{"product_id":"strike-up-the-band-a-new-history-of-musical-theatre-9780325006420","title":"Strike Up the Band: A New History of Musical Theatre","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe way some histories portray the advent of musicals  youd think the genre emerged fully formed with Show Boat. Yet in truth  it took root decades earlier. In Strike Up the Band Scott Miller tells the whole story of musicals  pulling back the curtain on the amazing innovation and adventurousness of the art form  revealing its political and social conscience  and chronicling its incredibly rapid evolution over the last century. Strike Up the Band focuses not only on what happened on stage but also on how it happened and why it matters to us today. Its a different kind of history that explores the famous and  especially  the not-so famous productions to discover the lineage that paved the way to contemporary musicals. Digging into 150 shows  Miller offers a forward-looking perspective on treasures from each erasuch as Anything Goes  West Side Story  Hair  and Rentwhile also looking at fascinating  genre-busting  and often short-lived productions  including Bat Boy  Rocky Horror Show  Promenade  and The Capeman  to see how even obscure or commercially unsuccessful musicals defined and advanced the form. Moving decade by decade  Miller offers insight and inside information about the artistic approaches various composers  lyricists  bookwriters  and directors have taken  how those approaches have changed over time  and what social and historical forces continue to shape musical theatre today. He provides a strong sense of what groups have historically controlled the industry and how other groups hard work and vision continue to change the musical theatre landscape for the better. In fact  Strike Up the Band opens a new and vitally important discussion of the roles played in the musicals history by people of color  by gays and lesbians  by people with disabilities  and by women. It frames musical theatre as an important  irreplaceable piece of American history and demonstrates how it reflects the social and political conditions of its timeand how it changes them. On Broadway or off  Strike Up the Band is as adventuresome  detailed  and thoughtful in tracing the story behind the musical as it is in celebrating the forms diversity  vigor  innovation  and promise. Join Scott Miller not only in commemorating great moments on stage  but in gaining a powerful understanding of what the musical was  what it is today  and what it is becoming.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647072460853,"sku":"ByrdShop_0325006423","price":24.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780325006420.jpg?v=1781687657","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/strike-up-the-band-a-new-history-of-musical-theatre-9780325006420","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}