Shines new light on Sondheim's tormented emotional life, wavering self-confidence, and alcoholism, drawing on the artist's intimate correspondence with such notable figures as Hal Prince, Leonard Bernstein, and Arthur Laurents; exclusive interviews with close friends and collaborators, including James Lapine and John Weidman; and Sondheim's own oral history, which remained closed until his death. 320 pages.
Marc Shaiman looks back on five decades of Broadway triumphs, Hollywood hijinks, and unforgettable collaborations. Spending his teenage years in community theater, starting a decades-long collaboration with Bette Midler in the '70s, surviving the AIDS crisis of the '80s, his award-winning film music career in the Hollywood of the '90s, right up to the highs (and lows) of creating Broadway musicals from 2000 on.=
Rent audition accompanist, music director, and collaborator Tim Weil shares previously untold stories about some of the show's most iconic moments, accompanied by behind-the-scenes photos. 256 pages.
And so yes, well, I’d simply dropped that whole idea of being a good person, I’d dropped it right down into some hole in the street, and down it had gone into the city’s sewers, and no one ever saw it again. And that was sad, if you thought it was sad, or I suppose it was sad, or some people probably would say it was sad.
A dark moral fable, telling of an acclaimed writer’s hedonistic lifestyle and its effects on his wife, son and mistress.
Wallace Shawn's first new play in ten years, anoth...
Dawn O’Keefe is an Evangelical teen with a bizarre secret: two rows of gleaming white teeth perfectly placed to preserve her chastity. When the supposedly upright Christian men around her prove more interested in taking advantage of her body than in protecting it, they quickly learn to keep their hands (and other appendages) to themselves. From Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winner Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop) and Anna K. Jacobs (POP!), and based on the controversial cult classic film of the sa...
Teale Dvornik has been leading Broadway fans on tours of the theater district since 2017. In her book she takes readers on her one-of-a-kind tour of Broadway, "stopping" at each of the 41 theaters to tell us fun facts, lesser-known history, ghost tales, and interesting stories about actors, performances, stage flukes, blunders, and more, involving the biggest names and productions in theater history. 200 pages.
Full color, oversized book that contains all of Barbra Streisand's albums from her first to her most recent with in depth analysis of every song and cover. A complete discography filled with photos. 350 pages. Updated for 2025.
The Hell’s Kitchen book shares an intimate look inside the show’s creation, from the first spark of an idea through the musical’s thirteen-year journey to Broadway, where it continues to thrill audiences today. The book includes exclusive interviews with key cast and creative team members; first-person notes from Keys on her original songs; stunning stage photography and behind-the-scenes images; insights into costume creation, set design, choreography, and casting; and much more. This beautiful...
magine the classic periodic table of elements—but instead of Chromium and Rhodium, it's A Chorus Line and RENT!
This delightful and informative gift book, based on the bestselling viral poster series is a stunning showcase of art and content sure to thrill lovers of showtunes and everything Broadway and beyond.
Includes a full-size pull-out poster.
Interweaves a wealth of archival materials and insights on the show, its development, and the original production. Members of the team led by director Hal Prince as well as legendary orchestrator Jonathan Tunick, musical director Paul Gemignani, and the original cast, including Len Cariou, Angela Lansbury, Victor Garber, Sarah Rice, Edmund Lyndeck, Ken Jennings, and Merle Louise are profiled. Also covered are subsequent productions by theater and opera companies, as well as the 2007 film, and a...
Part of Essential Musicals series. A chronological look at the development of long-running hits, like Mamma Mia! and Jersey Boys, tracing the jukebox musical from when it was an exception on Broadway to when it became the rule. Examining the origins and reception for ten of these shows, this volume offers an exploration of one of the most divisive sub-genres of the musical form. 240 pages.
Jane Eisner places King’s life in historical and cultural context, revealing details of her humble beginnings in Jewish Brooklyn, the roots of her musical genius, her four marriages, and her anguish about public life. Drawing on numerous interviews as well as historical and contemporary sources, this book brings to life King's professional accomplishments, her personal challenges, and her lasting contributions to the great American songbook.
Identifying the theatrical approach that renders their musical dramaturgy unique, this book explores their importance within, and contribution to, musical theatre history. Through their biggest hits, Cabaret (1966) and Chicago (1975), Kander and Ebb have been performed on the stage more times both within and outside of the USA than any other American musical theatre writers. Unlike Sondheim, whose work from 1964 increasingly aspired towards the avant-garde, Kander and Ebb located their projects...
