The large-scale Broadway musical is one of America's great 
contributions to world theatre. Bill and Jean Eckart were stage 
designers and producers at the peak of the musical, and their 
designs revolutionized Broadway productions. At a time when sets 
were meant to remain simply backdrops that established time and 
place but not much else, an Eckart set became part of the 
performance on stage, equal at times to an actor. Anyone who has 
seen Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables has seen the 
innovations that the Eckarts brought to the large Broadway-style 
musical production. They were best known for their designs for 
Damn Yankees (1955); Once Upon a Mattress (1959), in which 
Carol Burnett made her Broadway debut; and Mame (1966) with 
Angela Lansbury.

    Andrew B. Harris uses production stills and the Eckarts' 
sketches from every show they worked on to illustrate the magic 
behind an Eckart design. This lavishly illustrated book, with more 
than 500 full-color illustrations, is a fitting tribute to both the great 
American theatre and the couple who helped make it great.


"Chock full of new and valuable information and which in my 
opinion will be an important book on the history of the American 
musical. I found it an excellent précis of the theatrical process 
and one which brilliantly shows the collaborative aspects of design."
—Robert Taylor, curator of The New York Public Library for the 
Performing Arts

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ANDREW B. HARRIS is the author of the award-winning Broadway 
Theatre and a stage director and producer. He has chaired theatre 
departments at Columbia University, Texas Christian University, and 
Southern Methodist University, where he met William and Jean 
Eckart. He lives in McKinney, Texas.