Musical theater has long suffered the reputation of
being unrealistic
and unsophisticated with no real social significance.
However,
musical theater has been an integral part of American
culture since
the early Twentieth Century. Specifically, it was
Jewish composers
and lyricists who created and defined America on
stage. These
writers were immigrants themselves, came from
immigrant families,
or grew up as second-generation Jews in a land
troubled by anti-
Semitism; still, they were the ones who considered
America a
worthwhile topic for the stage. This book defines the
unique...