There’s a reason Sheldon Harnick’s library’s all over the map: “I feel strongly that any lyricist worth his salt should be as aware of the world as he can be, because he never knows what he’ll write about,” says the man who gave Tevye something to sing about in “Fiddler on the Roof,” one of several great shows he wrote with composer Jerry Bock. (Encores! is reviving their wonderful, NY-centric “Fiorello!” later this month.) Now Harnick’s reminiscing about the lyricist who inspired him and many others: W.S. Gilbert, the wordy member of Gilbert and Sullivan. Hear all about it today and tomorrow at the 92nd Street Y, when Harnick and a slew of Broadway stars salute some of the greatest songs ever written. Here’s what’s on the lyricist’s shelves.
The Astaires: Fred and Adele
by Kathleen Riley
It’s a slender book that’s chock full of photos, and it’s lovely. Adele was Fred’s older sister and, unlike Fred, she didn’t make movies. On stage she was magic. She married a British aristocrat and moved to England. The only bad thing about this book is that you want to see Adele in action.
Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul
by John M. Barry
Roger Williams was a devout Christian, but when he’d been an apprentice to a famous lawyer in England, he saw the religious persecution going on. He used what he learned from the lawyer and became a champion of the separation of church and state, and when he came to the US, he carried that with him. He was a remarkable man and a hero of mine.
The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan
Edited by Ian Bradley
Gilbert uses some Britishisms that always puzzled me, so I looked them up here. In the famous patter song, “The Very Model of a Modern Major General,” he talks about strategy and “sat-a-gee.” I thought he made that one up, but it turns out to be about horseback riding!
The Crisis of Zionism
by Peter Beinart
Beinart’s contention is that the West Bank occupation that has gone on for so many years is changing the nature of Israel itself, so it’s less democratic than it used to be, and it might be impossible for there to be two separate states. Unfortunately, Israel’s isolating itself from many nations. Beinart’s an Orthodox Jew, and I found this book very convincing.