Random House -- hcNew York -- ©1953 -- 142pp
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number : 53-10704
A story of romance backstage of a Broadway musical.
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It should tell you something that I had never heard of this musical until coming across an old lp and then, more recently, spotting this book in a library. A musical by the same team that created, Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music, State Fair, and others. What it should tell you is that this isn't one of the better collaborations.
It's a pretty dull story, and a paper-thin plot. Boy likes girl, girl is seeing other boy.
What supposedly makes this unique is the staging of it. Per the description of the set, we see a portion of what is happening on stage as well as what is happening off stage. One of the major characters also happens to be a crew person, up in the fly loft. The sub plot of the conductor staying on because of an admirer in the audience falls flat -- is virtually ignored once it is first mentioned, until the very end.
In some cases, the music helps a weak book. In this case, it does not.
There's good reason to have never heard of this show, and I'm certainly not enriched by having now read and listened to it
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