Publisher Description
From the women who pounded the pavement selling their songs in Tin Pan Alley at the turn of the twentieth century; to the women who broke new ground writing shows during the Great Depression; to the women who penned protest musicals fighting for social justice during the 1970s; to those who are revitalizing the landscape of American musicals today, Women Writing Musicals: The Legacy That the History Books Left Out is the first-ever book to tell the story of the over three hundred inspiring women who wrote Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals.
Author Jennifer Ashley Tepper offers here the definitive book on the topic, covering prolific and celebrated writers in the theatre canon like Betty Comden and Jeanine Tesori, to women who wrote musicals but gained fame elsewhere like Dolly Parton and Sara Bareilles, to figures you’ve never heard of—but definitely should have. Among the gems shared here:
The story of Clara Driscoll, who saved the Alamo, and also wrote a Broadway musical
The first all-female writing team for a musical—in 1924!
The career of Micki Grant who, in 1972, became the first Black woman to write book, music, and lyrics for the musical Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, which became a giant hit
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About Jennifer Ashley Tepper
Jennifer Ashley Tepper is a musical theatre historian and producer and has worked on Broadway shows including Godspell, The Performers, and Macbeth. She is the co-creator and writer of the Bistro Award–winning concert series If It Only Even Runs a Minute, which celebrates underappreciated musicals. In addition, Tepper is Managing Editor of The Best Plays Theater Yearbook. She is also the Creative and Programming Director at Feinstein’s/54 Below, and the author of The Untold Stories of Broadway book series. She is the creator of The Jonathan Larson Project and historian consultant for the film version of tick, tick…BOOM! In 2020, Tepper received a 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award.