Mary Martin, Broadway Legend

Ronald L. Davis

$56.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

University of Oklahoma Press
28 February 2025

Individual actors & performers; Musicals; Biography: general

South Pacific. The Sound of Music. Peter Pan. As the star of these classic Broadway musicals, Mary Martin captivated theater audiences with her impish persona and magnificent voice. Now Ronald L. Davis fills a major gap in theater history, moving beyond Martin’s own 1976 memoir to provide a complete picture of her life and career.

Lively and engaging, Davis’s biography is the first book-length portrait of the theater icon, spanning her lifetime to reveal facts about her childhood, marriages, and friendships—as well as artistic collaborations that included the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, and Elia Kazan.

Born in Weatherford, Texas, and mother to the future actor Larry Hagman, Martin went to California after the failure of her first marriage. There, she auditioned for every studio without success. “Audition Mary” finally had her big break when she won a talent contest, leading to her breakthrough 1938 performance in Leave It to Me—in which she wowed audiences singing “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” Davis traces Martin’s numerous appearances on Broadway, in touring productions, and on television, showing how—through hard work and persistent optimism—she built a career that lasted nearly fifty years and earned her the adoration and respect of fans and colleagues alike.

Because Martin’s life was entwined with many luminaries of the stage, this biography offers rich insights into theater history, including accounts of how various productions were developed. No other book tells her story in such detail—it is must reading for fans and an essential resource for theater aficionados everywhere.

By: Ronald L. Davis
Imprint: University of Oklahoma Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 667g
ISBN: 9780806195520
ISBN 10: 0806195525
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 28 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Ronald L. Davis was Professor of History at Southern Methodist University, where he was Director of both the Oral History Program on the Performing Arts and the De Golyer Institute for American Studies. He has written many books on the performing arts in America, including the best-seller Hollywood Anecdotes.

Reviews for Mary Martin, Broadway Legend

""Mary Martin, Broadway Legend is a lively, fascinating book about an important figure in the history of musical theater.""--Great Plains Quarterly ""The breadth and scope of Davis's research is impressive, and the plethora of personal interviews--some with Martin herself--provides readers with an almost personal access to Broadway and Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s."" --Southwestern Historical Quarterly