The effort that goes into making a Broadway musical is enormous, first requiring the enthusiasm of a group of initial creative artists and then the cooperation of hundreds of talented individuals and the investment of millions of dollars before each show is ready to open. Each venture is marked, perhaps, more by conflict than collaboration, and the continuation of this industry seems more remarkable when it is revealed that three out of four Broadway musicals fail to break even on Broadway. What goes into the making of a successful musical? No venture can be a success without good collaboration, but whether it is good or bad in any specific case cannot be known beforehand. "The Broadway Musical" is an investigation into this phenomenon of collaboration and its seeming unpredictability. To gather information, Bernard Rosenberg and Ernest Harburg have interviewed many of the top producers, directors, designers, players, songwriters, lyricists, librettists and other artists who are responsible for today's Broadway musicals.
Starting with the development of the industry itself, the authors investigate the complicated machinery of "show business" and detail how it was able to survive the rapidly rising costs of productions in the 1980s. Proceeding to the creative aspects of the show, the authors provide an intimate look at the assembling of the musical at every level, detailing the workings of the top executives, musicians, songwriters, and technicians, and the reaction of the critics and the audience. The book concludes with a lengthy look at the phenomenon of collaboration itself, describing the inherent conflict and tension that often adds to the production of a Broadway musical. "The Broadway Musical" offers an engrossing look at the successes and failures of this most elaborate form of live entertainment.