Stop It

Gerald Nachman's Showstoppers! is a tough book to discuss.  A collection of essays on famous Broadway numbers, it's terribly written.  Nachman will come up with a decent idea, but then repeat it over and over; he'll state something and later on the page contradict it; he'll move on to new ideas without warning in the middle of a paragraph; he'll use awkward, even bizarre, phrasing.

And the editing is even worse.  The book gets dates wrong, misspells names, fails to close parentheses, and has numerous other problems that should have been fixed.

It's also got a weird structure, in that it separates its chapters into three sections: opening numbers (though they don't all open the show), showstoppers at any other point in the production, and anthems.  Why?  Also, the chapters each deal with specific shows (in chronological order) though some shows are repeated in the different sections.  And instead of concentrating on one showstopper in the musical, or even more than one, Nachman will often discuss other numbers that aren't showstoppers, or really anything at all about the show.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book.  Nachman, for all the errors, knows his stuff, and clearly loves the subject.  And even with the awkward phrasing, he's capable of communicating his excitement.

He's also unafraid to state his opinions, even when they go against the grain.  One of his favorite shows, for instance, is The Boys From Syracuse, and not just for the songs--he thinks the farcical plot is more inventive than the one in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.  And when a number, even a classic one, isn't up to snuff, he'll say it.  He'll even take on whole shows, pointing out the basic weaknesses of The Producers or Wicked.

So if you're a fan of Broadway musicals, this is the book for you.  Just ignore the bad stuff and have a good time.