Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh

BMus (Hons), MMus, PhD, DipABRSM, FHEA

Department of Music

Professor of Musicology

(he/him)

Director of One University. Chair of Disability Staff Network.

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d.mchugh@sheffield.ac.uk

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Professor Dominic Broomfield-McHugh
Department of Music
1.11
Jessop Building
Leavygreave Road
Sheffield
S3 7RD
Profile

I am Professor in Musicology with a particular research interest in the Broadway, West End and Hollywood musical. This is reflected in my books, including Loverly: The Life and Times of ‘My Fair Lady’ (OUP, 2012); Alan Jay Lerner: A Lyricist’s Letters (OUP, 2014); The Complete Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner (co-edited with Amy Asch; OUP, 2018); and The Letters of Cole Porter (with Cliff Eisen; Yale, 2019. I have also co-edited Adapting The Wizard of Oz: Musical Versions from Baum to MGM and Beyond (OUP, 2018) and edited The Oxford Handbook of Musical Theatre Screen Adaptations (OUP, 2019).

My work has also appeared in various edited collections and journals, including Journal of the American Musicological Society and The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical. I am also Reviews Editor of Studies in Musical Theatre and am co-editor of a special issue of the journal, focusing on Stephen Sondheim (published 2019). I am Series Editor of Oxford's Guides to Film Musicals and a member of the Advisory Board of OUP’s Broadway Legacies series.

Since 2013, I have curated a landmark series of concert productions of Broadway musicals, performed by students of the University of Sheffield. These have included UK and world premieres of songs and scores by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Bernstein, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Jule Styne. I have brought my passion for the American musical to the public in a number of prestigious venues and settings, including appearances at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the BFI and the Sydney Opera House. My TV and radio appearances include BBC TV and radio and I convened international conferences in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

I am external examiner for undergraduate programmes at Kent (2016-19) and Chester (2018-22) and postgraduate programmes at Leeds (2017-2021) and have been an external examiner for research degrees at York and KCL. 

Born in Lancashire, I was educated at King’s College London, where I took the BMus (winning the Purcell Prize), MMus and a PhD on My Fair Lady, the latter two programmes with AHRC funding. I also studied the piano at the Royal Academy of Music, and taught several modules at King’s before my appointment at Sheffield in 2011.

Research interests

My current projects include:

  • Till There Was You: The Musicals of Meredith Willson (complete; due for publication in 2021)
  • The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical (under contract; due for publication in 2021) 
  • The Letters of Frank Loesser (with Cliff Eisen)
  • The Letters of George Gershwin (with Cliff Eisen)

Published writing

  • An article on the British musical and censorship, with Dr Hannah Robbins (Nottingham)
  • A book chapter on World War II and the Cold War in The Routledge Handbook of the Musical
  • A book chapter on Rodgers and Hammerstein's Pipe Dream
  • A book chapter on The Barkleys of Broadway
  • A monograph on The Band Wagon (1953)
Publications

Edited books

  • Broomfield-McHugh D (Ed.) (2022) The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical. New York: Oxford University Press. RIS download Bibtex download

Journal articles

  • Broomfield-McHugh D & Robbins H (2022) Editorial. Studies in Musical Theatre, 16(2), 151-152. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Robbins H & Broomfield-McHugh D (2022) Reviews Editorial. Studies in Musical Theatre, 16(1), 77-78. RIS download Bibtex download
  • McHugh D & Robbins H (2021) Introduction. Studies in Musical Theatre, 15(2), 151-152. RIS download Bibtex download

Chapters

  • Broomfield-McHugh D (2022) World War II and the Cold War, The Routledge Companion to Musical Theatre (pp. 136-149). Routledge RIS download Bibtex download
  • Broomfield-McHugh D (2022) Hard to Replace: The Shadow of Judy Garland and the Artistic Remarriage of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in The Barkleys of Broadway In Broomfield-McHugh D (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Hollywood Musical (pp. 368-388). New York: Oxford University Press. RIS download Bibtex download
  • McHugh D (2022) Fragments of Fairyland, Sondheim in Our Time and His (pp. 45-65). Oxford University Press RIS download Bibtex download
Research group

I have supervised topics ranging from Cole Porter to the Decca record company and would be pleased to hear from prospective students interested in working on musicals, opera, performance practice or critical editions.

