A Fine Romance
Adapting Broadway to Hollywood in the Studio System Era
Published on 1. June 2023
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-19-750173-3 (ISBN)
Description
How do we compare a Broadway musical to its Hollywood counterpart? A Fine Romance: Adapting Broadway to Hollywood in the Studio System Era answers this question by exploring the symbiotic relationship between a dozen Broadway musicals and their Hollywood film adaptations. From enduring classics like Oklahoma!, Brigadoon, and West Side Story to lesser-known gems such as Cabin in the Sky, Call Me Madam, and Silk Stockings, author Geoffrey Block examines some of the best loved stage and screen musicals of all time as well as neglected works that deserve our attention and respect.
Block delves into what happens during the transfer of stories from stage to film, the critical criteria that motivates decisions to alter or preserve stage elements when adapting to film, and the dramatic and musical consequences at play in these artistic and commercial choices. In telling this story, A Fine Romance engages with aesthetic and critical concerns while also considering the social issues around Broadway and Hollywood film through the lenses of race and ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual identity.
Beginning with the stage debut of Show Boat in 1927 and concluding with the release of Bob Fosse's cinematic re-envisioning of Cabaret nearly a half century later in 1972, the romance between Broadway and Hollywood was frequently turbulent. Differing commercial and aesthetic models and goals of Broadway and Hollywood created both conflicting and harmonious collaborations. Attempts at economic and artistic domination, irreconcilable differences, and occasional broken promises ensued. At other times, the screen and stage creative teams aligned, resulting in well-crafted, much admired, and frequently breathtaking films.
Block delves into what happens during the transfer of stories from stage to film, the critical criteria that motivates decisions to alter or preserve stage elements when adapting to film, and the dramatic and musical consequences at play in these artistic and commercial choices. In telling this story, A Fine Romance engages with aesthetic and critical concerns while also considering the social issues around Broadway and Hollywood film through the lenses of race and ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual identity.
Beginning with the stage debut of Show Boat in 1927 and concluding with the release of Bob Fosse's cinematic re-envisioning of Cabaret nearly a half century later in 1972, the romance between Broadway and Hollywood was frequently turbulent. Differing commercial and aesthetic models and goals of Broadway and Hollywood created both conflicting and harmonious collaborations. Attempts at economic and artistic domination, irreconcilable differences, and occasional broken promises ensued. At other times, the screen and stage creative teams aligned, resulting in well-crafted, much admired, and frequently breathtaking films.
Reviews / Votes
A Fine Romance, Geoffrey Block's excellent new book from Oxford University Press. * Peter Filichia, Broadway Select * In this lively and illuminating book, Geoffrey Block reveals the often productive but sometimes fraught relationship between the Broadway musical and the Hollywood studio system that brought it to the big screen. The volume is packed with new information and revealing analysis that will make the reader want to return to it time and again. A showstopper among the scholarship on the American musical! * Dominic Broomfield-McHugh, Professor of Musicology at the University of Sheffield and author of Loverly: The Life and Times of "My Fair Lady" * A quarter of a century ago, Geoffrey Block's Enchanted Evenings opened a door for the serious study of American musical theater. Now, this pioneering and prolific scholar has produced another compelling and meticulous exploration of the musical, bringing unusual empathy and enthusiasm for both stage and screen, and again offering a vivid and inspiring model for future work. * Jeffrey Magee, author of Irving Berlin's American Musical Theater * Geoffrey Block's A Fine Romance makes meticulous, detailed comparisons between the stage and screen versions of 12 musicals that shaped American popular culture. The film versions of these musicals brought their stories, songs, and dances to more audiences than the theater versions ever could. Rather than assuming the inferiority of the film versions because of their commercialism or broad appeal, Block gives them an open-minded treatment. He notes that the medium of film is different from the stage and reveals the many ways that artists took advantage of this to create film adaptations that merit serious treatment and admiration. In reading the book I gained a deeper appreciation of the versatility of the musical as a genre. * Kara Gardner, author of Agnes de Mille: Telling Stories in Broadway Dance * A Fine Romance in a seminar-style course on musicals. All in all, Block's most recent entry in his influential body of musical-theater scholarship continues his innovative and thorough research in the field. * Megan Woller, Notes: the Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association vol. 80 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
17 color photos + 25 b&w photos
Dimensions
Height: 165 mm
Width: 237 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
771 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-750173-3 (9780197501733)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2023
OUP eBook
€14.99
Available for download
E-Book
03/2023
OUP eBook
€14.99
Available for download
Person
Geoffrey Block is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Music History and Humanities at the University of Puget Sound. He is the series editor for Oxford's Broadway Legacies and has published widely on American musical theater and film. His previous titles include Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from "Show Boat" to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber and The Richard Rodgers Reader.
Content
Preface
1. The Hollywood Studio System and a Brief Survey of Film Adaptations from Show Boat to Cabaret
2. Surviving in the 1930s Movie Studio Jungle: Jerome Kern and Show Boat, The Cat and the Fiddle, and Roberta
3. Challenging the Hollywood Studio Model: On the Town vs. Call Me Madam
4. 1940s Stage Musicals and Their Screen Adaptations: Cabin in the Sky, Brigadoon, and Oklahoma!
5. More Than a
1. The Hollywood Studio System and a Brief Survey of Film Adaptations from Show Boat to Cabaret
2. Surviving in the 1930s Movie Studio Jungle: Jerome Kern and Show Boat, The Cat and the Fiddle, and Roberta
3. Challenging the Hollywood Studio Model: On the Town vs. Call Me Madam
4. 1940s Stage Musicals and Their Screen Adaptations: Cabin in the Sky, Brigadoon, and Oklahoma!
5. More Than a