This wide-ranging, two-volume encyclopedia of musicals old and new will captivate young fans—and prove invaluable to those contemplating staging a musical production.

Written with high school students in mind, The World of Musicals: An Encyclopedia of Stage, Screen, and Song encompasses not only Broadway and film musicals, but also made-for-television musicals, a genre that has been largely ignored. The two volumes cover significant musicals in easily accessible entries that offer both useful information and fun facts. Each entry lists the work's writers, composers, directors, choreographers, and cast, and includes a song list, a synopsis, and descriptions of the original production and important revivals or remakes. Biographical entries share the stories of some of the brightest and most celebrated talents in the business.



The encyclopedia will undoubtedly ignite and feed student interest in musical theatre. At the same time, it will prove a wonderful resource for teachers or community theatre directors charged with selecting and producing shows. In fact, anyone interested in theatre, film, television, or music will be fascinated by the work's tantalizing bits of historical and theatre trivia.









Offers 700 alphabetically arranged entries related to musicals in theatre, film, and television



Spans the history of musical theatre from Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in the late 1800s to the present



Concentrates on musicals that are historically important and/or of mainstream interest, as well as those that might be examined in a high school music, music history, or theatre class



Features a teacher-friendly guide to the most popular musicals performed by high schools, discussing casting/characters, costume needs, notes on the difficulty of the music, and more



Includes a selected bibliography, discography, and videography as well as a chronology capturing key events in the history of the musical