This is a unique fusion of drama and music, which has become especially important during the past fifty years. Peter Riddle provides us with a detailed exploration of the evolution and development of this form of music theatre in North America. The book traces the origins of music theatre from its eighteenth-century European roots to the present. Highlights include an exploration of the minstrel show, burlesque, and the revue along with discussions about Kern and Hammerstein’s Show Boat , Cole Porter, the Gershwin Brothers, Rodgers and Hart, Oklahoma, Richard Rogers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Stephen Sondheim, and Andrew Lloyd Weber.