All That Jazz, Ethan Mordden
All That Jazz, Ethan Mordden
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

All That Jazz
The Life and Times of the Musical Chicago

Author: Ethan Mordden

Narrator: Joel Froomkin

Unabridged: 9 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/28/2018


Synopsis

In 1975, the Broadway musical Chicago brought together a host of memes and myths—the gleefully subversive character of American musical comedy, the reckless glamour of the big-city newspaper, the mad decade of the 1920s, the work of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon, and the Wild West gangsterville that was the city of Chicago itself.

The tale of a young woman who murders her departing lover and then tricks the jury into letting her off, Chicago seemed too blunt and cynical at first. Everyone agreed it was show biz at its brilliant best, yet the public still preferred A Chorus Line, with its cast of innocents and sentimental feeling. Nevertheless, the 1996 Chicago revival is now the longest-running American musical in history.

As author Ethan Mordden looks back at Chicago's various moving parts—including the original 1926 play that started it all, a sexy silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, a talkie remake with Ginger Rogers, the musical itself, and at last the movie of the musical—we see how the American theater serves as a kind of alternative news medium, a town crier warning the public about the racy, devious interior contradictions of American society. Opinionated, witty, and rich in backstage anecdotes, All That Jazz brings the American musical to life in all its artistry and excitement.

About Ethan Mordden

Ethan Mordden is a recognized expert on American musical theater and the author of When Broadway Went to Hollywood, Anything Goes: A History of American Musical Theatre, Make Believe: The Broadway Musical in the 1920s, Beautiful Mornin': The Broadway Musical in the 1940s, Coming Up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s, and On Sondheim: An Opinionated Guide. His writing has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. His numerous books include friendly introductions to opera and film, as well as five collections of short stories chronicling gay life in New York City. He lives in Manhattan.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ronie on August 30, 2023

Well, that was a lot of narratives to get through. Very interesting, how the play was change. I need to get a taping of it. I only watched the movie. I feel I missed out on whole sections......more

Goodreads review by Scott on March 10, 2019

Ethan Morddeen's passion for the Theatre is such a joy to read. I truly appreciate the in-depth research and history he discusses in rich detail.......more

Goodreads review by Hillary on February 11, 2022

To be honest I mainly wanted to get the inside scoop on the most recent movie, because as a millennial that’s the version of the musical I’m most familiar with. There was a lot of discussion about the 1920’s, Chicago as a city, and other musicals that I didn’t really come for but some of which was i......more

Goodreads review by Tim on April 23, 2018

If you've read his other books, you know Mr. Mordden is not afraid to express his opinion which can make for entertaining and sometimes aggravating reading. But never dull. This book has some interesting background stories but I found it surprisingly flat considering the colorful subject matter.......more

Goodreads review by Veronica on December 14, 2018

All That Jazz is a fascinating study of not just the history of the musical Chicago, but an exploration of the times and people responsible for shaping the original play into the well-known musical revival of the late twentieth century. Written for lovers of history as well as lovers of theatre, All......more