Musical Comedy in America

First Published in 1987. This is the second edition with an additional foreword. The purpose of this book—the first to recount the history of the popular musical stage on Broadway and its intersecting streets—is to tell what the various entertainments were like, how they looked and sounded, who was in them, and why they made people laugh or cry. The values employed in the book are changeable and inconsistent. Sometimes an affable smile is bestowed upon a musical comedy, burlesque, or revue that was really very bad. Sometimes a harsh verdict is brought in against an entertainment that received widespread approval and praise.