Lady in the Dark: Biography of a Musical (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780195120127)

When Lady in the Dark opened on January 23, 1941, its many firsts immediately distinguished it as a new and unusual work. The curious directive to playwright Moss Hart to complete a play about psychoanalysis came from his own Freudian psychiatrist. For the first time since his brother George's death, Ira Gershwin returned to writing lyrics for the theater. And for émigré composer Kurt Weill, it was a crack at an opulent first-class production. Together Hart, Gershwin, and Weill (with a little help from the psychiatrist) produced one of the most innovative works in Broadway history.

Though Lady in the Dark was a smash-hit, it has never enjoyed a Broadway revival, and a certain mystique has grown up around its legendary original production. In this ground-breaking biography, bruce mcclung pieces together the musical's life story from sketches and drafts, production scripts, correspondence, photographs, costume and set designs, and thousands of clippings from the star's personal scrapbooks. He has interviewed eleven members of the original company to provide a one-of-a-kind glimpse into the backstage story.

Author: Bruce D. McClung
ISBN-10: 0195120124
ISBN-13: 9780195120127
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 01/11/2007
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.32lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.36w x 1.00d