PhD students:

  • Josh Goodman (2017-): Lerner and Loewe's Gigi (Frederick Loewe Foundation Scholarship)
  • Katy Jayasuriya (2017-): Lerner and Loewe's Camelot (Frederick Loewe Foundation Scholarship)
  • Matthew Malone (2015-): Paint Your Wagon: a critical edition (Frederick Loewe Foundation Scholarship).
  • Sally Drew (2014-18; completed): ‘The Decca Legacy of Christopher Raeburn’ (AHRC/British Library Collaborative Doctoral Award).
  • Hannah Robbins (2013-17; completed): ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ (part-funded by Julian Payne Award).
  • Danielle Birkett (2012-15; completed): Finian’s Rainbow (co-funded by the Cameron Mackintosh Foundation and E.Y. Harburg Foundation).
  • Sophie Redfern (2011-14; completed): Bernstein’s early ballets (University fee waiver).
  • MMus by research students:
  • Laura Milburn (2014-17): Noel Coward’s revues (part-funded by Noel Coward Foundation).
  • Matthew Malone (2013-14; completed): Subways are for Sleeping, critical edition (Faculty Award, £5,000).
  • Abi McKee (2013-14; completed; co-supervised with George Nicholson): Constant Lambert’s Romeo and Juliet.
  • Alastair Parkinson (2011-13; completed): Liszt’s piano transcriptions.
Grants
  • Frederick Loewe Foundation £207,000 (2017) Three Doctoral Scholarships: critical editions of Brigadoon, Camelot and Gigi
  • Arts Enterprise/HEIF Award £1,000 (2017) Support for The Day Before Spring concert
  • Alumni Foundation Award £1,000 (2016) Support for Broadway concert projects
  • Arts Enterprise/HEIF Award £1,189 (2016) Support for project with the Frederick Loewe Foundation
  • Frederick Loewe Foundation £55,545 (2015) Doctoral Scholarship: a critical edition of Paint Your Wagon
  • Early Career Senate Award £2,000 (2015)
  • British Library/AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award £54,000 (2014) – “The Decca Legacy of Christopher Raeburn”
  • Alumni Foundation Award £15,000 (2014) – Funding to purchase sound equipment for musical theatre productions.
  • British Academy Small Research Grant £9,959 (2013) – Research into critical editions of musicals
  • Arts Enterprise/HEIF Award £8,515 (2013) – Support for the “Stagestruck!” film festival and insight events in collaboration with the Showroom Cinema, 14-16 May 2014
  • Alumni Foundation Award £1,000 (2013) – Support for a research-led concert performance of Jule Styne’s “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (December 2013)
  • Alumni Foundation Award £1,600 (2013) – Support for a research-led concert performance of Leroy Anderson’s “Goldilocks” (April 2013)
  • Arts Enterprise/HEIF Award £1,000 (2012) – insight events and an exhibition surrounding Sheffield Theatres’s production of My Fair Lady
  • AMS 75 PAYS $3,000 (2011) – subvention to support the publication of “Loverly: The Life and Times of My Fair Lady” (OUP)
  • Mackintosh Charitable Foundation £2,000 / Sir Tim Rice Charitable Foundation £2,000 (2010) – Support for research into the correspondence of Alan Jay Lerner.
Teaching activities

I am passionate about teaching and have been the recipient of three awards in this area: an Early Career Senate Award (2015) and Academic Awards for Best Postgraduate Supervisor (2014) and Best Feedback (2015). I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority (FHEA). I was Deputy Chair of EDI for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities for five years.

Professional activities and memberships
  • Series Editor - Oxford's Guides to Film Musicals
  • Board Member - Oxford University Press's Broadway Legacies Series http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/umbrella/bls1/
  • Reviews Editor - Studies in Musical Theatre
  • Academic Trustee - The Overtures Trust/V&A
  • I regularly act as peer reviewer for numerous publishers and journals across the UK and the US.

Public engagement

Since 2013, I have curated a landmark series of concert productions of Broadway musicals at Sheffield, all of which have included a significant research component and have been performed by students of the university. These include various UK and world premieres, e.g. Lerner and Loewe's The Day Before Spring, Jule Styne's Hazel Flagg, Andre Previn's Goodbye, Mr Chips, Irving Berlin's Miss Liberty, cut songs from Rodgers and Hamerstein's The King and I and cut songs from My Fair Lady. The project was covered in a special feature in Times Higher Education in 2014 and has also been reported in the international media including BBC Radio 2, 3, 4 and 5, Classic FM, National Public Radio in America, the Sunday Times, New York Post, Telegraph, Independent, The Stage and Sunday Express.