Study that incorporates a diverse array of theoretical lenses on the work of John Michael LaChiusa and poses the question of how his varied theatrical techniques anticipated the resurgence in popularity in musical theatre in the past ten years. Focuses on seven of LaChiusa's musicals: Marie Christine, First Lady Suite, First Daughter Suite, Giant, Hello Again, See What I Wanna See, and The Wild Party. 208 pages.
More than 100 years after her birth, Judy Garland remains the gold standard by which all movie musical leading ladies are judged. She is revered and celebrated by current stars, directors, songwriters, and others in the entertainment industry. She also has a fan base that is as large as that of Marilyn Monroe or James Dean. Her image, especially “Dorothy” in The Wizard of Oz (1939), is an instantly recognized icon.
More than 100 years after her birth, Judy Garland remains the gold standard by which all movie musical leading ladies are judged. She is revered and celebrated by current stars, directors, songwriters, and others in the entertainment industry. She also has a fan base that is as large as that of Marilyn Monroe or James Dean. Her image, especially “Dorothy” in The Wizard of Oz (1939), is an instantly recognized icon.
By theatre poster designer Frank "Fraver" Verlizzo. First in his Retro Broadway Mystery Series, in which "theatrical ad execs Vic Senso and Bettie Balboa find themselves navigating the far-from-glamorous world of backstage Broadway when several bizarrely executed murders rock the community. Behind the beautiful scenery lurks a myriad of potentially life-threatening hazards, raising the question: has there ever been a stage-related 'accident' that was actually a cover-up for murder?" 282 pages.
Argues that after 1945, as cinema became omnipresent in popular culture, theater had to respond to cinema's hegemony. Postwar theatrical experiment, Harries shows, often channeled and represented film's mass cultural force, while knowing that it could never possess that force. Throughout the book, Harries brings critical theory into contact with theories of performance. Although Theater after Film treats the theatrical work of many figures, its central focus falls on Tennessee Williams, Samuel ...
The place: Sausalito. The time: the mid-1970s. The carpet: brown shag. Stereophonic brings us inside the cloistered world of a recording studio as a rock band on the brink of superstardom attempts to create their sophomore album. The ensuing pressures open up cracks in the band’s once-easy camaraderie, and spats over issues like tempo and song length begin to reveal deeper problems in the band’s foundation. Running on a diet of booze, sleep deprivation, and a giant bag of cocaine, interpersonal...
First illustrated book on the 1948 Old Vic Tour of Australia and New Zealand led by Olivier and Leigh. Written from an Australian perspective and utilizing never-before published photos from the National Library and author's collection, it diarises a theatrical tour amidst a tense postwar context. 256 pages.
A critical study of Porter’s Broadway and movie musicals, and his one foray into live television, from his first failure, See America First (1916) to Silk Stockings (1955). Interspersed with chapters on Porter’s “list songs,” his love songs, and his love of figurative language. Discusses the various literary sources and cultural reference points that inspired the lyrics to Porter’s numbers. 240 pages.
Anderson's personal ode to the theatre community, including more than 100 of her photographs taken behind the scenes of the most iconic shows of the last decade: Hamilton, Wicked, The Lion King, Kinky Boots, Sweeney Todd, Waitress, Hadestown, Phantom of the Opera, and many, many more. Rare photography of performers like Glenn Close, Patti LuPone, Hugh Jackman, Chita Rivera, Jonathan Groff, and Gavin Creel. A privileged glance behind the curtains of the world's most prestigious theaters and the ...
MANHATTEN MAYHEM stories capture the mood and heartbeat of the planet's most pulsating plot of land. Rothenberg's checkered life...in theatre, politics and prisons, are reflected in these tales of hope, heartbreak and humor. They are as diverse and unpredictable as Times Square on a Saturday night.
A collection of Warren Kliewer's poems about acting and the life of theater professionals.
From "introduction" by Warren Kliewer: "These poems have been written perhaps in honor of, but more likely in comradeship with, actors, directors, designers, technicians, and yes even producers. The final product of their labors - that which patrons buy tickets to see and critics get free tickets to grumble about - is not my subject. Rather, it's the work itself leading to the results. My subject is the...
