Women Writing Musicals: The Legacy That the History Books Left Out

Summary

From the women who pounded the pavement selling their songs in Tin Pan Alley at the turn of the twentieth century; to the women who broke new ground writing shows during the Great Depression; to the women who penned protest musicals fighting for social justice during the 1970s; to those who are revitalizing the landscape of American musicals today, Women Writing Musicals: The Legacy That the History Books Left Out is the first-ever book to tell the story of the over three hundred inspiring women who wrote Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals.

Author Jennifer Ashley Tepper offers here the definitive book on the topic, covering prolific and celebrated writers in the theatre canon like Betty Comden and Jeanine Tesori, to women who wrote musicals but gained fame elsewhere like Dolly Parton and Sara Bareilles, to figures you’ve never heard of—but definitely should have. Among the gems shared here:

• The story of Clara Driscoll, who saved the Alamo, and also wrote a Broadway musical

• The first all-female writing team for a musical—in 1924!

• The career of Micki Grant who, in 1972, became the first Black woman to write book, music, and lyrics for the musical Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, which became a giant hit