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        Pete Atkin >> Words >> Clive James & The Broadway Musical
        
(Message started by: Kevin Cryan on Today at 10:32)

Title: Clive James & The Broadway Musical
Post by Kevin Cryan on Today at 10:32

In his Atlantic review of Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Showtime-History-Broadway-Musical-Theater/dp/0393067157) by Larry Stempel, Clive James writes:

THOUGH HIS BOOK is unusually good, Larry Stempel is not the first to sum up the history of the Broadway musical theater. The literature, as they say, is vast. They say that about subjects where literature is not the first thing you want. You want it only later on, after you have already fallen for the subject because of its inherent enjoyability, and not because of what can be brought to it by way of explanation.

For the remainder of the review, with a few nods in the book's direction, and with a wealth of detail and some astute observations, James recounts how he'd himself has fallen for the Broadway musical tradition, a tradition which he, quite rightly I believe, sees as being both a theatrical and a cinematic one.

It's a fascinating read, and one that's prompted me to resolve to use my spare time this weekend listening some of a terrific original cast recordings I have in my collection, but haven't listened to in a while.

I suppose that by saying that my immediate plan is to listen to Guys and Dolls, South Pacific and Kiss Me Kate rather than rush out and buy Mr. Stempel's book, I'm well on my way to saying that literature may not even be the last thing you want.

Read on (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/how-broadway-conquered-the-world/8242/1/)

Kevin Cryan

Title: Re: CJ on QT
Post by Douglas Fergus on 12.11.10 at 10:22

Hi everybody!

Don't know if this has been mentioned already.
Clive James was a guest panellist on BBC Question Time last night; predictably a voice of reason (not to mention humour) on a programme that I find becoming increasingly inane.
Meant to notify yesterday, but forgot (it's an age thing). ;)
Anyway, should be available to view online on BBC i-player.

Regards,

Douglas

Title: Re: CJ on QT
Post by S J Birkill on 12.11.10 at 23:29

on 11/12/10 at 10:22:04, Douglas Fergus wrote :

Anyway, should be available to view online on BBC i-player.

Hmmph -- blocked to those of us wrong side of the Pond. Still, with any luck those good sharers at thebox.bz will have made it available in time for our return.

Steve

Leaving the TV firmly off in sunny Laguna Beach, South California