The writer and bookseller Barry Singer discusses the new edition of his book Ever After: Forty Years of Musical Theater and Beyond, 1977-2020 (Applause Books, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Ever After: Forty Years of Musical Theater and Beyond 1977-2020 by Barry Singer (Applause Books, 2021). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Ever After

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

One of the more engaging, and in-depth histories of Broadway is out now, Ever After: Forty Years of Musical Theater and Beyond, 1977-2020. It features over one hundred interviews from luminaries of Broadway like Stephen Sondheim, Julie Taymor, Billy Porter, Laura Benanti, and more. Its author Barry Singer, joins me now. In his work as a journalist and critic, as well as a fan of the artform, he has attended almost all of the musicals that debuted in the over forty years covered in the book. He writes too about the pause on Broadway due to COVID-19 and I asked him when we spoke last week about what’s happening now on the Great White Way. One of the major themes in the book is chronicle of theatre and the evolution of musicals in these years. Whether it’s Sondheim and his work or the appearance of Disney’s mega musicals, or those of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the book covers the creative triumphs and landmarks, as well as the flops. He takes us through the birth of Wicked, and the emergence of shows like Fun Home, Dear Evan Hansen, The Band’s Visit, Hadestown, and Hamilton. Mr. Singer’s own view of the theatre can be followed in the book, as he describes his thoughts on various kinds of shows, and with the growing up of his own daughters and their own perspectives, we see Barry’s own opinion change. He dedicates this new edition of the book to them, as well as Jonathan Larson, whose tragic triumph with Rent is written about. I’ll ask Barry about when he met Larson for the first time, and their own friendship. I’ll ask him about Larson’s influence on the musical genre over these past twenty-five years even though he died in 1996. This book was originally published seventeen years ago, and this new edition is from Applause Books. Barry Singer has written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, New York magazine, as well as the Huffington Post, and Playbill. He is the author of Black and Blue: The Life and Lyrics of Andy Razaf, Alive at the Village Vanguard, and most recently Churchill Style: The Art of Being Winston Churchill. He is the proprietor of Chartwell Booksellers, one of the last independent bookstores in New York City. Visit www.barrysinger.net for more. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Barry Singer; Mr. Singer, good morning.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (25.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS