Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Palgrave Macmillan

New York City and the Hollywood Musical

Dancing in the Streets

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Martha Shearer

    1. King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Examines the relationship between the New York of the musical and the off-screen reality of the city
  • A rare look at the link between musicals and New York City
  • Features new interpretations of On the Town, The Band Wagon, Guys and Dolls and West Side Story

Part of the book series: Screening Spaces (SCSP)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction: A Wonderful Town?

    • Martha Shearer
    Pages 1-13

  3. Urban Space and the Origins of the Musical

    • Martha Shearer
    Pages 15-44

  4. The Neighbourhood Musical

    • Martha Shearer
    Pages 45-74

  5. The Nostalgia Musical

    • Martha Shearer
    Pages 75-111

  6. Fabulous Invalids: Broadway and Times Square

    • Martha Shearer
    Pages 113-151

  7. A New Way of Living: Post-war Musicals and the New New York

    • Martha Shearer
    Pages 153-192

  8. Epilogue: Death or Metamorphosis?

    • Martha Shearer
    Pages 193-213

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 215-230
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

In examining the relationship between the spectacular, iconic and vibrant New York of the musical and the off-screen history and geography of the real city—this book explores how the city shaped the genre and equally how the genre shaped representations of the city. Shearer argues that while the musical was for many years a prime vehicle for the idealization of urban density, the transformation New York underwent after World War II constituted a major challenge to its representation. Including analysis of 42nd Street, Swing Time, Cover Girl, On the Town, The Band Wagon, Guys and Dolls, West Side Story and many other classic and little-known musicals—this book is an innovative study of the relationship between cinema and urban space.

Authors and Affiliations

  • King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Martha Shearer

About the author

Martha Shearer teaches in the Department of Film Studies at King’s College London, UK. She has published articles in Screen and The Soundtrack and her research focuses on the city in American cinema and media, particularly in relation to genre, gender and the history of the Hollywood film industry.

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation