The Richard Rodgers Reader
Geoffrey Block
Reviews and Awards
"A comprehensive and informative overview of the life and music of Richard Rodgers...For anyone curious about the life and works of 'the most successful, productive, diverse, and influential American composer for the musical stage of the 20th Century,' Block's collection is an excellent and comprehensive introduction...the work will well reward serious readers interested in the American musical theatre and one of its greatest practitioners."--American Music
"Excellent."--John Lahr, The New Yorker
"A great first look for those interested in learning more about Rodgers and a must-have for the serious musical theatre scholar."--MetroBeat
"A useful and informative anthology of essays, interviews, and criticism drawn from a diversity of published and unpublished sources...The Richard Rodgers Reader is like surfing the Internet. One can dip into it or read it section by section."--Mel Gussow, New York Times
"Just when you think The Richard Rodgers Reader is going to be academic, it turns out to be as fascinating as a good novel. It's not a whodunnit, but a how-dunnit. How did such a cranky, bourgeois guy create those soaring melodies? By letting many people pay respects or take shots, the book creates a three-dimensional portrait of a complicated and brilliant man."--Playbill Readers' Circle
"Block has assembled fascinating pieces of writing about the popular American composer of Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music.... A fine combination of anecdote, music criticism, and biography."--Library Journal
"Editor Block drew on biographies, memoirs, letters, essays on the musical theater, theatrical criticism, and interviews to amass this collection...this reader depicts Rodgers as methodical, versatile, outgoing, and a family man--'the most successful, productive, diverse, and influential American composer for the musical stage of the twentieth century.'"--Booklist
"Fabulous...One comes away from this volume with a solid feel for his work and for the man himself." --DC Theatre Scene