[from the Preface (to the first edition):]
"I had long been aware of the need for a thorough, accurate history of the American Musical Theatre. Fine students of the field, notably Stanley Green, have published excellent works covering selected areas, but there has been no truly comprehensive work. I also became aware that young people in particular seemed unaware of the great songwriters who made those old musicals so memorable, not only someone like Vincent Youmans but even, I found to my horror, Jerome Kern!"

[from the Preface (to the first edition):]
More than twelve years have passed since I wrote the preface to the first edition of American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle. No small number of new musicals and revivals have raised their curtains on Broadway in the interim.

PROLOGUE
Origins to 1866
Music and drama have gone hand in hand from the beginning.