The Great American Songbook

Musicals have been a staple of American cinema since the advent of sound in 1927. The ability to synchronize movement with audio brought a new breed of performers to the silver screen. When we look back, it is these performers—and perhaps the directors—we focus on as the reason for the films’ enduring quality. The composers and lyricists, while not entirely forgotten, are less often credited with the success of a film. But it is the songs we hum on the way out of the theater, and this summer, we are focusing on their creators.

“The Great American Songbook” is a term for American popular music and jazz standards from the first half of the twentieth century. Starting with the music popularized by the composers from Tin Pan Alley to the new musical plays being produced in the 1920s and 1930s to music composed directly for films, this series highlights composers and lyricists in the first few decades of cinematic musicals. From the well-known names of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and George and Ira Gershwin, to the lesser known Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed, Al Dubin, Harry Warren, and Gus Kahn, this series offers an overview of musical talent that will keep you humming through the fall. 

Special guest Michael Lasser will be introducing many of these films. Michael Lasser is a lecturer, writer, broadcaster, and critic. His latest book, City Songs and American Life, 1900–1950, was published in June 2019. He is also the co-author, with Philip Furia, of America’s Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley (2006), and the author of America’s Songs II: From the 1890s to the Post-War Years (2013). His nationally syndicated public radio show, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, has been on the air since 1980 and won a 1994 Peabody Award. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he is the former theatre critic for the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and speaks often at museums and universities around the country. In 2010, he was named a Thomas P. Johnson Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Rollins College.

Construction Comedies

The Dryden and its surrounding environment has undergone quite a bit of change over the past year. With the restoration and upgrading of the historic Colonnade, located behind the theater, and with the new Thomas Tischer Visitor Center just adjacent, the theater will have a new look from the outside, and new accessibility and egress on the inside. We take these projects very seriously, but now that they are nearly complete, we turn to Hollywood for some comedic relief. Through the years, the movies have brought us stories of people taking on the challenge of construction or remodeling—to mostly disastrous effect. It’s been said that comedy is tragedy plus time. We can laugh at these narratives now.