GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC Broadway Musicals

Bravo! This is a fantastic audio course. In these 16 lectures on the history of the American musical, Bill Messenger blends a scholar’s knowledge with a performer’s understanding of the music—and a fan’s love of the genre. His quiet, confident voice sounds like he’s discussing the shows after you’ve both watched a good performance. He’s as relaxed as if he were in your home, but only if it contains a piano—upon which Messenger tinkles out piano-only variations of many songs—as well as an immense library of original cast recordings to sample, and a few interviews on tape to boot. As he guides listeners from the early nineteenth century to the present, Messenger integrates everything from personal accounts of songs heard or performed to renditions of songs you’ve never heard because they come from a time before recording. This lecture series would have seemed short at twice the length. G.T.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 07]