Musical Theatre Heritage Reading List

Resources study of musical theatre history, theory, and criticism. This is a partial list that will be updated periodically.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
Bordman, Gerald. American Musical Theatre. Green, Stanley. Broadway Musicals Show by Show: Sixth Edition. Kantor, Michael and Maslon, Lawrence. Broadway: The American Musical. Stempel, Larry. Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theatre.

Video
Broadway: The American Musical.

THEORY AND CRITICISM:

Musical Theatre McMillin, Scott. The Musical as Drama. Miller, Scott. Strike Up The Band: A New History of Musical Theatre. Jones, John Bush. Our Musicals, Ourselves.

General Adams, Hazard and Leroy Searle, eds. Critical Theory since 1965. Bentley, Eric. The Life of the Drama . Brecht, Bertolt. Brecht on Theatre. Dukore, Bernard. Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greeks to Grotowski. Frye, Northrup. Anatomy of Criticism. Hornby, Richard. Script into Performance: A Structuralist View of Play Production. Wagner, Richard. Wagner on Music and Drama.

AUTOBIOGRAPHIES: de Mille, Agnes. Dance to the Piper. de Mille, Agnes. And Promenade Home.

Channing, Carol. Just Lucky I Guess: A Memoir of Sorts.

BIOGRAPHIES: Easton, Carol. No Intermissions: The Life of Agnes De Mille. Lawrence, Greg. Dance With Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins. Loney, Glenn. Unsung Genius: The Passion of Dancer-Choreographer Jack Cole. Pike, Bob, and Dave Martin. The Genius of Busby Berkeley. Rubin, Martin. Showstoppers: Busby Berkeley and the Tradition of Spectacle. Spivak, Jeffrey. Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley.

Videos

Balanchine. Perf. George Balanchine. Kultur Video, 2004. DVD. Try to Remember: The Fantasticks. Dance in America: Agnes, the Indomitable De Mille. Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About - The Definitive Biography of an American Dance Master. Dir. Judy Kinberg. Kultur Video, 2009. DVD.

CHOREOGRAPHY:

Blom, Lynne Anne, and L. Tarin Chaplin. The Intimate Act of Choreography. Humphrey, Doris. The Art of Making Dances. Berkson, Robert. Musical Theater Choreography: A Practical Method for Preparing and Staging Dance in a Musical Show.

DIRECTING/DRAMATURGY: Bloom, Micahel. Thinking Like a Director: A Practical Handbook. Bogart, Ann. A Director Prepares. Brook, Peter. The Empty Space. Cardullo, Bert, ed. What is Dramaturgy? Dean, Alexander, and Lawrence Carra. Fundamentals of Play Directing.

DANCE HISTORY:

Cohen-Stratyner, Barbara N. Biographical Dictionary of Dance. de Mille, Agnes. America Dances. de Mille, Agnes. The Book of the Dance. Grody, Svetlana McLee and Lister, Dorothy Daniels eds. Conversations with Choreographers. Kassing, Gayle. History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach. Kraus, Richard. History of the Dance in Art and Education. Simas, Rick A. From John Durang to George Balanchine: The Origins of Dance in the American Musical Theatre, 1796-1936. Stearns, Marshall, and Jean Stearns. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. Thomas, Tony, Jim Terry, Busby Berkeley, and Ruby Keeler. The Busby Berkeley Book.

PEDAGOGY/TRAINING: Deer, Joe. Acting in Musical Theatre McWaters, Debra. Musical Theatre Training: The Broadway Theatre Project Handbook.

Acting Moore, Sonia. The Stanislavski System: The Professional Training of an Actor. Stanislavski, Constantin. An Actor Prepares.

Dance Erkert, Jan. Harnessing the Wind: The Art of Teaching Modern Dance. Fitt, Sally S. Dance Kinesiology. Franklin, Eric N. Conditioning for Dance. Franklin, Eric N. Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance. Franklin, Eric N. Pelvic Power: Mind/Body Exercises for Strength, Flexibility, Posture, and Balance for Men and Women. Gibbons, Elizabeth. Dance Basics. Teaching Dance: The Spectrum of Styles. Giordano, Gus. Jazz Dance Class: Beginning Thru Advanced.

Grieg, Valerie. Inside Ballet Technique: Separating Anatomical Fact from Fiction in the Ballet Class. Haas, Jacqui G. Dance Anatomy. Hammond, Sandra N. Ballet Basics. Hammond, Sandra N. Ballet: Beyond the Basics. Kassing, Gayle, and Danielle M. Jay. Teaching Beginning Ballet Technique. Kraines, Minda G., and Esther Pryor. Jump into Jazz: The Basics and Beyond for the Jazz Dance Student. Luigi, Lorraine P. Kriegel, and Francis Roach. Luigis Jazz Warm Up: And Introduction to Jazz Style & Technique. Martins, Peter. The New York City Ballet Workout: Fifty Stretches and Exercises Anyone Can Do for a Strong, Graceful, and Sculpted Body. Nagrin, Daniel. How to Dance Forever: Surviving Against the Odds. Nelson, Arnold G., and Jouko Kokkonen. Stretching Anatomy. Page, Ruth. Class: Notes on Dance Classes Around the World, 1915-1980. Perces, Marjorie B., Ana Marie Forsythe, and Cheryl Bell . The Dance Technique of Lester Horton. Vaganova, Agrippina. Basic Principles of Classical Ballet; Russian Ballet Technique.