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Broadway Bookshelf

Biographies, show books, musical scores, history, and must-read theatre books.
Biographies Show Books Autobiography For Actors Musical Scores Reference Books History

A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett (7/1/1990)

Mandelbaum, who writes about musical theater for several New York publications, here pays tribute to the accomplishments of the young director-choreographer who died of AIDS in 1987. He traces the evolution of Bennett's style from his early works (including Company and Follies ) to the high point of his career, A Chorus Line , and beyond ( Ballroom ; Dreamgirls ). The major part of the book is devoted to the longest-running show in Broadway history. The chapter on the improvisatory workshops in ...
A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett Cover
Five O'Clock Angel: Letters of Tennessee Williams to Maria St. Just (1/1/1990)

A remarkable collection of letters reveals the most intimate portrait yet available on the private life of Tennessee Williams. Maria St. Just was for 30 years Williams' closest friend, confidant, and reader and the inspiration for Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Five O'Clock Angel: Letters of Tennessee Williams to Maria St. Just Cover
Listening Out Loud: Becoming a Composer (9/1/1989)

The latest entry in Harper & Row's series on the professions explores composition as a career. Best known for her musical theater work (e.g., Doonesbury ), Swados has also written operas, oratorios, and TV and film scores. With this broard perspective, she addresses many musical styles (rock, jazz, classical), work settings (concert hall, theater, recording studio), and the composer's job from creative impulse to the craft of composition to the practical task of getting the music performed. Some...
Listening Out Loud: Becoming a Composer Cover
My Side: The Autobiography of Ruth Gordon (5/2/1986)

Ruth Gordon's autobiographical account.
My Side: The Autobiography of Ruth Gordon Cover
Playwrights, Lyricists, Composers, on Theater (1/1/1986)

Largely culled from the Dramatists Guild Quarterly, here are reflections about Broadway by many of its most successful professionals. The entries, most in the form of dialogues or panel discussions, are in three sections: analyses of specific shows (Death of a Salesman, Gypsy, Torch Song Trilogy, etc.) by those who created and performed in them; conversations with individual dramatists about their own careers; and group discussions of more general theater topics, such as criticism, librettos and...
Playwrights, Lyricists, Composers, on Theater Cover
Letters from an Actor (4/1/1984)

Letters from William Redfield while he was performing in the Gielgud-Burton production of "Hamlet."
Letters from an Actor Cover
The Whorehouse Papers (5/17/1982)

A Candid, Hilarious, and sometimes hysterical out of school account of the joys, sorrows, and confusions, and small murders attendant to the making of a smash Broadway Musical.
The Whorehouse Papers Cover
Letting My Hair Down (1/1/1973)

Lorrie Davis's account of two years with the love rock tribe of the musical 'Hair' --from dawning to downing of Aquarius
Letting My Hair Down Cover
The Show Business Nobody Knows (1/1/1973)

Wilson was writer with the New York Post whose column ran from 1942 until 1983. His chronicling of the Broadway scene during the "Golden Age" of show business formed the basis for his book 'The Show Business Nobody Knows' which was published in 1971.
The Show Business Nobody Knows Cover
The Making of No, No, Nanette (1/1/1973)

Don Dunn's account of the making of No, No, Nanette.
The Making of No, No, Nanette Cover
The Making of a Musical: Fiddler on the Roof (1/1/1971)

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the classic musical 'Fiddler on The Roof'.
The Making of a Musical: Fiddler on the Roof Cover
Sam Shepard: Seven Plays (12/31/1969)

Sam Shepard is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of more than forty-five plays. He was a finalist for the W. H. Smith Literary Award for his story collection Great Dream of Heaven, and he has also written the story collection Cruising Paradise, two collections of prose pieces, Motel Chronicles and Hawk Moon, and Rolling Thunder Logbook, a diary of Bob Dylan's 1975 Rolling Thunder Review tour. As an actor he has appeared in more than thirty films, and he received an Oscar nomination in 1984 for...
Sam Shepard: Seven Plays Cover
Churchill Plays: 2 (12/31/1969)

This second collection of plays by Caryl Churchill includes "Objections to Sex and Violence", "Softcops", "Top Girls", "Fen" and "Serious Money".
Churchill Plays: 2 Cover
Churchill: Plays One (12/31/1969)

The plays in this volume represent the best of Churchill's writing up to and including her emergence onto the international theatre scene with Cloud Nine. The volume also contains a new introduction by the author as well as short prefaces to each play.
Churchill: Plays One Cover
A Man for All Seasons (12/31/1969)

