31.   People who complain about the demise of the American musical have simply been looking in the wrong places.

32.   Presumably the idea was to create a colorful, celebratory fantasy of what the American musical once was.

33.   Since the early days of the American musical, songwriters have championed singers of wildly diverse vocal resources.

34.   Since then, like no other American musical of its stature, the work has undergone substantial changes with each important revival.

35.   The American musical is an amalgam of European and indigenous cultural influences, part vaudeville, part extravaganza, part operetta, part serious music theater.

36.   The City Center Encores series has always prided itself on resurrecting and renovating classic American musicals that have fallen into eclipse and various stages of disrepair.

37.   The conductor, John McGlinn, also in his company debut, is best known for his important recordings of the original versions of some landmark American musicals.

38.   The great songwriters from the glory days of the American musical used to love poking fun at operatic music in their shows.

39.   The history of opera presents the closest parallel to the predicament facing the American musical.

40.   The produciton, which opened last night, easily qualifies as the most frustrating experience of this bottom-drawer season for the American musical.