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Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops |
Author: Ken Mandelbaum
Published: 1992-08-15 |
List price: $19.95
Our price: $13.57
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As of: November 21st, 2008 05:49:53 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR BROADWAY MUSICAL LOVERS
If you think you're a Broadway musical lover and you haven't got this encyclopedia of flops, don't call yourself a musical fan. It's absolutely essential to read it, and more than once. The book is accurate and full of engrossing details; it's rich in photographs of shows, playbills and interpreters; it's written in a very simple way which makes it entertaining and fast reading. However, humor (quite black, sometimes) is its most conspicuous characteristic. As I often read in subways and buses, I've sometimes felt quite embarrased because I burst out laughing so loud. Somehow you may feel sorry for all those creators who thought they were coming out with a work of art but became the greatest turkeys of all times instead. Some other times you'll feel sad to know that some real good musicals with wonderful scores such as RAGS, CARMELINA or THE BAKER'S WIFE couldn't make it in the Big Apple. For sure, you'll get double pleasure if you have ever listened to some of the musicals cited in the book, although many of them did not even reach the recording stage. No doubt about it: it's a fascinating, hilarious and amazing chronicle on musical disasters that you can't miss and that you'll read thoroughly in one single day: you simply can't put it down.
Only If You Love Musical Comedy
Fabulous research screaming for a sequel for the last 15 years. Buy this if you love musical comedy. Otherwise you might be bored by the details, but never by the author's wit.
Top Flight Reference - Entertaining, Too
This is a must read for any Broadway fan! Mandelbaum dishes on which shows deserved to be flops, and which were victims of circumstances. Read it!
Should be required reading for all Broadway buffs
Plenty has been said about the most prominent examples of the American musical theatre repertoire; such classic shows as SOUTH PACIFIC, WEST SIDE STORY, and COMPANY have been endlessly dissected, analyzed, and deconstructed.
"Not Since Carrie," however, is the first book to take a look at the losers--the shows that, for one reason or another, failed to light up the Great White Way for long, bringing disgrace, financial loss, and (sometimes) embarrassment to all involved. The fact that the book is one of the few on musical theatre to do this is enough reason alone to pick up a copy, but Mandelbaum thankfully provides each entry with plenty of interesting information and insightful, witty commentary. Additionally, many of the shows have been lost to history (CARRIE, in particular, has been all but buried by its creators as an embarrassment), never having been recorded or having long out-of-print recordings (although studio cast recordings and rereleases of some shows have occured since the book was published), so this collection of information on the show is all casual fans have to remember the show.
If there is one criticism of the book, it is one that others below have noted: the book needs an update! In the 14 years since the book was published the Broadway scene has changed immeasurably and a new edition of the book ought to reflect that. I for one would love to hear Mandelbaum's thoughts on such recent notorious flops as DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES or LENNON, as well as more recent "heartbreakers" (A CLASS ACT, JANE EYRE THE MUSICAL).
All in all, this book represents a bit of a stepping stone for casual or beginning musical theatre lovers--once they've grown to fully appreciate the classics, they next turn to the far more fascinating story of flops, and "Not Since Carrie" is an indispensible primer.
I can never put it down!
I have read NOT SINCE CARRIE from cover to cover several times. Ken Mendelbaum's writing is witty, entertaining, and informative. The first chapter, entitled "Catastrophes and Camp," is the most hilarious, conjuring up "ineffable mental pictures" (Mendelbaum's words) of such all-out Broadway fiascos as KELLY, LEGS DIAMOND, and PRINCE OF CENTRAL PARK. Later chapters, especially "Missed Opportunities" and "Heartbreakers and Cream," are both funny and fascinating, describing musicals that might have been hits but, for whatever reason, were not. The fifth chapter, "Don't Let This Happen To You," is the most interesting, explaining in depth the reasons WHY particular shows failed. Likewise, the book's epilogue examines the infamous CARRIE and finds that, after all, Stephen King's novel is not so bizarre a subject for a musical. Because Mendelbaum is such a knowledgable theatre historian and gifted writer, NOT SINCE CARRIE, riotously funny as it is, is also a valuable piece of musical theatre scholarship.
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