eBook

The Shuberts and Their Passing Shows

Westover, Jonas

2016

Overview

Starting in 1912, the Shubert brothers produced an extravagant series of revues called The Passing Shows. Each year, a new edition would be crafted, featuring new musical styles, the latest dance fads, and some of the biggest stars of the day. Including dozens of chorus women and men, these revues were hits both in New York’s Winter Garden Theater and on tour. This book examines these shows in depth, with a look at their creators and content. Challenging the notion that Ziegfeld and his Follies were the only important revues of the era, this work details the remarkable efforts put forth by a whole host of incredible personalities. Especially intriguing is the story of the relationship between the Shuberts and Ziegfeld, told using in-house memos, personal letters, and documents packed away for a century. And finally, when Ziegfeld died, the Shuberts were part of shaping their former rival’s legacy, in part using the amazing theatrical machine they had developed for their own revues. Fred and Adele Astaire, George Gershwin, Joan Crawford, and Ed Wynn are among the stars still remembered today who were a part of the series, but they performed alongside many others who have fallen out of the limelight. This book brings those stars, their songs, and stories back to life, making the Broadway of the 1910s and 1920s seem like yesterday.

• Publisher: Oxford University Press,Oxford University Press, Incorporated
• Subject: 20th century / American Music / History and criticism / Popular Music / Revues / United States
• ISBN: 0190219238, 9780190219239