The first of this two-volume set takes a comprehensive look at over 4800 musicals from 1877-1995. The shows, covered in alphabetical order, appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway as well as resident theaters and select nightclubs, and some even closed out of town. Each entry includes information on production credits, composers/lyricists, cast, songs, and personnel and contains addition information in special notes. The second volume has an index of over 70,000 songs, an index of over 27,000 personnel, and a chronological listing of show titles.

With regard to jazz standards, this book can be of help when trying to identify the source of a particular song. It is an expensive book when new, but used copies can often be had at reasonable cost through Amazon.

Ken Bloom is the author of several books, among them Broadway: An Encyclopedia; Hollywood Song: The Complete Film and Musical Companion; American Song: The Complete Companion to Tin Pan Alley Song. He is also co-author of Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time.