Kerrytown Concert House is delighted to welcome back its popular lecture series, The Great American Songbook: What Makes it Great?, now in its third season. Host Brent Wagner, University of Michigan Emeritus Professor of Musical Theatre, leads the exploration, while pianist Tyler Driskill, U-M Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre, brings the music to life at the Steinway — joined by guest singers from the University of Michigan Musical Theatre Department.
About the Series: Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington — these extraordinary songwriters produced so many enduring standards in the early twentieth century that their combined body of work has come to be known as “The Great American Songbook.” Recorded countless times by pop singers, jazz artists, dance bands, and even opera singers, these songs continue to be discovered and rediscovered by new generations of performers, who find fresh depth and artistry in these mini-masterpieces.
But why have these songs lasted so long? What exactly makes them “great”? Brent Wagner explores the repertoire, illuminating and demonstrating the qualities that have given these songs their enduring, rewarding legacy.
About Broadway and Hollywood in the 1930s: In the 1930s, Hollywood became the place to be for American songwriters. After the arrival of “talking pictures” in the late 1920s, the film industry exploded with movie musicals throughout the decade. Broadway composers like Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Jerome Kern were lured west, splitting their time between both coasts, while Hollywood cultivated its own stable of songwriters — Harry Warren (“42nd Street”), Johnny Mercer (“Hooray for Hollywood”), and Richard Whiting (“Too Marvelous for Words”).
Meanwhile, on Broadway, the Depression years gave rise to socially conscious songs — from the plea of “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” to the anthem of hope, “It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow.” It all culminated in 1939, one of the greatest years in film history, which gave the world the ultimate song of longing: “Over the Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz. Join Brent Wagner and Tyler Driskill as they revisit this golden era, when Broadway and Hollywood traded songs — and songwriters — across the country.