Although Noėl Cowards work as playwright, songwriter and actor has long been celebrated, his contributions to the British musical have largely been forgotten. Selected Musical Plays by Noėl Coward: A Critical Anthology rectifies this omission from the musical theatre landscape, demonstrating how Cowards adaptability, creativity, and myriad of styles is imitated in the incredible musicals he authored.
From flop shows at Drury Lane with Mary Martin through to his Broadway hits with Elaine Stritch, this anthology chronicles the variety of styles written by Coward, from revue to musical comedy to operetta. The works in this volume provide a contemporary critical introduction that illustrates the breadth and depth of his work, and highlighting the diverse identities of the collaborators and performers with whom he worked. Though the style of these works varies, they are linked together by his creative thread, and his ability to craft barbed and witty observations of his social world.
A timely portrait of Cowards oeuvre and its lasting influence on the wider world of the British musical, Selected Musical Plays by Noėl Coward contains previously unpublished musical plays by a central figure in theatre history, collected together with critical apparatus for students, scholars, and fans.
Daugiau informacijos
The first anthology of its kind to present the musicals of Noėl Coward divided by decade, providing students and scholars with an introduction to his little-known musical theatre works contextualized for todays audiences.
1. Introduction
2. This Year of Grace (1928), also known as Cochrans 1928 Revue
3. Bitter Sweet (1929)
4. Words and Music (1932)
5. Pacific 1860 (1946)
6. Ace of Clubs (1949)
7. Sail Away (1961)
8. The Girl Who Came to Supper (1963)
Noėl Coward was born in 1899 in Teddington, Middlesex. He made his name as a playwright with The Vortex (1924), in which he also appeared. His numerous other successful plays included Fallen Angels (1925), Hay Fever (1925), Private Lives (1933), Design for Living (1933) and Blithe Spirit (1941). During the war he wrote screenplays such as Brief Encounter (1944) and In Which We Serve (1942). In the fifties he began a new career as a cabaret entertainer. He published volumes of verse and a novel (Pomp and Circumstance, 1960), two volumes of autobiography and four volumes of short stories: To Step Aside (1939), Star Quality (1951), Pretty Polly Barlow (1964) and Bon Voyage (1967). He was knighted in 1970 and died three years later in Jamaica.
Dr. Arianne Johnson Quinn is the Music Special Collections Librarian at the Warren D. Allen Music Library, Florida State University. She holds a PhD in Historical Musicology from Princeton University and the MSI in Library Science from Florida State University. She has also worked as Digital Archivist and Research Associate for the Noėl Coward Archive Trust. Her research explores the British and American musical in Londons West End from 1920-1960.
