About
Magazines
Advertise
Contact
Menu
The City Magazine For Saint Augustine
  • Events
  • Stories
    • Food
    • People
    • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Shopping
    • Living
    • View All
  • About
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Get Featured
    • Contact
Subscribe to St. Augustine Social!
Subscribe
Give As Gift
  • Home
  • Events
  • Stories
    • Food
    • People
    • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Shopping
    • Living
    • View All
Arts and Culture, Community

St. Augustine Author & Flagler College Professor Pens Book About British Musicals That Came to America

Thomas S. Hischak has released “The Mikado to Matilda: British Musicals on the New York Stage," an exploration of titles from across the pond and their success in the US.

August 17, 2020 | St. Augustine Social
a crowd gathers in times square in new york city

Local author and Flagler College professor, Thomas S. Hischak, is excited to announce the release of his 30th book, “The Mikado to Matilda: British Musicals on the New York Stage.” Published by Rowman & Littlefield, the book covers 110 British musicals, ranging from 1750 to present day, including popular Gilbert and Sullivan comic operettas during the Victorian-era, Andrew Lloyd Webber mega-musicals of the late twentieth century, and recent hits such as “Billy Elliot” and “Matilda.” This is the first book specifically covering this London-to-Broadway traffic flow.

book cover of the mikado to matilda

In “The Mikado to Matilda,” Hischak looks at each London musical first as a success in England and then how it fared in America. The plots, songs, songwriters, performers, and producers for both the West End and the Broadway (or Off-Broadway) production are identified and described. The discussion is sometimes critical, evaluating the musicals and why they were or were not a success in New York. The illustrated book is full of rare and familiar titles as well as many surprises, such as the long-running champ, “Salad Days” (1954), which ran 2,283 performances in London, but only 80 performances in New York. Also discussed are the changes made to musicals when they crossed the Atlantic – often with painful results – as with the Fringe Theatre success, “Taboo,” faltering on Broadway and the modest London musical, “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine,” becoming a surprise Broadway hit.

“There is no guarantee that what pleases London audiences will appeal to Broadway theatregoers,” Hischak explained. “For over 100 years, producers have been baffled by the difference between West End triumphs and New York successes. More recently, long-running London hits like ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ both lost a bundle on Broadway. What went wrong?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

professor thomas hiscak is the author of the mikado to matilda

 Thomas S. Hischak is the author of over thirty books on theatre, film, and popular music including “The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film and Television”; “The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia”; “1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year”; “The Tin Pan Alley Encyclopedia”; and “The Oxford Companion to American Theatre” (3rd edition) with Gerald Bordman. The author earned his B.A. from St. Louis University and his M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He is the author of over 50 published plays and a Fulbright Scholar who has taught and directed in Greece, Lithuania, and Turkey. Mr. Hischak taught theatre at SUNY Cortland for more than 30 years and currently teaches at Flagler College in St. Augustine.

 

The book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Learn more at www.thomashischak.com.

Meet The Author
  • Website
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
St. Augustine Social
For and about St. Johns County residents, St. Augustine Social is the authority on a life well lived on the first coast. Designed to engage active families and the cultured reader, our editorial highlights the stories that residents and visitors truly want to know about our town like weekend guides, hometown talent, local food flavors, home improvement, top tastemakers, interesting personalities and nationwide shopping trends available right in our backyard.


NEW FOOD TRUCK CO-OP OPENS TO ST. JOHNS COUNTY BUSINESSES
Read More...

LOCAL TEACHER BUILDS VERTICAL SKATE RAMP FOR COMMUNITY KIDS
Read More...

AS IF! THE 90’S FEST ANNOUNCES COOLIO AND KEN & DREW OF SISTER HAZEL
Read More...

The Best Chowder in St. Augustine
Read More...

you might also be interested in...

AS IF! THE 90’S FEST ANNOUNCES COOLIO AND KEN & DREW OF SISTER HAZEL

Artists participating in Art Plein Air Paint Out

Artists to converge on the historic streets of St. Augustine

Veteran Art Exhibit Coming This Summer to the St. Augustine Art Association

Add Your Business
We help local businesses & restaurants reach their target customers. Click to learn how to join St. Augustine Social.

The Celebration Society Logo

St. Augustine Social is THE city magazine for St. Augustine, FL. Our mission is to discover interesting stories and interpret St. Augustine's unique culture in a way that uplifts, educates and enlightens invested St. Augustinians. We live to create breathtaking imagery and engage in a warm, playful dialogue that promotes our town and the talent, commerce, food flavors, and top tastemakers that live here.

Search St. Augustine Events
Search Plan a St. Augustine Wedding

USEFUL LINKS

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Submit Your Event
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2022 St. Augustine Social - Occasions Media Group.
Crafted with     in St. Augustine, FL