West End Broadway is a sweeping assay of America's "golden age" of Broadway musicals as seen through the prism of London's West End. It covers every American musical performed in London between 1945 and 1972. Not every play that was successful in New York fared as well in London; American social and cultural history did not always translate. On the other hand, as Wright points out: "Many of the elements that contributed to the establishment of American musical theatre had their beginning in British musical theatre." While some years saw only one production, other banner years, like 1963 and 1968, saw seven and 10, respectively. One of Wright's missions in writing the book is to spotlight some of the theatrical figures who faded into the background over time. He describes the history and reevaluates each production (nearly 100). The book is organized by year and production. This very readable book is for anyone interested in the history of the English-speaking musical stage. It is an important contribution to the understanding of the British iteration of the Broadway musical. There is a multitude of playbills and photographs, as well as a list of illustrations, appendix, notes, select bibliography, and index of musical works. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)