Brimming with advice and techniques, this essential reference for book- and songwriters clearly explains the fundamentals of the three crafts of a musical,book, music, and lyrics. Using copious examples from classic shows, Frankel has created the quintessential musical writers' how-to. Among the topics:definitions of musical theatre differences between musical books and straight plays and between poetry and lyrics what a score is and how it develops how to write for the voice and how to audition musicals for producers. With a new introduction and revised text, Frankel's work is ready to guide a new generation of aspiring writers.