Broadway costume designer Patricia Zipprodt (1925-99) tells her own colorful story, with Arnold Wengrow. Foreword by Joel Grey. From plunging into the developing Off-Broadway movement to charting her personal and professional failures and successes collaborating with the biggest artists of the day - Jerome Robbins, Hal Prince, and Bob Fosse, and more. Includes pictures from Zipprodt's own archive including sketches, drawings, and photographs of her work from some of the most significant shows o...
Director John Doyle is an unlikely revolutionary. Described by critics as 'the saviour of the Broadway musical', the 'amazing Mr Musicals' and 'the man who changed the face of the American musical', his name alone has become synonymous with a style of reinvention that has opened doors to what commercial musical theatre can be in the 21st century.
In his first book Doyle reflects on the 50-year theatrical journey taken by a boy who never dreamt it could happen to him. Through simply working at...
A heartfelt and hilarious collection of essays from the comedian and entertainer known for voicing Olaf in the phenomenon Disney franchise of Frozen, and for his award-winning turn as Elder Cunningham in the Broadway smash hit The Book of Mormon.
For the first and possibly last time, Josh Gad dives into a wide array of personal topics: the lasting impact of his parents’ divorce; how he struggled with weight and self-image; his first big break; how everyone was sure his most successful ventur...
Novel about Horatio King, an eighty-five-year old curmudgeon who happens to be the greatest musical theater composer and lyricist of his generation. Fifteen years before the story begins, his last musical, Black Hawk Down, was a flop. Now King is approached by twenty-five-year old Ben Willis who sends him a copy of his newly published children's novel, "The Worldwide Dessert Contest." Would King like to get back in the game and collaborate with a new-comer on what could be his last Broadway mus...
From the founding of The Walnut Street Theatre and the beginning of the American circus to the world premiere performance of Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, and from censorship and opposition to riots and deadly fires, this engaging collection of short, focused narratives introduces the reader to the often overlooked and frequently underappreciated topic of the history of theater in Philadelphia, and offer a new way of approaching the wider history of this unique and important America...
Conducting more than a hundred interviews, Fassler has drawn from a wide range of the New York theatre community gathering dozens of stories that border on the heroic. How is a suitable replacement chosen to take over on Broadway? What goes into an actor making a role their own in the shadow of another's highly lauded performance? What happens when someone hops on the moving train that is a multi-million dollar production and replaces a flailing actor during an out of town tryout? 462 pages.
First full-length biography devoted to the life of Ira Gershwin. Draws on extensive archival sources and often using Ira's own words. 30 illustrations. 400 pages.
The first lyricist to win the Pulitzer Prize, Ira Gershwin (1896–1983) has been hailed as one of the masters of the Great American Songbook, a period which covers songs written largely for Broadway and Hollywood from the 1920s to the 1950s. Now, in the first full-length biography devoted to his life, Michael Owen brings Ira out at las...
Producer Thomas Z. Shepard's writes about his childhood as a piano prodigy, and of the making of fifty plus years' worth of show albums, featuring stories of his work with Broadway people including Julie Andrews, Leonard Bernstein, Sheldon Harnick, Barbara Cook, Placido Domingo, Gregory Hines, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Stephen Sondheim, Barbra Streisand, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and many more. 408 pages.
A historical account and love letter to the performing arts, a chronicle of New York's cultural evolution, and a business saga of revival and triumph. More than 175 photographs, untold stories, and intimate portraits of stage legends and the intricate process of preserving a landmark not only of bricks and mortar but of dreams and memories. 200 pages.
Explores, through a series of conversations with many of the leading talents working on British stages, what it takes to succeed in the field, and how each director approaches the work in their own way. Contributions from Natalie Abrahami, Annabel Arden, Milli Bhatia, Carrie Cracknell, Tinuke Craig, Marianne Elliott, Nadia Fall, Yaël Farber, Vicky Featherstone, Jamie Fletcher, Sarah Frankcom, Emma Frankland, Rebecca Frecknall, Debbie Hannan, Tamara Harvey, Natalie Ibu, Ola Ince, Lynette Linton,...
About the musical film Love Me Tonight (1932), with individual chapters devoted to the work's genesis and development of the screenplay, the songs and instrumental music, the role censorship has played in the history of the film, and the film's reception from its time to the modern day. Informed by extensive archival holdings in several major library collections, as well as from the indispensable resources housed at the Paramount Studio archives. 208 pages.
