The Theater: New Musical in Manhattan, Jun. 25, 1956

Shangri-La (based on James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon; music by Harry Warren; book and lyrics by James Hilton, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee) is not what it was under Hilton management. It was obviously tempting to make a musical of James Hilton's famous story about plane-wrecked Occidentals discovering an Asian Utopia where life is serene, desires are moderate, people mellow. But there is possibly something more than just comic about using a Broadway musical to portray serenity and moderation. There is something truly misguided: a Broadway musical is one of the very few places where a controlled frenzy and a...

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