University of Virginia Library

Depressing Situation

What's depressing about the
whole situation is that whereas
American musical theatre had not
neared its peak when "No, No,
Nanette" was written, it appears to
have passed it now. It took
librettists a long time to learn their
craft, and within twenty years from
the time musical books reached a
respectable level of sophistication,
talented composers and lyricists
became sparse. As William Goldman
says in his book. The Season,
musicals are "in trouble today
because the songwriters aren't
there. The old men are dead or
doddering, the young ones mostly
dull."

I rejected this statement a year
and a half ago, but the outlook is so
dismal now that the truth of it is
undeniable. The only bright spot,
based on advance word from
Boston, is Stephen Sondheim's
work for Hal Prince's new musical.
"Follies." Of the others, Richard
Rodgers, Jerry Bock, and Sheldon
Harnick have already disappointed
us this season. Jerry Herman has
mysteriously disappeared from the
musical scene since "Dear World"
flopped a couple of seasons ago.
Jule Styne and Bob Merrill's latest
effort just folded in Boston,
foregoing its New York opening.
Alan Jay Lerner's musical
adaptation of Nabokov's Lolita just
bombed in Philadelphia and is
currently undergoing a major
re-write. John Kander and Fred
Ebb's new show also opened in
Philly earlier this month to
disastrous reviews. And, keep in
mind, these are the best songwriters
in the theatre today.

Where do we go from here?