When I was just a fledgling theater buff, devouring every book and article I could find on the subject, there were several writers who's passion and eloquence fanned the flames of my interest. By the time I had finished reading David Ewen's 800 page Complete Book of the American Musical Theater cover to cover, I was not just hooked -- I had enough trivia to drive anyone mad.

Between the hundreds of books in my home and the thousands more I access through various libraries, its fair to say I still read an average of three or more books per week. And the lion's share of those books relate to – surprise, surprise – musical theater and film.

When you spend as much time reading about musical theater as I do, you develop an abiding affection and respect for the people who spend countless hours documenting the development of this art form. The list below is a tip of the hat to those who bring musical theater history alive. All twelve on my list are men – through necessity. So few women have written on this subject! (And attention film buffs - I will post a similar tribute to musical film historians in the near future.)

I tried to keep it to a dozen -- had to settle for a bit over a baker's. In alphabetical order, here is my short list of "the best of the best"–

Daniel Blum - A childhood hobby of compiling theater scrap books led Blum to invent the annual Theatre World in 1944. While the focus of this series extends to all forms of the professional theater in America, it remains a key source for musical theater research.

Gerald Bordman - His encyclopedic The American Musical Theatre is one of the greatest books on the subject, and his biography of Jerome Kern is still definitive. In fact, I never met a Bordman book I didn't like – or didn't learn from.

David Ewen - One of the first heavy-duty musical theater researchers. This writer's Complete History of The American Musical Theater helped me to fall in love with this subject, for which I remain deeply grateful. His passion was that catchy!

Peter Filichia - Peter is that rare thing, a legit newspaper theater critic with a bona fide passion for musicals. Aside from his fine print reviews, his online column (currently on theatermania.com) and his amazingly useful book Let's Put On a Show provide ongoing sources of information and genuine entertainment. Peter's mastery of trivia is as much a reflection of his abiding passion for musical theater as it is an ongoing source of witty entertainment for the rest of us.

Herbert G. Goldman - After many years as a sports writer, he turned his attention to some of the greatest stage entertainers of the early 20th Century. His biographies of Al Jolson and Fanny Brice, with their detailed performance lists, bring a lost era back to life with wit and obvious affection.

Stanley Green - This prolific writer turned out a stream of musical theater and film histories, encyclopedias and picture books. My favorite – Ring Bells, Sing Songs, a fascinating and detailed examination of every Broadway musical of the 1930's.

Mary C. Henderson - Her book The City and The Theatre is still a groundbreaker after three decades, showing how New York and its theatres grew together over the last three centuries.

Miles Kreuger - His heartfelt Show Boat: The Story of a Classic American Musical inspired the long overdue rediscovery and renewal of this epic show. Kreuger also oversees one of the most fascinating musical theater archives in existence.

John Lahr - An insightful theater critic, his Notes On a Cowardly Lion remains one of the most moving musical theatrical biographies ever written. His writings on Noel Coward are always fascinating.

Alan Jay Lerner - Along with his entertaining autobiography The Street Where I Live, his insightful Musical Theater: An Appreciation made Lerner the only major lyricist/librettist to date who doubled as a top notch historian of the genre. His love for the musical radiates from every page her wrote.

Ken Mandelbaum - His online reviews are always interesting, and his Not Since Carrie, a passionate tribute to legendary flops, makes this man one of the most popular authors in this field.

Ethan Mordden - One of the most deliciously opinionated and dedicated musical theater lovers to ever put pen to paper, his ongoing decade-by decade series on Broadway in the 20th Century is an unparalleled treasure trove of information. 

Cecil Smith - The Father of them all! Long before anyone else was paying serious scholarly attention to musical theater, Smith wrote the fascinating Musical Comedy in America. The first wide-ranging book on the subject, it remains one of the best.

Steve Suskin - Every student and writer interested in the musical theater relies on this man's extraordinary research. From his voluminous Show Tunes to the collected reviews in both volumes of Opening Nights on Broadway, to his ongoing CD reviews on Playbill.com, he is one of the mainstays in this field.

John Willis - As editor of the Theatre World Annual since the mid-1960's, he has maintained the most respected chronicle of the professional American theater, musical and otherwise. I am still overwhelmed by the amount of detailed information he compiles every year.

It is a genuine pleasure to note that all but five of these writers are still alive and well. A rousing cheer to them all, for what they have written and all they will write in the future.

JK's Theater Journal

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