Books by Thomas S. Hischak about the Musical Theatre

by Thomas S. Hischak
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5 books
When I first started writing about the American Musical Theatre in the late 1980s, there were only a handful of books on the subject. Over the years, interest in musicals has blossomed and there are now many notable books about them. The challenge is to find an original approach to the topic and explore musicals in a unique way. Here are five books that aim to do that.
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The Oxford Companion to the American Musical

Thomas S. Hischak, 2008
One of the first and only books in which stage, screen, and television musicals are covered side by side of each other, this Oxford work aims to be comprehensive with the art form known as the “musical.” So many of the artists and performers working on Broadway also worked in Hollywood and in television so to fully understand their contributions one must look at their careers in all three media. This encyclopedic work also looks at musicals that originated in one medium then later were adapted for the other two.

Word Crazy

Broadway Lyricists from Cohan to Sondheim
Thomas S. Hischak, 1991
Too few books have been written about Broadway lyricists and theatre lyrics. Only a few such books were available when this book was published in 1991. Still in print, Word Crazy is a critical look at dozens of theatre wordsmiths, including some new lyricists who came onto the scene in the late 1980s.

The Mikado to Matilda

British Musicals on the New York Stage
Thomas S. Hischak, 2020
In the 18th Century, most musicals on Broadway were British. Not until the 1920s did the American musical find its own voice and home-grown shows started to outnumber the London imports. This book looks at dozens of British musicals and how they fared on Broadway.

Off-Broadway Musicals since 1919

From Greenwich Village Follies to The Toxic Avenger
Thomas S. Hischak, 2011
Although Off-Broadway musicals existed as far back as 1919, it was not until the 1950s that the alternative venue started producing the small, intimate productions that we now think of as Off-Broadway shows. The turning point was the 1954 phenomenon The Threepenny Opera which opened the doors for many outstanding small-scale musicals. This book examines some 300 musicals up through 2009.

Broadway Decoded

Musical Theatre’s Forgotten References
Thomas S. Hischak, 2023
Even the most timely, up-to-the-minute musicals date themselves, using names and phrases and products that disappear from the public consciousness. When Bye Bye Birdie opened in 1960, it was modern; today it is a period piece. This book explains hundreds of mostly forgotten references found in fifty oft-produced American musicals. Entries include everything from a small-town expression in The Music Man to Roaring Twenties slang in Chicago.