All That Jazz: The Life and Times of the Musical Chicago (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780190651794)

In 1975, the Broadway musical Chicago brought together a host of memes and myths - the gleefully subversive character of American musical comedy, the reckless glamour of the big-city newspaper, the mad decade of the 1920s, the work of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon (two of the greatest talents in the musical's history), and the Wild West gangsterville that was the city of Chicago itself.

The tale of a young woman who murders her departing lover and then tricks the jury into letting her off, Chicago seemed too blunt and cynical at first. Everyone agreed it was show biz at its brilliant best, yet the public still preferred A Chorus Line, with its cast of innocents and sentimental feeling. Nevertheless, the 1996 Chicago revival is now the longest-running American musical in history, and the movie version won the Best Picture Oscar.

As author Ethan Mordden looks back at Chicago's various moving parts - including the original 1926 play that started it all, a sexy silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, a talkie remake with Ginger Rogers, the musical itself, and at last the movie of the musical - we see how the American theatre serves as a kind of alternative news medium, a town crier warning the public about the racy, devious interior contradictions of American society. Opinionated, witty, and rich in backstage anecdotes, All That Jazz brings the American Musical to life in all its artistry and excitement.

Author: Ethan Mordden
ISBN-10: 0190651792
ISBN-13: 9780190651794
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 04/02/2018
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.10w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2018
Library Journal 02/15/2018 pg. 66
Shelf Awareness 04/24/2018
Choice 09/01/2018