The classic play about Sir Thomas More, the Lord chancellor who refused to compromise and was executed by Henry VIII.
A Man for All Seasons Cover
Act One: An Autobiography (12/31/1969)

With this new edition, the classic best-selling autobiography by the late playwright Moss Hart returns to print in the thirtieth anniversary of its original publication. Issued in tandem with Kitty, the revealing autobiography of his wife, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Act One, is a landmark memoir that incluenced a generation of theatergoers, dramatists, and general book readers everywhere. The book eloquently chronicles Moss Hart's impoverished childhood in the Bronx and Brooklyn and his long, determin...
Act One: An Autobiography Cover
The Street Where I Live (12/31/1969)

This is a highly personal biography of three great shows: My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Gigi. Warm, witty, loving, often hilarious, and poignant in its affection for a glorious era in the American theater, it is the story of what Mr. Lerner calls "the sundown of wit, eccentricity, and glamour." The author himself, try as he will to keep himself out of his pages, emerges not merely as a great talent, but as a man of laughter and love. His principals, however, are Moss Hart and Fritz Loewe, with a st...
The Street Where I Live Cover
Cole Porter: A Biography (12/31/1969)

In 1933 Irving Berlin wrote to composer-lyricist Cole Porter, ”I am mad about Night and Day.” Millions of others throughout the world have been ”mad about” that Porter gem, as well as dozens of others, including, to name just a few, Begin the Beguine, From This Moment On, It’s De-Lovely, Just One of Those Things, Love for Sale, and My Heart Belongs to Daddy. Cole Porter (1891-1964) set new standards for popular song-writing, and his lyrics and melodies are as bright and sophisticated t...
Cole Porter: A Biography Cover
Cats: Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

This outstanding collection features ten top songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber's beloved musical: The Ad-dressing of Cats * Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town * Gus: The Theatre Cat * Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats * The Journey to the Heavyside Layer * Memory * Mr. Mistoffelees * Old Deuteronomy * The Old Gumbie Cat * Skimbleshanks: The Railway.
Cats: Vocal Selections Cover
Fanfare: Unauthorized Biography of Andrew Lloyd Webber (12/31/1969)

A biography of Andrew Lloyd Webber, this book looks at his bohemian upbringing, his relationships with his brother and Tim Rice and his application of classical training to the world of pop music. The author has also written "In For a Penny: the Unauthorized biography of Jeffrey Archer".
Fanfare: Unauthorized Biography of Andrew Lloyd Webber Cover
Requiem: Vocal Score (12/31/1969)

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem is a requiem mass written in memory of the composer's father, William Lloyd Webber, who died in 1982. Many thought it a surprising turn for such a populist composer as Lloyd Webber to produce a piece of "serious" music, being his first and to date only full-blown classical work. The music mixes Lloyd Webber's melodic and pop-oriented style with more complex, sophisticated and (at times) even austere forms. Lloyd Webber himself called the Requiem "the most personal o...
Requiem: Vocal Score Cover
Andrew Lloyd Webber: A Biography (12/31/1969)

A Biography of the great contemporary composer. Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre, and has been referred to as "the most commercially successful composer in history." Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. He has also gained a number of honours, including a knighthood in 1992 followed by a peerage from ...
Andrew Lloyd Webber: A Biography Cover
Andrew Lloyd Webber Anthology (12/31/1969)

An exquisite collection of Andrew Lloyd Webber's work from eight different stage productions. Features 27 of his greatest songs, including: I Don't Know How to Love Him * Don't Cry for Me Argentina * Memory * Unexpected Song * Pie Jesu * Only You * The Phantom of the Opera * more.
Andrew Lloyd Webber Anthology Cover
Andrew Lloyd Webber: His Life and Works (12/31/1969)

In Andrew Lloyd Webber Michael Walsh offers a detailed biography of the composer of Evita and Cats. He chronicles the triumphs and tragedies of Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, the film version of Evita, his third marriage, and the financial upheaval at The Really Useful Company, Lloyd Webber's production group. Walsh attempts to hack through the mass of Fleet Street sensationalism and get at what is really happening in the life of this talented, troubled man. The book off...
Andrew Lloyd Webber: His Life and Works Cover
South Pacific Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

The New York Times described South Pacific, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and nine Tonys, as "magnificent ... lively, warm, fresh and beautiful." Our deluxe revised Vocal Selections features 15 beloved songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein, a biography, plot synopsis, history of the show, and photos! Includes: Bali Ha'i * Happy Talk * Honey Bun * I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair * Some Enchanted Evening * There Is Nothin' like a Dame * A Wonderful Guy * and more
South Pacific Vocal Selections Cover
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (12/31/1969)

