimer introduced him to the writer Oscar Hammerstein 2nd.Less

Jerome Kern: Born: January 27, 1885, New York, New York Born: January 27, 1885, New York, New York Died: November 11, 1945, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Jerome Kearn. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Kern was raised in Newark, New ... More

This chapter examines the work of Jerome Kearn. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Kern was raised in Newark, New Jersey, where his father was a merchant. In 1902, Kern left high school to become a song plugger for Edward B. Marks’s Lyceum Publishing Company. Kern was already writing songs for amateur groups, and Lyceum shortly issued his first published piece, the 1902 piano solo At the Casino. Determined to write for Broadway, Kern went looking for a theater music publisher and in 1903 signed on with—and soon bought an interest in—a small house called T. B. Harms. T. B. Harms was owned by Max Dreyfus, whose future imprints included Harms, Inc., and Chappell. When Kern’s Broadway success began attracting novice composers, Dreyfus selected the most promising and convinced producers to hire them; newcomers like Gershwin, Youmans, Porter, Rodgers, and Schwartz.Less

Cy Coleman: Born: June 14, 1929, Bronx, New York Born: June 14, 1929, Bronx, New York Died: November 4, 2004, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Cy Coleman. It gives an extended commentary of his career, and provides details on productions, giving data and song information. Coleman, a child prodigy at the ... More

This chapter examines the work of Cy Coleman. It gives an extended commentary of his career, and provides details on productions, giving data and song information. Coleman, a child prodigy at the keyboard, was giving piano recitals at the age of five. The budding concert pianist took a turn toward pop as a teenager, playing at servicemen’s clubs during World War II. He formed a jazz trio and was soon playing successfully in nightclubs. Coleman also started writing songs with lyricist Joseph McCarthy Jr., son of the lyricist of Irene (Notables: November 1, 1919).Less

Irving Berlin: Born: May 11, 1888, Mohilev, Russia Born: May 11, 1888, Mohilev, Russia Died: September 22, 1989, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Irving Berlin. It begins with a commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Berlin’s family came to America from ... More

This chapter examines the work of Irving Berlin. It begins with a commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Berlin’s family came to America from Russia when he was five. The son of a part-time cantor, Izzy Baline took to the streets as a singing panhandler and went on to become a singing waiter at a Chinatown saloon. It was here, in 1907 at “Nigger Mik’s,” that he wrote his first published song: Marie from Sunny Italy (music by Nick Nicholson, lyrics by “I. Berlin”). In 1908 came his first composer/lyricist effort, Best of Friends Must Part. Berlin went to work as a staff lyricist and occasional composer for publisher/songwriter Ted Snyder, soon becoming a partner in Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co.Less

Maury Yeston: Born: October 23, 1945, Jersey City, New Jersey

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Maury Yeston. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Yeston developed an early ... More

This chapter examines the work of Maury Yeston. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Yeston developed an early interest in musical theater. He graduated from Yale in 1967 with twin ambitions: to teach music and to write Broadway musicals. After getting his master’s degree at Cambridge, he returned to Yale for his doctorate in 1971 and simultaneously entered Lehman Engel’s BMI Workshop.Less

Cole Porter: Born: June 9, 1891 Peru, Indiana Born: June 9, 1891 Peru, Indiana Died: October 15, 1964 Santa Monica, California

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter looks at the work of Cole Porter. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Porter was born on the banks of ... More

This chapter looks at the work of Cole Porter. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Porter was born on the banks of the Wabash. His maternal grandfather, J. O. Cole, was a hard-headed merchant who struck it rich in the California Gold Rush of 1848 and returned home to become one of the richest men in Indiana. By his fourteenth birthday Porter was at boarding school in Massachusetts, and in 1909 he entered Yale. He majored, apparently, in writing football songs—Bulldog is still sung—and varsity shows. His first professionally published song was Bridget, in 1910.Less

Arthur Schwartz: Born: November 25, 1900, Brooklyn, New York Born: November 25, 1900, Brooklyn, New York Died: September 3, 1984, Kintnersville, Pennsylvania

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter discusses the work of Arthur Schwartz. Schwartz displayed an early interest in music—despite objections from his father, a lawyer—and by the age of fourteen was playing piano ... More

This chapter discusses the work of Arthur Schwartz. Schwartz displayed an early interest in music—despite objections from his father, a lawyer—and by the age of fourteen was playing piano accompaniment in Brooklyn movie houses. After graduating from NYU, he went on to Columbia Law School while supporting himself by teaching high school English. Schwartz continued his music hobby, though, with his first published song coming in 1923, the rhythmic Baltimore Md., That’s the Only Doctor for Me [lyrics by Eli Dawson].Less

Vernon Duke: Born: October 10, 1903, Parafianovo (Minsk), Russia Born: October 10, 1903, Parafianovo (Minsk), Russia Died: January 17, 1969, Santa Monica, California

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Vernon Duke. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Vladimir Alexandrovitch ... More

This chapter examines the work of Vernon Duke. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Vladimir Alexandrovitch Dukelsky hailed from a White Russian family, the son of a civil engineer. A precocious musical prodigy, as a preteen he enrolled in the Kiev Conservatory and studied with Glière. He then emigrated to America, where he worked at musical odd-jobs. When one of the nineteen-year-old Dukelsky’s “modernistic” compositions was performed at a concert by recitalist Eva Gauthier, he was befriended by the twenty-four-year-old composer of Swanee, George Gershwin, who became the youngster’s mentor, finding him bits and pieces of work along the way.Less

