Broadway Veteran Jack Viertel To Publish First Novel, BROADWAY MELODY

Broadway veteran Jack Viertel is publishing his first historical novel, Broadway Melody. The book, which spans multiple decades of Broadway's history, will be published by Benzinger & Frank on April 2, 2024. Its cover art was designed by renowned theater artist, Fraver.

Broadway Melody traces three lives through the early ambitions and unlikely pathways that land them all in the same place at the same time-1960s Broadway. Woven through its pages are the hits and the duds, the making and breaking of careers, the destruction of three historic theater buildings, the plague of AIDS, the machinations of union bosses and producers, and, of course, the world outside this insular community-the audience that looks to Broadway for emotional thrills, for enlightenment, and for pure entertainment.

At Broadway Melody's core is a nuanced love story that spans a lifetime.

Steven Blier, artistic director for the New York Festival of Song, says, "Jack Viertel is able to do something many authors cannot: evoke the magic of a piece of music, whether real or imagined. It made me proud to be a pianist, and to see my lifelong obsession with songwriting put into such elegant, clear words. I love this book. It sings."

Steven Suskin, author of The Sound of Broadway Music and Offstage Observations, says "Jack Viertel weaves three separate and fascinating show biz lives into a complex but realistic triangle, set against the backdrop of seventy years of jazz and Broadway. Populated by characters famous and forgotten, some authentic and others lightly cloaked in anonymity, Broadway Melody makes a page-turningly compelling tale."

Jack Viertel began his professional career playing National bottleneck steel guitar behind Bonnie Raitt, Son House, and The Pointer Sisters. He soon graduated to the theater world, where he spent seven years as a critic, two as the dramaturg for the Mark Taper Forum, and the succeeding three decades as Creative Director/Senior Vice President of Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns and operates five Broadway theaters. From 2001-2021 he was the Artistic Director of New York City Center's Encores! series, producing 65 musical revivals. He taught musical theater at NYU Tisch School of the Arts for a decade and is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Secret Life of The American Musical.

Broadway Melody is available to order online or from your favorite local bookstore. 

 

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