13 piano/vocal selections from the 1957, 1965, and 1997 television productions of Cinderella, including: Cinderella Waltz * Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful * Falling in Love with Love * Impossible * In My Own Little Corner * Stepsister's Lament * Ten Minutes Ago * and more. Extra features include a Rodgers & Hammerstein biography, plot synopsis, a history of the show, and photos from all three productions.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella Cover
What They Did for Love: The Untold Story Behind the Making of "A Chorus Line" (12/31/1969)

The Untold Story Behind the Making of "A Chorus Line". Photography by Martha Swope.
What They Did for Love: The Untold Story Behind the Making of "A Chorus Line" Cover
The time of the cuckoo: A comedy in two acts (12/31/1969)

A two act play with 3 scenes in each act for 5 males and 5 females. The plot concerns an older unmarried secretary who meets an attentive man while vacationing in Venice. When she finds out he is married and has children she is torn with the moral problem of whether to partake in a short affair.
The time of the cuckoo: A comedy in two acts Cover
The Ploughman's Lunch (12/31/1969)

The Ploughman's Lunch is a studied analysis of the media world in Margaret Thatcher's Britain during the time of the Falklands War. It was one of the first films to feature in Channel 4's inaugural "Film on Four" season in 1982, enjoying a successful and critically lauded theatrical release prior to its television screening.
The Ploughman's Lunch Cover
Exploring Theatre and Education (12/31/1969)

Ken Robinson is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources. He has worked with national governments in Europe and Asia, international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, national and state education systems, non-profit organizations and some of the world's leading cultural organizations. He was knighted in 2003 for his contribution to education and the arts.
Exploring Theatre and Education Cover
Zorba - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

8 selections from the 1968 collaboration of Kander & Ebb: Zorba Theme (Life Is) * Happy Birthday to Me * No Boom Boom * Only Love * The Top of the Hill * The First Time * I Am Free * Why Can't I Speak.
Zorba - Vocal Selections Cover
Wuthering Heights - Vocal Score (12/31/1969)

Musical drama in a prologue and three acts. Dramatization by Carlisle Floyd after the novel by Emily Bronte, Vocal score published by Boosey & Hawkes.
Wuthering Heights - Vocal Score Cover
The Wiz - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

Musical / 11 Principals, Various small parts, Singers and Dancers / Various sets Dorothy's adventures in the Land of Oz have been set to music in a dazzling, lively mixture of rock, gospel and soul music. Everybody knows the story, but now it's a new fantasy for today- mysterious, opulent and fanciful.
The Wiz - Vocal Selections Cover
Where's Charley? - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

7 vocal selections, including: Lovelier Than Ever * Make a Miracle * My Darling, My Darling * The New Ashmolean Marching Society and Students Conservatory Band * Once in Love with Amy * Pernambuco * Where's Charley?
Where's Charley? - Vocal Selections Cover
What Makes Sammy Run? - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

Titles include: * Bachelor Gal * The Friendliest Thing (Two People Can Do) * My Hometown * A Room Without Windows * Some Days Everything Goes Wrong * Something to Live For * A Tender Spot * You're No Good.
What Makes Sammy Run? - Vocal Selections Cover
The Unsinkable Molly Brown - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a musical with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and book by Richard Morris. The plot is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and her wealthy miner-husband.
The Unsinkable Molly Brown - Vocal Selections Cover
They're Playing Our Song - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

They're Playing Our Song is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, and music by Marvin Hamlisch. In a story based on the real-life relationship of Hamlisch and Sager, a wisecracking composer finds a new, offbeat lyricist, but initially the match is not one made in heaven. The two undergo a series of trials and overcome a number of hurdles before finding true love by the final curtain. They're Playing Our Song is essentially a two-character show. Vernon and Sonia are...
They're Playing Our Song - Vocal Selections Cover
The Tap Dance Kid - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

In this musical play, ten-year-old Willie pursues his interest in dancing despite his father's insistence that he follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer.
The Tap Dance Kid - Vocal Selections Cover
Taking My Turn - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

A cast filled with aged actors gathers together to reminisce and reflect upon their careers, the changing times, and the trials of getting old.
Taking My Turn - Vocal Selections Cover
Take Me Along - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

