The Blackwell guide to the musical theatre on record /

The eminently well qualified Ganzl, who has already written several books on the musical theater, including Ganzl's Book of the Musical Theatre (CH, Jun'89), supplements that volume with this guide to sound recordings. He covers the musical theater of the US, Britain, France, Germany, Austria, and Hungary since the last half of the 19th century. His selection is reasonably comprehensive, ranging from Offenbach and Gilbert & Sullivan to Nunsense. For each work he gives a brief synopsis if needed and describes various recordings. From the vast number he reviews he selects 100 he considers the best as the starting point for a collection. Happily, he adds a number of other recommended recordings. Many, however, are out of print, not readily available, or foreign. Indeed, his recommended recording of Hello, Dolly! is by the French cast. Thus the volume has limited value as a selection tool in a US library. That reservation notwithstanding, the volume is a continuing delight and is hard to put down. Ganzl is very knowledgeable and his frank opinions are refreshing as he brings together the vast continuum of musical theater from Die Fledermaus to The Phantom of the Opera. A valuable addition in music and performing arts collections, the book will be a helpful supplemental guide in academic and public libraries. -R. D. Johnson, SUNY College at Oneonta

International in scope, comprehensive in historical coverage, enjoyably written, helpfully opinionated, this unique buyer's guide to recorded musicals serves also as a discography and history of the genre. Ganzl's New Zealand English can be quaint, but his inclusion of German, Austrian, British, and French recorded musicals will educate Americans who may think all worthwhile musicals originated on Broadway. Comparisons between and among recordings are made when several are available for the same show, and recommendations of the 100 ``essential'' recordings for a core collection are given. Film versions, studio recordings, selections and anthologies, and re-releases on new formats are all included. Lively, welcome, and highly recommended to musical recording librarians and their collector patrons.-- Bonnie Jo Dopp, District of Columbia P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.