In fourteen years of collaboration beginning in 1957, composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick wrote seven Broadway musicals together: The Body Beautiful (opened in 1958), Fiorello! (1959), Tenderloin (1960), She Loves Me (1963), Fiddler on the Roof (1964), The Apple Tree (1966), and The Rothschilds (1970). This book presents a thorough examination of each of these shows, along with a survey of the many other smaller projects Bock and Harnick undertook as a team. It also discusses the work they did separately, before they met in the 1950s and after they went their separate ways in the ... More

In fourteen years of collaboration beginning in 1957, composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick wrote seven Broadway musicals together: The Body Beautiful (opened in 1958), Fiorello! (1959), Tenderloin (1960), She Loves Me (1963), Fiddler on the Roof (1964), The Apple Tree (1966), and The Rothschilds (1970). This book presents a thorough examination of each of these shows, along with a survey of the many other smaller projects Bock and Harnick undertook as a team. It also discusses the work they did separately, before they met in the 1950s and after they went their separate ways in the early 1970s. Drawing from extensive archives of drafts, manuscripts, and lyric sheets, and new personal interviews and communications with the songwriters and many of their collaborators, the book explores the history and reception of each show and its place in the public consciousness. It documents myriad details of each show’s songs, explaining their dramatic impact and artistic vitality. Placing the work of Bock and Harnick in its historical context—within a pivotal era in the history of musical theater—the book demonstrates that they were expert craftsmen, who came to master the integration of music with drama,