# They Made Us Happy: Betty Comden & Adolph Green's Musicals & Movies - Hardcover

by **Andy Propst** (Author)

Betty Comden and Adolph Green were the writers behind such classic stage musicals as _On the Town_, _Wonderful_ _Town_, and _Bells Are Ringing_, and they provided lyrics for such standards as "New York, New York," "Just in Time," "The Party's Over," and "Make Someone Happy," to name just a few. This remarkable duo, the longest-running partnership in theatrical history, also penned the screenplays for such cinematic gems as _Singin' in the Rain_ and _The Band Wagon_. In the process they worked with such artists as Leonard Bernstein, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Judy Holliday, and Jule Styne. _They Made Us Happy_ is the first book to tell the full story of their careers, lives, and work, starting with their acclaimed appearances as part of the sketch troupe the Revuers and moving through their bi-coastal lives as a pair of Broadway's top writers and two of Hollywood's most valued scribes. The book takes readers on a trip through almost the entirety of the twentieth century, and along the way there  
are appearances by the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Greta Garbo, and Charlie Chaplin. Author Andy Propst brings both their produced work to life as well as many of the projects that that never made it to the stage or the screen, including an aborted musical version of Thornton Wilder's _The Skin of Our Teeth_, a bio-pic about director-choreographer Busby Berkeley, and their version of the book for Cole Porter's musical _Out of This World_. Comden and Green's wit and deft satire inspired laughs during their lives, and their musicals and movies have endured, amusing generation after generation. It's work that will always be making audiences happy.  

### Author Biography

  
**Andy Propst** is an arts journalist and the author of You _Fascinate Me So: The Life & Times of Cy Coleman_ (2014). His career has encompassed work with New York Shakespeare Festival founder Joseph Papp and Tony Award-winning director George C. Wolfe, as well as five years as on-air talent at XM Satellite Radio's XM 28 On Broadway channel. His writing has appeared in _The Village Voice_, _Time Out/NY_, _Back Stage_, and _The Sondheim Review_, and online at the site he founded, AmericanTheaterWeb.com, as well as TheaterMania.com.

**Number of Pages:** 288

**Dimensions:** 1.2 x 9.3 x 6.4 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** March 19, 2019

## Details

- **Price:** 87.21 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 87.21 USD | In stock |

## Images

- They Made Us Happy: Betty Comden & Adolph Green's Musicals & Movies - Hardcover

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