The American Musical is a unique fusion between drama and music, which has become especially important during the past 50 years. Peter Riddle provides us with a detailed exploration of the evolution and development of this form of music theatre in North America. The American Musical traces the origins of music theatre from its 18th-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.