Other appearances include:

  • British Film Institute (BFI): “What is a film musical?" 24 October 2019.
  • Lincoln Center: “History of the World in 100 Performances”: Panel Discussion with Kevin Kline and Melissa Errico on My Fair Lady, 30 April 2018.
  • New York Public Library: Talk on The Complete Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner, 20 April 2018.
  • Keynotes: “The Music Man as an Original”, Reading Musicals, Indiana, 9 May 2018. “Accustomed to Her Face: My Fair Lady revisited”, Song, Stage and Screen VII, University of Groningen, Netherlands, 2 July 2012.
  • Sydney Opera House: Illustrated talk on The Lost Songs of My Fair Lady, 4 September 2016.
  • Library of Congress: “Inside the Workshop of Lerner and Loewe”, American Musicological Society/Library of Congress Lecture, 27 October 2016.
  • National Theatre, London: Presentation as part of ‘Musicals Week’, January 2016.
  • Texas Christian University: Residency, April 2015, including classes, pre-performance talk on Guys and Dolls and Stagestruck! poster exhibition.
  • City Center, New York: Panellist on insight event: Paint Your Wagon, Encores!, 16 March 2015.
  • Showroom, Sheffield: introduction to screenings of The Band Wagon, 13 May 2014, and Singin' in the Rain, 31 December 2019.
  • Public research seminars include: “Score production during Broadway’s Golden Age”, Oxford University, 22 May 2018; “My Fair Lady Revisited”, Royal Holloway, 28 February 2017; “Frank Loesser and the Business of Broadway,” King’s College London, 20 October 2016; “Finding Harold Hill: New Sources for The Music Man”, Goldsmiths University of London, 3 March 2015; “Sondheim at the gateway to his career: Climb High”, Royal Academy of Music, London, 20 July 2014.
  • Benslow Music, Hertfordshire: Study afternoon: Cole Porter, Benslow Music Trust, 11 May 2012; Study afternoon: Leonard Bernstein, Benslow Music Trust, 16 April 2011; Short course: Richard Rodgers, Benslow Music Trust, 9-11 February 2011; Benslow Music: “The Lerner and Loewe Collaboration”, short course, 10 February 2010.
  • Alan Jay Lerner book launch: “Liz Robertson and Dominic McHugh in conversation”, Samuel French book shop, London, 3 November 2014.
  • University of the Third Age: “Rediscovering Alan Jay Lerner”, Showroom Cinema, Sheffield, 10 April 2014.
  • Off the Shelf literary festival: Evening talk/performance on Alan Jay Lerner: A Lyricist’s Letters, 30 October 2014; Rush-hour talk about Loverly: The Life and Times of My Fair Lady, 30 October 2013.
  • A Boy Was Born festival, Sheffield: Interview with Dame Josephine Barstow, 3 November 2013.
  • Sadler’s Wells, London: Pre-concert talks for Lost Musicals: Rediscovering Coco”: introduction to a performance of Alan Jay Lerner and Andre Previn’s Coco, July 2011; “A lost Lerner and Loewe musical”: introduction to the UK premiere of Lerner and Loewe’s The Day Before Spring, July 2010.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum: “My Fair Lady at the National Theatre”: introduction to a screening of the 2001 RNT production, April 2010.

Media engagement

  • BBC1 & BBC News 24 (TV): Interviewee on the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music (September 2015)
  • BBC4 (TV): Talking head for the documentary Michael Grade’s Stars of the Musical Theatre, first broadcast 2 January 2014.
  • BBC Radio 3 In Tune (17 April 2017), BBC Radio 4 Six O’Clock News (2 May 2017) and BBC Radio Sheffield (3 May 2017): Interviews about my production of The Day Before Spring.
  • BBC Radio 4’s Archive Hour (March 2016): Interview about the 60th anniversary of My Fair Lady
  • BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Stoke, BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester: interviews related to La La Land (January/February 2017)
  • Interviews in relation to The Lost Songs of My Fair Lady concert (19 May 2015) on NPR (USA), BBC Radio 4 and Radio 5
  • BBC Radio 3: Live interview on Miss Liberty (December 2015).
  • BBC Radio Sheffield appearances include: interviews on Andrew Lloyd Webber (2018), The Music Man (2018), on Julie Andrews (September 2016), The Forgotten Songs of Lerner and Loewe (May 2016), Miss Liberty (December 2015), Hazel Flagg (two appearances, November 2014), Stagestruck! (May 2014), Subways are for Sleeping (April 2014).
  • Sheffield Live: Radio appearance to promote Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, December 2013.
  • London Live: TV appearance to mark the centenary of Alan Jay Lerner (31 August 2018).