Before the Parade Passes By: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical Review

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Before the Parade Passes By: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical ReviewGower Champion had one of the more interesting careers in Broadway history. After minor stage work and major Hollywood and TV work, he wowed Broadway with his production of BYE BYE BIRDIE, following that success with three other big hits, CARNIVAL, HELLO DOLLY! And I DO, I DO. He then had a long series of flops and misfires before going out on a blaze of glory with his production of 42ND STREET. He died on the day of the show's opening but the news was kept a secret until after 42ND STREET'S triumphant opening night curtain call. BEFORE THE PARADE PASSES BY is a much-needed critical re-assessment of the work of Gower Champion. As John Anthony Gilvey points out in the final chapter, he is usually excluded from mention with the other great director/choreographers of the period, Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse and Michael Bennett. Gilvey pleads a good case for including Champion in that pantheon. What's best about the book are his descriptions of how the individual shows were put together and how the musical numbers were staged. What's disappointing about the book are the parts dealing with the director's personal life. Some major bombshells are dropped but then not elaborated upon like this quote from Alexander Cohen: "He was a dictator and a fascist...and he had strange sexual alliances. First Marge, then a girl in the show, then a guy in the show." There are illusions to his buying a house in Topanga Canyon and living a bohemian life of drugs and sexual experimentation. No details are provided. Perhaps Gilvey is reluctant to go into the unsavory elements because he is a Catholic priest, although this is not revealed in the author's bio and his picture doesn't show him in his priest's clothes. It's not a very gossipy book, but it does reveal a lot of hitherto unknown tidbits connected with every show. Some of it is rather amusing. Debbie Reynolds comes off as quite a character.
I don't know how much interest this book would hold for the general reader, but musical comedy fans will find it very much worth reading and will not want to miss it. Four stars.Before the Parade Passes By: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical Overview

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