From spiritual practitioner, tarot card reader, and former Broadway publicist Emily McGill. Deluxe, one-of-a kind deck that "casts" Broadway icons in traditional tarot roles, complete with the art of Al Hirschfeld. 78 cards (3 X 5 inches), guidebook (4 3/4 X 6 inches, 120 pages), inner card box, and magnetic closure keepsake outer box. Fully illustrated guidebook which includes images of each card, alongside card descriptions and suggested interpretations, as well as sample card spreads to guid...
Platinum award-winning singer, songwriter, and lyricist Mark Winkler provides a handbook on writing great lyrics, chock full of songwriting exercises and engaging personal vignettes. This book crosses a variety of genres andteaches the craft of modern commercial songwriting as practiced by the likes of Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Bruno Mars.
Based on newly discovered documents in the BBC and New Yorker archives, the book reveals Friel's youthful personality and his struggles to get noticed as a young writer. His correspondence with his first mentors - Belfast BBC radio producer Ronald Mason, New Yorker editor Roger Angell, and theatre director Tyrone Guthrie - shows how he shaped his early work, how he chose to write for the theatre, and how the patterns that became so memorable in his later plays were set in motion by his beginni...
Based on newly discovered documents in the BBC and New Yorker archives, the book reveals Friel's youthful personality and his struggles to get noticed as a young writer. His correspondence with his first mentors - Belfast BBC radio producer Ronald Mason, New Yorker editor Roger Angell, and theatre director Tyrone Guthrie - shows how he shaped his early work, how he chose to write for the theatre, and how the patterns that became so memorable in his later plays were set in motion by his beginnin...
Actor/dancer/choreographer/director Grover Dale (West Side Story, Billy, The Unsinkable Molly Brown) takes us behind the scenes of seven decades of entertainment history, providing intimate insights into industry movers and shakers like Jerome Robbins, Noël Coward, and Gene Kelly, all while sharing his own inspiring life lessons. 336 pages.
Second memoir by veteran motion picture, television and Broadway producer Julian Schlossberg. Je shares stories from his 60 years in show business including new profiles of working with Peter Falk, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, George C. Scott, John Cassavetes and many others. Released 6/4/24.
By William C. Boles. Routledge Modern and Contemporary Dramatists series editors Maggie Gale and Graham Saunders. Includes Barlett's plays Cock, Doctor Foster, King Charles III, and Albion, a biographical introductory chapter, and new interviews with Bartlett and some of his closest and oft relied upon collaborators. 186 pages.
From the late 19th to the early 21st centuries, female impersonation was a hugely popular performance genre. Long before today's popular television shows, men in colleges, business, and even the military formed drag clubs and put on musicals and variety shows of all kinds with little fear of negative judgment. But no female impersonator was as famous, successful, or highly-regarded as Julian Eltinge (1881-1941). Eltinge, born William Dalton just outside Boston, started playing female characters...
Takes the reader step-by-step through the process of building your audition repertoire portfolio ... helps to identify what songs are needed in which categories and explains where to find them, how to source and cut the sheet music, and how to communicate effectively with the accompanist and act the song. 184 pages.
By Lawrence Schulman ("Garland: That’s Beyond Entertainment – Reflections on Judy Garland"). Foreword by Tish Oney. Afterword by Manuel Betancourt. Schulman's writings between 2000 and 2024, on a whole host of artists and authors, including Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Mildred Bailey, Patsy Cline, Bernard Herrmann, among others. 540 pages.
Rouben Mamoulian, director of the original stage productions of Porgy and Bess, Carousel, and Oklahoma!, as well as films including Love Me Tonight, Queen Christina, City Streets, and Silk Stockings. Famously fired from the film version of Porgy and Bess in a dispute over publicity and quit Cleopatra after arguments over a single scene. Drawing upon Mamoulian's unfinished memoir and diaries, as well as interviews with surviving collaborators. Also explores Mamoulian's aesthetic principles and s...
Published with Hachette, Relentless will be available in both English and Spanish and shares the story of Luis’ life and career – from his early days as a Puerto Rican activist to the decades of political strategy and Latino community organizing. Readers will experience the thrill of the ascendency of Hamilton, created by his son Lin-Manuel Miranda, the family’s remarkable humanitarian action after the devastation of Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria, and all the grit, triumphs, and challenges of ...
Coffee table book by Eila Mell and The American Theatre Wing. Foreword by Audra McDonald. Commemorating over 75 years of Broadway greatness with never-before told stories, rare photos from the American Theatre Wing's archives, and more than 100 interviews with past and present Tony winners, including actors, producers, writers, and costume designers. 400+ color and black-and-white photographs. 320 pages.
