Reviews
"Everyone who loves the films of Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Gene Kelly wonders what happened to movie musicals after the 1960s. Roadshow! is an extensively researched and engagingly written account of the demise of musical film during those decades of tumultuous cultural upheaval." --Philip Furia, co-author of The Songs of Hollywood "High of budget and misplaced of ambition, roadshow musicals define an arresting--and quite troubling--moment in the history of film. With meticulous research and a suitably critical eye, Matthew Kennedy details the plunge from feast to famine, from bounty to bankruptcy, from The Sound of Music to Song of Norway." -Richard Barrios, author of A Song in the Dark: The Birth of Musical Film "Matthew Kennedy has written a colorful, entertaining and well-researched history of the Hollywood musical's greatest moment of crisis. This book helps to fill an important gap in our understanding of the postwar American film industry." --Sheldon Hall, Senior Lecturer in Stage and Screen, Sheffield Hallam University "Hugely entertaining...the author's research is impeccable, his story fascinating and his writing lively." - Booklist "In Matthew Kennedy's zesty, detailed investigation...we see one of America's most vital art forms implode so badly that it all but dies out...Yet the book does not read as a funeral. Mr. Kennedy writes with a sense of humor, opening up the bizarre backstage of these events." - Ethan Mordden, The Wall Street Journal "'What were they thinking' is the subtext of virtually every page in Matthew Kennedy's informative history of the Hollywood roadshow...Kennedy's wincingly detailed chronicle of out-of control spending and egos makes it clear that many of the musicals he focuses on deserved to die, but he doesn't think the roadshow itself deserved to go with them." - Wendy Smith, The Washington Post "Film historian Kennedy, in an erudite yet fetchingly entertaining style, traces the demise of ostentatious budget-busting Hollywood musicals...Kennedy juxtaposes the over-the-top theatricality and artifice inherent in these productions with the tumultuous societal and artistically discordant developments in the late Sixties EL some of the numerous stories, quotes, and anecdotes he excavates from production records and archives are priceless." -Library Journal "It's compulsively readable candy for movie buffs...It is with considerable relish, flashes of dry wit, dead-on personal opinion, well-placed ironic asides, and impressively extensive research that Kennedy details the presumed aesthetic qualities and the production histories of all these movies." - John Karr, Bay Area Reporter "It's a hilarious, gossipy, but ultimately serious look at how the humongously successful musicals of 1964-65 caused Hollywood to lose its mind." - Jim Farber, New York Daily News "Roadshow! recalls an important but forgotten piece of movie history, and it is also packed with juicy gossip involving the personalities who worked on the mega-musicals...Kennedy mixes exhaustive research with sharp analytical skills for a very tasty read." - Joe Myers, Connecticut Media Group "Much more than an entertaining foray into the rise and fall of a distinctly American art form, Roadshow! is an insightful and often discerning look at who we once were and how our values, priorities and tastes evolved during the turbulent decade of the 1960s. Indeed, social commentary is infused throughout the book in a way that brings the historical significance of musicals into sharp focus...Roadshow! provides a complete course in the cultural transformation that took place during this revolutionary period in our nation's history." - Aaron W. Hughey, Bowling Green Daily News "Kennedy engages readers throughout with his charming storytelling." --The Gay and Lesbian Review, "Road-Show The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s by Matthew Kennedy is not just a great entertaining book, it's not just a book for all lovers of the genre, but it's so funny, plenty of anecdotes, intriguing facts that you won't never put down this book until its end, trust me." -- Anna Maria Polidori, Alfemminile"In Matthew Kennedy's zesty, detailed investigation...we see one of America's most vital art forms implode so badly that it all but dies out...Yet the book does not read as a funeral. Mr. Kennedy writes with a sense of humor, opening up the bizarre backstage of these events." - Ethan Mordden, The Wall Street Journal "'What were they thinking' is the subtext of virtually every page in Matthew Kennedy's informative history of the Hollywood roadshow...Kennedy's wincingly detailed chronicle of out-of control spending and egos makes it clear that many of the musicals he focuses on deserved to die, but he doesn't think the roadshow itself deserved to go with them." - Wendy Smith, The Washington