Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber: The New Musical (Great Songwriters)

In this third volume of the distinguished The Great Songwriters series, musicologist Stephen Citron takes on two leading contributors to the lyric stage, Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd-Webber. By exploring the works of these two giants of musical theater and those of their contemporaries, Citron also simultaneously guides readers along the winding path of musical theater. Beginning with Sondheims lyrics-only works West Side Story, Gypsy, and Do I Hear A Waltz? through his scores for A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park, and Into the Woods, among other classic musicals, Citron presents major milestones of musical theater, exploring the influence of the artists youthful training and private life upon his creative output. Lloyd-Webbers musical contributionsfrom his early works The Likes of Us and Joseph to his smash hits Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, and The Phantom of the Opera, among othersare also thoroughly analyzed. As in Citrons previous critically acclaimed books in this series, the artistsworks are clarified and put into context with their contemporaries. Complete with a quadruple chronology that reveal Sondheims and Lloyd-Webbers lives within the scope of world events, copious quotations from their works, and many never-before-published illustrations, Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber is a must-read for anyone interested in musical theater.