In the 1950s, Meredith Willson's
The Music Man
became the third longest running musical after
My Fair Lady
and
The Sound of Music
: a considerable achievement in a decade that saw the premieres of other popular works by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Loewe, not to mention Frank Loesser's
Guys and Dolls
and Bernstein and Sondheim's
West Side Story
.
remains a popular choice for productions and has been parodied or quoted on television shows ranging from
Family Guy
to
Grace and Frankie
Though Willson is best remembered for
, there is a great deal more to his career as a composer and lyricist. In
The Big Parade
, author Dominic McHugh uses newly uncovered letters, manuscripts, and production files to reveal Willson's unusual combination of experiences in his pre-Broadway career that led him to compose
at the age of 55. McHugh also gives an in depth look at the reception of
and examines the strengths and weaknesses of Willson's other three musicals, with his sustained commitment to innovation and novelty.
is packed with new revelations about the processes involved in writing these works, as well as the trials and tribulations of working in the commercial theatre.