Post "Film historian Kennedy, in an erudite yet fetchingly entertaining style, traces the demise of ostentatious budget-busting Hollywood musicals...Kennedy juxtaposes the over-the-top theatricality and artifice inherent in these productions with the tumultuous societal and artistically discordant developments in the late Sixties 'e¦ some of the numerous stories, quotes, and anecdotes he excavates from production records and archives are priceless." -Library Journal "It's compulsively readable candy for movie buffs...It is with considerable relish, flashes of dry wit, dead-on personal opinion, well-placed ironic asides, and impressively extensive research that Kennedy details the presumed aesthetic qualities and the production histories of all these movies." - John Karr, Bay Area Reporter "It's a hilarious, gossipy, but ultimately serious look at how the humongously successful musicals of 1964-65 caused Hollywood to lose its mind." - Jim Farber, New York Daily News "Roadshow! recalls an important but forgotten piece of movie history, and it is also packed with juicy gossip involving the personalities who worked on the mega-musicals...Kennedy mixes exhaustive research with sharp analytical skills for a very tasty read." - Joe Myers, Connecticut Media Group "Much more than an entertaining foray into the rise and fall of a distinctly American art form, Roadshow! is an insightful and often discerning look at who we once were and how our values, priorities and tastes evolved during the turbulent decade of the 1960s. Indeed, social commentary is infused throughout the book in a way that brings the historical significance of musicals into sharp focus...Roadshow! provides a complete course in the cultural transformation that took place during this revolutionary period in our nation's history." - Aaron W. Hughey, Bowling Green Daily News "Kennedy engages readers throughout with his charming storytelling." --The Gay and Lesbian Review, "Everyone who loves the films of Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Gene Kelly wonders what happened to movie musicals after the 1960s. Roadshow! is an extensively researched and engagingly written account of the demise of musical film during those decades of tumultuous cultural upheaval." --Philip Furia, co-author of The Songs of Hollywood "High of budget and misplaced of ambition, roadshow musicals define an arresting--and quite troubling--moment in the history of film. With meticulous research and a suitably critical eye, Matthew Kennedy details the plunge from feast to famine, from bounty to bankruptcy, from The Sound of Music to Song of Norway." -Richard Barrios, author of A Song in the Dark: The Birth of Musical Film "Matthew Kennedy has written a colorful, entertaining and well-researched history of the Hollywood musical's greatest moment of crisis. This book helps to fill an important gap in our understanding of the postwar American film industry." --Sheldon Hall, Senior Lecturer in Stage and Screen, Sheffield Hallam University, "Road-Show The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s by Matthew Kennedy is not just a great entertaining book, it's not just a book for all lovers of the genre, but it's so funny, plenty of anecdotes, intriguing facts that you won't never put down this book until its end, trust me." -- Anna Maria Polidori, Alfemminile"In Matthew Kennedy's zesty, detailed investigation...we see one of America's most vital art forms implode so badly that it all but dies out...Yet the book does not read as a funeral. Mr. Kennedy writes with a sense of humor, opening up the bizarre backstage of these events." - Ethan Mordden, The Wall Street Journal "'What were they thinking' is the subtext of virtually every page in Matthew Kennedy's informative history of the Hollywood roadshow...Kennedy's wincingly detailed chronicle of out-of control spending and egos makes it clear that many of the musicals he focuses on deserved to die, but he doesn't think the roadshow itself deserved to go with them." - Wendy Smith, The Washington Post "Film historian Kennedy, in an erudite yet fetchingly entertaining style, traces the demise of ostentatious budget-busting Hollywood musicals...Kennedy juxtaposes the over-the-top theatricality and artifice inherent in these productions with the tumultuous societal and artistically discordant developments in the late Sixties ... some of the numerous stories, quotes, and anecdotes he excavates from production records and archives are priceless." -Library Journal "It's compulsively readable candy for movie buffs...It is with considerable relish, flashes of dry wit, dead-on personal opinion, well-placed ironic asides, and impressively extensive research that Kennedy details the presumed aesthetic qualities and the production histories of all these movies." - John Karr, Bay Area Reporter "It's a hilarious, gossipy, but