Take Me Along is a musical based on the Eugene O'Neill play Ah, Wilderness, with music and lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Joseph Stein and Robert Russell.
Take Me Along - Vocal Selections Cover
Sugar Babies - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

This piano-vocal highlights score includes words/music for the following songs: Cuban Love Song, Don't Blame Me, Down at the Gaity Burlesque, Exactly Like You, A Good Old Burlesque Show (You Don't Know the Half), I Can't Give You Anything But Love, I Feel a Song Comin' On, I Just Want to Be a Song and Dance Man, I'm Keepin' Myself Available for You, I'm Shooting High, In Lou'siana, Let Me Be Your Sugar Baby, Mister Banjo Man, On the Sunny Side of the Street, Sally, Warm and Willing, When You and...
Sugar Babies - Vocal Selections Cover
Strike Up the Band - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

Strike Up the Band is a musical with a book by Morrie Ryskind, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. The musical ran on Broadway in 1930 after the original book by George S. Kaufman was revised. Titles Include: Military Dancing Drill * Strike Up the Band! * Mademoiselle from New Rochelle * I've Got a Crush on You. Nine great songs in all.
Strike Up the Band - Vocal Selections Cover
Street Scene: Vocal Score (12/31/1969)

Songs include: A Boy Like You; Ain't It Awful, The Heat?; Catch Me If You Can; Don't Forget The Lilac Bush; Get A Load Of That (K.Weill); I Got A Marble And A Star; I Loved Her Too; Ice Cream Sextet (Weill K); Let Things Be Like The Always Wa; Lonely House; Lullaby (Scott); Moon-Faced, Starry-Eyed; Remember That I Care; Somehow I Never Could Believe; There'll Be Trouble (K.Weill); We'll Go Away Together; What Good Would The Moon Be?; When A Woman Has A Baby; Woman Who Lived Up There, The; Would...
Street Scene: Vocal Score Cover
Stop the World I Want to Get Off - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

Songs included: Gonna Build a Mount, Lumbered, Meilinki Meilchik, Once in a Lifetime, Someone Nice Like You, All American, Typische Deutsche, Glorious Russian, Typically English, I Wanna Be Rich, What Kind of Fool Am I? 32 pages.
Stop the World I Want to Get Off - Vocal Selections Cover
Starlight Express - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

11 vocal selections, including: AC/DC * Crazy * He'll Whistle at Me * Light at the End of the Tunnel * Make up My Heart * Next Time You Fall in Love * One Rock 'N' Roll Too Many * Pumping Iron * Rolling Stock * Starlight Sequence * U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.
Starlight Express - Vocal Selections Cover
Song and Dance (12/31/1969)

Song and Dance is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in "Dance", tied together by a love story. The first part is Tell Me On A Sunday, with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, about a young British woman's romantic misadventures in New York City and Hollywood. The second part is a ballet choreographed to Variations, composed by Lloyd Webber for his cellist brother Julian, which is based on the A Minor Caprice No. 24 by Paganini.
Song and Dance Cover
Snoopy - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

10 vocal selections from the stage musical, including: Clouds * Daisy Hill * Don't Be Anything Less * Friend * I Know Now * Just One Person * Poor Sweet Baby * Where Did That Little Dog Go? * Woodstock's Theme * The World According to Snoopy.
Snoopy - Vocal Selections Cover
Shenandoah - Vocal Selections (12/31/1969)

Charlie Anderson, a widower, lives with his large family in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, during the American Civil War. Anderson does not wish to be involved in the war because he doesn't consider it "his" war, but he is forced to take action when his youngest son Robert is taken prisoner by Union soldiers. In the course of searching for Robert, Charlie, his daughter Jenny, and some of his sons rescue Sam (Jenny's newlywed Confederate soldier husband), from a Yankee POW train. After enduri...
Shenandoah - Vocal Selections Cover
Salvation - Vocal selection (12/31/1969)

The story follows a young man, who is a hardshell-Baptist kind of guy. He searches, and tries to figure out how relevant is religion to men and women society as a whole? He becomes enthralled by the pageantry and the ritual of Roman Catholicism. He is unenthusiastic about hearing others confess their sins, and literally and as well as figuratively, reveal themselves to him. He begins to search for something else, becoming a Timothy Leary-like guru.
Salvation - Vocal selection Cover
Runaways (12/31/1969)

Runaways is a musical which was written, composed and directed by Elizabeth Swados, about the lives of children who run away from home and live on the city streets. The characters were taken from workshops conducted by Swados with real-life runaways in the late 1970s.
Runaways Cover

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