It takes an expert to measure Broadway’s influence on Hollywood and vice versa, but American author Ethan Mordden has the knowledge and inimitable wit to do so. In “When Broadway Went to Hollywood,” Mordden takes us behind the scenes of the great Hollywood musicals we have loved for years and discusses the impact of Broadway musicals on the movie industry.
Broadway is the theatrical district in New York City that is well-known for being the American capital of musical theater and in this book, readers gain insight into how the influx of immigrants shaped this thriving creative hub.
During the 19th century, German and Scandinavian immigrants who entered the US moved to the Midwest where a large portion became farmers. The Irish, Italian and Jewish newcomers preferred to settle in the cities of the Northeast and many moved into the entertainment business, according to the book. In the 1920s, black talent also joined in to create a multi-cultural melting pot.
It was “The Jazz Singer” that started it all. Made in 1927, it was the first movie to feature sound sequences. Originally, the lead role was given to actor George Jessel. But Jessel is said to have made demands and Warner Brothers replaced him with Al Jolson. Al Jolson could sing and had an “electrifying” presence on stage, he had the power and the talent to let “the vocals leap off the screen, take the audience into the future,” writes Mordden. Jonson sang the song “Blue Skies” and it was an immediate hit with audiences.
“This is the song that invented the Hollywood musical as the centerpiece of The Jazz Singer’s most effective sound sequence,” explains Mordden. Written by Irving Berlin, whose first songs date back to 1907, “Blue Skies” and its emotionally-charged scene was the highlight of the film. “Like him or not, he has the energy that set the Hollywood musical on the way to the rest of its life.”
Irving Berlin soon discovered that Hollywood could not offer creative freedom due to the constant interference of studio chiefs and producers. However, Berlin got lured back to Hollywood to work on “Top Hat,” which only features five of his songs.
George Gershwin and his brother Ira were also part of a limited number of Broadway professional songwriters working for Hollywood. Gershwin’s fate was sealed during a concert entitled “An Experiment in Modern Music.” Heavyweights in Manhattan attended this unique event to hear Gershwin’s latest opus, “A Rhapsody in Blue.” It was a triumph and it got Gershwin on the cover of Time magazine. As expected, he was soon in high demand in Hollywood.
Cole Porter is another famous songwriter, but unlike other Broadway talents, he loved Hollywood. During an interview with American journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, he said: “When I first came here they told me, ‘You’ll be so bored you’ll die, nobody talks about anything but pictures.’ After I was here a week, I discovered I didn’t want to talk about anything else myself.”
Porter’s collaboration with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) worked out well thanks to the company’s decision to pair him with composer-arrangers Herbert Stothart and Roger Edens. “Their imagination in putting a number together with full awareness of how the music affects the optics was elemental in the dominance of the MGM musical,” writes Mordden.
From 1940 to 1949, another golden age began due to MGM’s musicals such as “Meet me in St. Louis” and “The Pirate.” From 1950 to 1959, Broadway adaptations become more popular than ever, but the breakup of the studio system with its music departments meant that musicals were more expensive to produce. Between 1960 and 1975, Hollywood experienced a golden era with the production of great musicals such as “West Side Story,” “My Fair Lady” and “The Sound of Music.”
From 1976 to the present, Hollywood has flooded Broadway with stage versions of original Hollywood musicals such as “Gigi,” “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Footloose.” Hollywood also produced movie versions of famous Broadway shows, such as “Annie,” which was a hit on Broadway from 1977 to 1983. This should have been an easy production until John Huston was hired to direct the movie. The choreography in Annie involved lots of non-athletic acrobatics who lacked grace and beauty and some of the show’s best numbers were dropped. “It was an expensive mistake at the cost of something like a million dollars, and one of the reasons Annie did good business and still lost money,” Mordden wrote of the expensive movie-making process and the talented stars who came on board but whose suggestions were never used.
Fast forward to today and “La La Land,” a musical specially written for the silver screen, has been a resounding success. “Musicals are back,” writes Mordden. but had they ever disappeared? Can they disappear? With the crushing pressure of world events, we all need a place to escape to.
