Elizabeth Wollman's A Critical Companion to the American Stage Musical offers a worthy addition to the increasing wealth of scholarship on musicals. In the introduction, Wollman notes that the book is meant “to complement, not compete with, the extant musical theater histories … [which place] primary emphasis on the genre's structure, style, and aesthetic development” (xi). In this goal, Wollman succeeds. Her contribution is well researched, drawing extensively on secondary sources and entering into a dialogue with the existing work of many musical theater scholars. As clearly stated in the introduction, the bulk of this critical companion traces the history of the American stage musical with a focus on historical and commercial context. While there are several examples of previous scholarly work that focus on context, including by John Bush Jones and Raymond Knapp, Wollman's book extends this approach.

Most of A Critical Companion to the American Stage Musical follows the genre from the colonial era to its contemporary iteration. Like the majority of works on American musical theater, Wollman concentrates largely on Broadway due to its incredible influence, as well as the practical consideration that a line must be drawn somewhere in terms of scope. With only 186 pages devoted to a chronological look at the American musical, the book is densely packed but not a difficult read. Wollman's writing style is quite accessible, even conversational at times. Due to this aspect, this companion book would make a nice option for an in-depth course on American musical theater in addition to its significance for scholars of the genre. The tone remains scholarly throughout, and the appropriate audience is researchers, teachers, practitioners, or students with a working knowledge of the American musical. In that way also, the idea that this book is a “companion,” and not an “introduction,” for example, seems apt.

Chapters 1 through 7 present a chronological look at the development of the American stage musical and the various factors that have impacted the genre over the decades. Each chapter takes a period, examining the broad historical climate and the business of Broadway as well as discussing all of the major figures and shows one would expect. The reader comes to understand how wars, economics, class issues, race, and more have impacted the American musical. For example, Wollman highlights not only the contributions of African American artists but the often overwhelming difficulties they have faced. One of the most valuable aspects of Wollman's book is the emphasis on the commercial or business side of the musical. For instance, chapter 2 reveals the multiple conditions, including financial considerations, which led to the development of vaudeville as family-friendly entertainment. Wollman discusses not only Tony Pastor's type of variety show, but also business-model and marketing strategies (26–27). Throughout the book, Wollman shows how Times Square became the entertainment/tourist district that it is today. And the reader sees not only the influence of well-known creators such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, but the arguably equally important role of the Theatrical Syndicate, the Shuberts, and Disney.

A unique and highly effective facet of this monograph is the final chapter, consisting of five essays by other contributing authors. Robert Meffe draws on his professional career in an essay that centers on process, looking at the different stages of a musical's becoming. Stacy Wolf's essay explores the role of amateur theater, moving away from Broadway to various towns around the US and incorporating her own ethnographic research. Laura MacDonald also leaves New York to explore the central and changing role of regional and out-of-town tryouts of new musicals. Jessica Sternfeld's essay turns to the global impact of the Broadway musical, considering productions throughout Asia, Europe, and South America. The final essay, collaboratively written by Elizabeth Titrington Craft and Joanna Dee Das, introduces various approaches to the study of musical theater. This essay reads as a primer for what a burgeoning musical-theater scholar (or upper-level student) might wish to focus on in their own study of the genre and how it dovetails with existing scholarship.

In conjunction with Wollman's extensive engagement with musical-theater scholarship, the final chapter enhances the collaborative feel of A Critical Companion to the American Stage Musical. When dealing with a highly interdisciplinary art form such as musical theater, the need persists for similarly collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches in studying the genre. Wollman's work provides an important model for this type of approach. In the end, the book feels just as collaborative as its subject matter. This fact alone makes it a valuable addition to musical-theater scholarship.