The Theater Will Rock: A History of the Rock Musical, from Hair to Hedwig

This title chronicles the rock musical’s artistic and financial blockbusters - and bombs - from 1960 to the present. The tumultuous decade of the 1960s in America gave birth to many new ideas and forms of expression, among them the rock musical. An unlikely offspring of the performing arts, the rock musical appeared when two highly distinctive and American art forms joined onstage in New York City.
The Theater Will Rock
explores the history of the rock musical, which has since evolved to become one of the most important cultural influences on American musical theater and a major cultural export. Packed with candid commentary by members of New York’s vibrant theater community,
The Theater Will Rock
traces the rock musical’s evolution over nearly fifty years, in popular productions such as
Hair ,
The Who’s Tommy ,
Jesus Christ Superstar ,
The Rocky Horror Picture Show ,
Little Shop of Horrors ,
Rent , and
Mamma Mia!
- and in notable flops such as
The Capeman .