Give My Regards to Broadway

“As late as the turn of the century, the stage was truly a national construction. It was centered on Broadway, but there was much creative activity in other regions; Chicago had almost has many theatres as New York. However the expansion of theatre […] in the 1910s and 1920s made New York more than the center of activity: the source of it” (106).

The Book

Anything Goes: A History of the American Musical Theatre by Ethan Mordden follows the birth of the musical in America and the resulting innovations and genres. Mordden traces the first musical produced (The Beggar’s Opera in London) in 1728 to the birth of the American musical (The Black Crook) in 1866 to the present day blockbuster Wicked. As the musical evolved, innovations were first made in the score, then set design, and then the book itself. Once all three of these innovations were accomplished, unique characters became the norm for any musical.

While an interesting book, Anything Goes often feels like a detailed list. The plots for some musicals are described in detail and others are glossed over. Generous time is given to several key figures in American musical history, some are well-known names like Rodgers and Hammerstein and some are not as well-known like Victor Herbert. Mordden does well when he shows the way musicals changed and incorporated new and old concepts. Throughout the book, the American musical is shown maturing from shows with unrelated to songs to shows where “the script told the story and the score enhanced it in various ways” (119).

The Place

Broadway is synonymous with the American musical and the best way to experience Broadway is to attend a musical. TKTS provides day-of tickets at half the price. My friend and I bought our tickets through TKTS when we saw The Phantom of the Opera. Our seats were on the first floor towards the back and we had a great view of the stage. All shows on Broadway are offered, as long as there are empty seats for that date.

In the heart of Broadway is the restaurant Sardi’s. Mordden doesn’t mention Sardi’s in Anything Goes, but it is a large part of the American musical. Many casts would go to Sardi’s after opening night to wait for the first reviews. If you don’t have time to see a show or eat at Sardi’s, simply walking past the historic theatres is also a great way to experience Broadway. Each theatre has a story about past shows (hits and flops) and the actors who walked the stage. 

High Above Manhattan

“It was, […] a building that would represent the United States, ‘a land which reached for the sky with its feet on the ground’” (5).

The Book

Mark Kingwell calls his book, Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building, “a guided tour of the Empire State Building” (22). Kingwell provides the reader a history of the men involved, time period it was built, publicity, and the design. The driving force behind the creation was Alfred Smith, former governor of New York, and John Jakob Raskob, former employee of General Motors. Through their leadership, the Empire State Building took eighteen months to complete (four and a half stories a week), came in under budget, and ahead of schedule. All of this occurred during the Great Depression.

Kingwell looks at the Empire State Building as an icon, symbol, and phenomenon. He spends time on the skyscraper concept, architecture, and construction feats. The reader will read about the Empire State Building’s influence in culture, nostalgia, and film. We have a fascination with reaching the sky and the Empire State Building is a perfect example of that desire and a status symbol.  

Each chapter is interesting, however the book delves into political, social, and historical commentary. It would be nice to read more about the actual construction of the building and the people who worked on it. The guided tour is more a look at the Empire State Building’s place in culture and architecture history.

The Place

There are so many places to visit in New York City and you can easily spend a couple of days there. The Empire State Building can take up to half a day, depending on the time of year and day you plan to visit. Tickets are available online and at the Empire State Building. The inside is decorated in Art Deco, giving visitors a glimpse into the past. 

Once at the Observation Deck you can spend as much time as you want looking out at Manhattan. The views include: Lower Manhattan, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other various New York City landmarks. It will be crowded at the top, but space will open up along the edges. Cloudless days are the best to visit the Empire State Building, because you will be able to see for miles. I recommend planning to spend at least an hour at the top. The views are truly stunning.

 

The Parkmaker and His New York Creation

“Central Park stands as Olmsted’s sublime achievement, a calm and lovely oasis in the frantic heart of Manhattan Island” (126). 


The Book   

Throughout Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted, author Justin Martin weaves the theme of restlessness. Olmsted spent majority of his life jumping from job to job and interest to interest. It wasn’t until he was forty-five years old that Olmsted fell into a career as a landscape architect. As you read the book, you have the sense that Olmsted would have fit in with today’s culture: his mind wasn’t set on one job for his entire life.  

Genius of Place is a biography of Olmsted’s entire life, not just the years spent working on Central Park. He was a sailor, a farmer, a writer, a newspaper correspondent, an administrator, an environmentalist, and a landscape architect. Despite all of this, Olmsted will always be known for the iconic Central Park. Martin spends several chapters describing the development and construction of the park, all 778 acres of it. Many of the features Olmsted, and his design partner Calvert Vaux, planned would take years to develop. In their plan, Olmsted and Vaux said, “twenty years hence, the town will have enclosed the Central Park. Let us consider, therefore, what will at that time be satisfactory, for it is then that the design will have to be really judged” (142). They would spend many years fighting changes in their plan and trying to stay true to the design. 

Olmsted also designed other prominent American projects: Prospect Park, Brooklyn; the suburb of Riverside, IL; the Buffalo park system; Washington Park, Chicago; U.S. Capitol Grounds, DC; Back Bay Fens, Boston; the Stanford University grounds; the Vanderbilt Biltmore estate; and the 1893 World’s Fair Columbian Exposition. 

The Place  

Central Park truly is a magical place. Nestled in the heart of Manhattan, it is sometimes easy to forget you are in one of the busiest cities in the world. A friend and I spent an entire day in Central Park and we still didn’t see everything. The best way to experience the park is to simply plan a day (or even two) to wander around. Entry is free, but the children’s’ zoo, boat rentals, and ice skating have a fee.

There are bridges to cross, boulders to climb, fields to run through, and lakes to row across. Olmsted’s trees have grown tall and provide a canopy over the walkways. Twists and turns take you further away from the noise of the city. Visitors will encounter carriages, but unless you walk along the outskirts of the park you will not see any cars. 

Despite Olmsted’s aversion to statues, there are several in Central Park that commemorate well-known figures and others that are long forgotten. My favorite statue is by the ice skating rink. It depicts a larger than life Hans Christian Anderson reading a story to the Ugly Duckling.