Book Review: How Broadway took Hollywood by storm
Book Review: How Broadway took Hollywood by storm
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Flows in Networks’
Authors: Lester Randolf Ford Jr. & D. R. Fulkerson
In this classic book, first published in 1962, L. R. Ford, Jr., and D. R. Fulkerson set the foundation for the study of network flow problems. The models and algorithms introduced in “Flows in Networks” are used widely today in the fields of transportation systems, manufacturing, inventory planning, image processing, and internet traffic.
The techniques presented by Ford and Fulkerson spurred the development of powerful computational tools for solving and analyzing network flow models, and also furthered the understanding of linear programming.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Planetary Climates’ by Andrew Ingersoll
This concise, sophisticated introduction to planetary climates explains the global physical and chemical processes that determine climate on any planet or major planetary satellite— from Mercury to Neptune and even large moons such as Saturn’s Titan.
Although the climates of other worlds are extremely diverse, the chemical and physical processes that shape their dynamics are the same.
As this book makes clear, the better we can understand how various planetary climates formed and evolved, the better we can understand Earth’s climate history and future.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies of North America’
- “Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects
Author: ED LAM
Dragonflies are large and beautiful insects, diverse in color and pattern. This premier field guide provides all the information you need to identify every male and female dragonfly found in North America, whether in the field, in the hand, or under the microscope.
The extensive illustrations are the heart of the book. Close-up color portraits of each species, often several times life size, show the best possible specimens for close examination.
“Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects.
What We Are Reading Today: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
- Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal
Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is an intricate, mesmerizing novel that weaves together the ordinary and the surreal, creating a tapestry of existential questions, hidden truths and unexpected journeys.
First published in 1994, the novel is often regarded as one of Murakami’s masterpieces, encapsulating his signature blend of magical realism, psychological depth, and cultural introspection.
At its heart is Toru Okada, an unassuming and somewhat disaffected man whose mundane life takes a sudden and dramatic turn when his wife, Kumiko, disappears. What begins as a straightforward search evolves into a labyrinthine journey, leading Toru to confront not only the mystery of Kumiko’s absence but also the darker forces of history, memory, and his own psyche.
Along the way, he encounters an eclectic cast of characters, each with their own enigmatic role to play in the unfolding story.
Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal. The novel’s structure mirrors this duality, as Toru navigates his increasingly strange reality while descending into dreamlike underworlds, mysterious wells, and symbolic landscapes.
These moments are imbued with Murakami’s distinctive sense of unease, where the boundaries of the tangible and intangible blur, leaving the reader questioning the nature of reality itself.
One of the novel’s great strengths is its ability to juxtapose the deeply personal with the historically and culturally significant.
While Toru’s story is intimate and introspective, it is interwoven with threads of Japanese history, particularly the atrocities of the Second World War. These historical narratives, told through the recollections of various characters, deepen the novel’s scope, turning it into a meditation on the lingering wounds of the past and their impact on the present.
“The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” also delves into themes of connection and alienation, power and vulnerability, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels inexplicable. Toru’s journey is not just a physical quest but a spiritual and emotional odyssey, forcing him to confront the unseen forces that shape his life and the lives of those around him.
Murakami’s use of symbolism and recurring motifs — cats, wells, and the titular wind-up bird — adds layers of mystery and interpretive richness to the novel. These elements, coupled with the novel’s nonlinear structure and surreal interludes, create a reading experience that is both immersive and disorienting, drawing readers into a world that is as unsettling as it is beautiful.
For longtime fans of Murakami, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is quintessential, showcasing the author’s ability to blend the banal with the extraordinary. For new readers, it offers an expansive introduction to his universe, though its complexity may require patience and reflection.
Ultimately, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is a profound exploration of the human condition — its mysteries, its contradictions, and its quiet beauty. It is a novel that refuses to offer easy answers, instead inviting readers to embrace its ambiguities and immerse themselves in its layered, dreamlike world. Murakami has crafted a story that is as haunting as it is enlightening, leaving an indelible mark on those who dare to journey into its depths.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Galápagos’
Authors: John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin
Galápagos is a comprehensive, up-to-date, and profusely illustrated natural history of this spectacular archipelago.
Offering much more information than identification guides, the book provides detailed accounts and more than 650 color photographs of the islands’ habitats, marine life, reptiles, birds, mammals, and plants, making the book a virtual nature tour of Galápagos.
Galápagos experts John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin have thoroughly revised the original text, bringing all the taxonomy up to date and adding a wealth of new information.