Frank Loesser: Born: June 29, 1910, New York, New York Born: June 29, 1910, New York, New York Died: July 28, 1969, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Frank Loesser. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Loesser came from a musical ... More

This chapter examines the work of Frank Loesser. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Loesser came from a musical family. His father, Henry, was a Prussian-born piano teacher; his older brother Arthur was a renowned concert pianist. Frank, though, was a musical black sheep; refusing to study the classics, he taught himself piano and immersed himself in popular music. His first published song was In Love with the Memory of You (1931), with music by William Schuman (later a classical composer and the president of Juilliard). By the mid-1930s Loesser was singing and playing in nightclubs, as well as writing special material with composer Irving Actman.Less

Stephen Sondheim: Born: March 22, 1930, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Stephen Sondheim. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Sondheim moved at the age ... More

This chapter examines the work of Stephen Sondheim. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Sondheim moved at the age of eleven from Manhattan to Doylestown, Pennsylvania—Doylestown, the country home of Oscar Hammerstein 2nd. A friendship with young James Hammerstein led to a close teacher/student relationship with James’s father, the man who helped create the modern musical in his work with Jerome Kern and who over the next few years would write Oklahoma! (Rodgers: March 31, 1943) and Carousel (Rodgers: April 19, 1945).Less

Harvey Schmidt: Born: September 12, 1929, Dallas, Texas

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Harvey Schmidt. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Schmidt, the son of a ... More

This chapter examines the work of Harvey Schmidt. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Schmidt, the son of a Methodist minister, was studying art at the University of Texas when he met fellow Texan Tom Jones (born February 17, 1928). A mutual interest in theater led the pair to collaborate on college shows. Schmidt and Jones moved, separately, to New York in the early fifties; the composer supported himself as a commercial artist. Schmidt’s first New York hearing came Off Broadway, with four songs in Ben Bagley’s Shoestring ’57 (November 5, 1956).Less

Stephen Schwartz: Born: March 6, 1948, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Stephen Schwartz. It starts with an extended commentary of his career, and this is followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Schwartz ... More

This chapter examines the work of Stephen Schwartz. It starts with an extended commentary of his career, and this is followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Schwartz became enamored by musical theater at the age of nine, when he attended Shinbone Alley (April 13, 1957), a flop musical composed by next-door neighbor George Kleinsinger. During high school in the New York suburb of Mineola, he attended weekend classes at Juilliard. He earned a B.F.A at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie–Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, during which he wrote a college musical called Pippin, Pippin. He returned to New York, found work as a record producer, and got himself an agent: Leonard Bernstein’s sister, Shirley.Less

Kurt Weill: Born: March 2, 1900, Dessau, Germany Born: March 2, 1900, Dessau, Germany Died: April 3, 1950, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Kurt Weill. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Weill, the son of a cantor, ... More

This chapter examines the work of Kurt Weill. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Weill, the son of a cantor, evinced an early interest in music. He went to Berlin in 1918, where he studied with Engelbert Humperdinck (Hansel und Gretl) before moving on to avant-garde composer Ferruccio Busoni. Weill soon moved from concert to contemporary work and started writing for the theater. Caught up in Germany’s inflammatory political situation, he began a collaboration in 1927 with outspoken playwright/lyricist Bertolt Brecht.Less

Harold Rome: Born: May 27, 1908, Hartford, Connecticut Born: May 27, 1908, Hartford, Connecticut Died: October 26, 1993, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of Harold Rome. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Rome began his musical career ... More

This chapter examines the work of Harold Rome. It begins with an extended commentary of his career, followed by details on productions, with data and song information. Rome began his musical career in college, playing in dance bands to help finance his studies. Upon graduation with an architecture degree, Rome came to New York in 1934. With high qualifications and seven years at Yale, the only architectural work he could find was a twenty-four-dollar-a-week job with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), measuring roads and mapping the course of the Hudson River. Spare money could be earned at the keyboard, so Rome put his musical abilities to use.Less

William Finn: Born: February 28, 1952, Boston, Massachusetts

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter examines the work of William Finn. Finn grew up in Natick, Massachusetts. He attended Williams College, Stephen Sondheim’s alma mater. While there, he wrote three musicals, Rape, ... More

This chapter examines the work of William Finn. Finn grew up in Natick, Massachusetts. He attended Williams College, Stephen Sondheim’s alma mater. While there, he wrote three musicals, Rape, Scrambled Eggs, and Sizzle. He won the Hutchinson Fellowship, like Sondheim before him, and endeavored to become a composer. He supported himself in the meantime as a writer for in-flight magazines, a temp worker, and a play reader for the New York Shakespeare Festival.Less

Burton Lane: Born: February 2, 1912, New York, New York Born: February 2, 1912, New York, New York Died: January 5, 1997, New York, New York

Steven Suskin

in Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers

This chapter looks at the work of Burton Lane. It starts with a long commentary of his career, and this is followed by information on productions, with data and song details. Lane began his musical ... More

This chapter looks at the work of Burton Lane. It starts with a long commentary of his career, and this is followed by information on productions, with data and song details. Lane began his musical career at the age of fifteen, leaving school to work as a pianist at Remick’s (where both Gershwin and Youmans started a decade earlier). His expert playing attracted attention and an offer came from the Shuberts to write a new revue. The show, which was to be the 1928 edition of the Greenwich Village Follies, was never produced. The teenager had to wait another two years before being heard on Broadway.Less