ultimately serious look at how the humongously successful musicals of 1964-65 caused Hollywood to lose its mind." - Jim Farber, New York Daily News "Roadshow! recalls an important but forgotten piece of movie history, and it is also packed with juicy gossip involving the personalities who worked on the mega-musicals...Kennedy mixes exhaustive research with sharp analytical skills for a very tasty read." - Joe Myers, Connecticut Media Group "Much more than an entertaining foray into the rise and fall of a distinctly American art form, Roadshow! is an insightful and often discerning look at who we once were and how our values, priorities and tastes evolved during the turbulent decade of the 1960s. Indeed, social commentary is infused throughout the book in a way that brings the historical significance of musicals into sharp focus...Roadshow! provides a complete course in the cultural transformation that took place during this revolutionary period in our nation's history." - Aaron W. Hughey, Bowling Green Daily News "Kennedy engages readers throughout with his charming storytelling." --The Gay and Lesbian Review, "Everyone who loves the films of Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Gene Kelly wonders what happened to movie musicals after the 1960s. Roadshow! is an extensively researched and engagingly written account of the demise of musical film during those decades of tumultuous cultural upheaval." --Philip Furia, co-author of The Songs of Hollywood "High of budget and misplaced of ambition, roadshow musicals define an arresting--and quite troubling--moment in the history of film. With meticulous research and a suitably critical eye, Matthew Kennedy details the plunge from feast to famine, from bounty to bankruptcy, from The Sound of Music to Song of Norway." -Richard Barrios, author of A Song in the Dark: The Birth of Musical Film "Matthew Kennedy has written a colorful, entertaining and well-researched history of the Hollywood musical's greatest moment of crisis. This book helps to fill an important gap in our understanding of the postwar American film industry." --Sheldon Hall, Senior Lecturer in Stage and Screen, Sheffield Hallam University "Hugely entertaining...the author's research is impeccable, his story fascinating and his writing lively." - Booklist "In Matthew Kennedy's zesty, detailed investigation...we see one of America's most vital art forms implode so badly that it all but dies out...Yet the book does not read as a funeral. Mr. Kennedy writes with a sense of humor, opening up the bizarre backstage of these events." - Ethan Mordden, The Wall Street Journal "'What were they thinking' is the subtext of virtually every page in Matthew Kennedy's informative history of the Hollywood roadshow...Kennedy's wincingly detailed chronicle of out-of control spending and egos makes it clear that many of the musicals he focuses on deserved to die, but he doesn't think the roadshow itself deserved to go with them." - Wendy Smith, The Washington Post "Film historian Kennedy, in an erudite yet fetchingly entertaining style, traces the demise of ostentatious budget-busting Hollywood musicals...Kennedy juxtaposes the over-the-top theatricality and artifice inherent in these productions with the tumultuous societal and artistically discordant developments in the late Sixties EL some of the numerous stories, quotes, and anecdotes he excavates from production records and archives are priceless." -Library Journal "It's compulsively readable candy for movie buffs...It is with considerable relish, flashes of dry wit, dead-on personal opinion, well-placed ironic asides, and impressively extensive research that Kennedy details the presumed aesthetic qualities and the production histories of all these movies." - John Karr, Bay Area Reporter "It's a hilarious, gossipy, but ultimately serious look at how the humongously successful musicals of 1964-65 caused Hollywood to lose its mind." - Jim Farber, New York Daily News "Roadshow! recalls an important but forgotten piece of movie history, and it is also packed with juicy gossip involving the personalities who worked on the mega-musicals...Kennedy mixes exhaustive research with sharp analytical skills for a very tasty read." - Joe Myers, Connecticut Media Group "Much more than an entertaining foray into the rise and fall of a distinctly American art form, Roadshow! is an insightful and often discerning look at who we once were and how our values, priorities and tastes evolved during the turbulent decade of the 1960s. Indeed, social commentary is infused throughout the book in a way that brings the historical significance of musicals into sharp focus...Roadshow! provides a complete course in the cultural transformation that took place during this revolutionary period in our nation's history." - Aaron W. Hughey, Bowling Green Daily News
