Mark A. Robinson and Thomas S. Hischak Will Release New Book 'Musical Misfires: Three Decades of Broadway Musical Heartbreak'

The upcoming release of the e-book "Musical Misfires: Three Decades of Broadway Musical Heartbreak" by Mark A. Robinson and Thomas S. Hischak will be the first work to look in depth at musicals since 1989 that "misfired" on Broadway.

Illustrated with forty-two photographs (most in color) and filled with backstage stories, reviews from the press, and commentary on why the musicals were not hits, "Musical Misfires: Three Decades of Broadway Musical Heartbreak" is indispensable reading for anyone who loves musical theatre, both its triumphs and it heartbreaks.

The book examines 151 musicals that did not run long enough to be considered hits. Such shows were once called flops but that is no longer an appropriate description. Some of these were superb pieces of musical theatre that, for one reason or another, couldn't find an audience, did not please the critics, couldn't pay the high weekly bills, or just were not right for the time and place in which they opened. Oft-overlooked gems like "The Scottsboro Boys," "Grey Gardens," "Sweet Smell of Success," "Xanadu," "If/Then," "Caroline, or Change," "Bright Star," "Steel Pier," "The Last Ship," and "Tuck Everlasting" are explored alongside such famous musicals as "American Idiot," "Victor/Victoria," "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Sister Act," "All Shook Up," "Be More Chill," "Shrek the Musical," "Seussical," and "Young Frankenstein" that never reached hit status on Broadway.

Juke box musicals, cutting-edge musicals, movie adaptations, teenage musicals, biographical musicals, history musicals, and even horror musicals are among the many genres included in this captivating journey through Broadway shows from 1989 to 2020 in search of success. Mark A. Robinson is the author of such books as the two-volume reference series "The World of Musicals" and "Sitcommentary: Television Comedies that Changed America," as well as a regular writer for various theatre websites and record companies. Thomas S. Hischak is the author of "The Oxford Companion to the American Musical" and many other books. Together, Robinson and Hischak penned the popular "The Disney Song Encyclopedia."

"Musical Misfires: Three Decades of Broadway Musical Heartbreak" is available on all sites in which e-books are sold.