American Musicals: The Complete Books and Lyrics of Sixteen Broadway Classics: A Library of America Boxed Set Hardcover – September 25, 2014

A real find: Two volumes from the Library of America people containing 1600 pages and sixteen beloved and significant Broadway musicals, including SHOW BOAT, SOUTH PACIFIC, GUYS AND DOLLS, MY FAIR LADY and CABARET. Even the packaging is festive (though the books themselves are that dispiriting LoA wan brown, with red ribbon markers bound in). A great acquisition and a great gift. My bound set came with several "lobby-card" reductions that made great postcards for Postcrossing purposes.Note: Some versions of this same book -- same ASIN -- have been showing up at incredible ask prices, one over eight hundred dollars.It serves no purpose to waste that kind of money when new copies of this are still so reasonable. At the time of this update (July, 2018), it can still be ordered new, postpaid, from Loa (loa.org) for sixty U.S. Dollars, even less here at Amazon.

If you love great musicals you won't be able to bypass this wonderful collection, in two volumes, of the complete book and lyrics of sixteen iconic American musicals. No excuses now for not getting the words right when you accompany your favourite Broadway performers in their renditions via CD or LP. Packed into a nice sturdy box with some postcards incorporating art from the original productions thrown in for collectors, this is an important publishing event which will have readers crying out for more as there are numerous other classic shows that deserve this sort of appreciation.At the back of each volume are extensive biographical notes on the authors of these noteworthy works plus Broadway Production Notes, additional lyrics, a nice selection of photos and art work from each show plus a comprehensive and invaluable section of explanatory notes giving each musical a very thorough and meaningful history for contemporary readers.

I bought this as a gift for a theatre buff. I am contemplating buying one for myself. I'm impressed by the span of shows and the thoroughness of the thing. At first, I was put off by the size of the books. I was expecting , maybe not coffee table-size, but something more than the diminutive little things they are. But I got to look at them when my fiend unwrapped them. I'm sure i'll get them, once the holidays are over and my finances improve.

I wish I'd read the description more carefully. This is two volumes - in other words, two books including the 16 librettos. I had hoped they would all be separately bound. However, this is a great collection in a nice box with beautiful postcards of the original artwork. My only legitimate complaint is that the pages are fairly thin. A great buy though!

Great box set from LOA

The books are great, but instead of applying the five stickers to the shrink wrap, there were two yellow stickers affixed directly on both book spines, two yellow stickers on the back of the slip case, and fifth large white sticker on the front of the slip case, which mar the product. Still trying to get the residue off the box.

It's fine. Type is small-ish. The commentaries are excellent but not all of the appendix material is accurate (number of performances of Oklahoma! for instance). A nice addition to the theater library but not one I'm likely to consult frequently.

If you're a fan of Broadway music at its best, this is a must for you.I read about it in our local newspaper and knew I had to add it to my library. Pricey but worth it!

Very enjoyable

It's difficult to see how this could be better done. Handsomely produced, easy to handle and intelligently annotated, it's a worthy addition to the Library of America and a model of how such things should be done.Of course, you could argue about some of the choices. I'm no fan myself, for example, of the twee and contrived though well-intentioned FINIAN'S RAINBOW. On the other hand, the wild card in Volume One, AS THOUSANDS CHEER offers a fascinating example of the 30s revue format which existed alongside the early "book" musicals.If you're interested in the craft of the stage musical, I wouldn't hesitate. Just surprised thst nobody on amazon UK has got round to reviewing it yet.