Skip to main content
Shop Merch Add a Show Listing
My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

Broadway Bookshelf — Reference Books — Page 9

Biographies, show books, musical scores, history, and must-read theatre books.

Browse by Category


Reference Books Books

The Costume Technician's Handbook

(2003)

Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey draw upon their many years of hands-on experience in costume design and technology to provide the most complete guide to developing costumes that are personally distinctive and artistically expressive.

The Costume Technician's Handbook

Scene Design and Stage Lighting

(1985)

Stressing recent innovations in stage lighting, the authors reveal the techniques and skills involved in designing sets for theatrical productions.

Scene Design and Stage Lighting

The Dramatic Imagination: Reflections and Speculations on the Art of the Theatre

(2004)

The Dramatic Imagination is one of the few enduring works written about set design. Robert Edmond Jones's innovations in set design and lighting brought new ideas to the stage, but it is greater understanding of design - its role at the heart of theater - that has continued to inspire theater students. The volume includes "A New Kind of Drama," "To a Young Stage Designer" and six other of Jones's "reflections."

The Dramatic Imagination: Reflections and Speculations on the Art of the Theatre

The Longman Anthology of Drama and Theater: A Global Perspective

(2001)

Divided into three parts, this brief, chronologically-organized, fully-integrated drama anthology offers a global emphasis and extensive critical and historical material of 23 indispensable plays. No other anthology offers such a richly varied selection from the traditional Western canon, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. This anthology contains many examples of rituals, ceremonies, and folk customs. The role of the storyteller is examined and chronicled to illustrate the impulses ...

The Longman Anthology of Drama and Theater: A Global Perspective

Designing with Light: An Introduction to Stage Lighting

(1983)

This comprehensive survey of the practical and aesthetic aspects of basic stage lighting design treats its subject as an art closely integrated with that of the director, actor, and playwright, and as a craft that provides practical solutions for the manipulation of stage space. An eight-page color section provides a discussion of the practical applications of color theory as well as an analysis of the color choices for the lighting design of an actual production. Numerous illustrations of techn...

Designing with Light: An Introduction to Stage Lighting

Management and the Arts

(2008)

Management and the Arts, Fourth Edition provides you with theory and practical applications from all management perspectives including planning, marketing, finance, economics, organizational, staffing, and group dynamics ALL related to an arts organization. Whether you are a manager in a theatre, museum, dance company, or opera, you will gain useful insights into management. Topics written especially to help you with your management skills include: * How arts organizations and management evol...

Management and the Arts

The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre: 1943-1965

(2011)

The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre provides synopses, cast and production credits, song titles, and other pertinent information for over 180 musicals from Oklahoma! to On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. Concentrating on a 22-year span, this book lists both commercial successes and flops of the Golden Age-when the musicals presented on Broadway showcased timeless, memorable tunes, sophisticated comedy, and the genius of creative artists like Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Rob...

The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre: 1943-1965

Technical Theater for Nontechnical People

(2004)

Two under-appreciated theatrical specialties, technical production for the novice and audience development, take center stage in these two thorough works. With hundreds of production/design/technical credits behind him, Campbell has written what will certainly become a standard introductory text on technical theater. All facets of production are clearly explained in jargon-free prose, and unfamiliar terms are highlighted and defined in an appended glossary. In addition to separate chapters on t...

Technical Theater for Nontechnical People

Alarums & Excursions: Our Theatres in the 90s

(2000)

Charles Marowitz casts a critical eye upon the highpoints of the last theatrical decade, in preparation for a new millennium. In a series of reviews, think-pieces, essays and commentaries culled from publications as varied as The London Times and Theatre Week magazine, Marowitz examines the work of such major playwrights as Mamet, Stoppard, Shepard, Neil Simon, Beckett, Gurney, Pinter, Kushner, Baitz, Shanley, Williams and McNalley. Marowitz dramatically captures the anger, anxiety, spectacle, a...

Alarums & Excursions: Our Theatres in the 90s

Mad About Theatre

(2000)

Mad About Theatre is a systematic analysis of the major issues confronting our theatre today: The Decline of Broadway; The Generally Poor Quality of American Stage Acting; The Pretentiousness of our Avant-Garde; The Narrowness of our Playwriting; Broadway In Search of a Musical Fix; Subsidized British Theatre in the Age of Thatcher and Beyond; The Inflated Directing of the Classics; The Growing Vitality of our Regional Theatres (in Playwriting as well as Acting and Directing); The Innovative Use...

Mad About Theatre

Style : Acting in High Comedy

(2000)

This book isn't a critical examination of high comedy. Rather, it's a collection of suggestions for the middlemen: the actors who have to catch the comic spark from the playwright and pass it on to the audience. The effort involved must be imperceptible: one has to acquire the cleverness, the articulacy, the febrility of the characters - and then make the whole laborious exercise seem like swimming through silk...The characters in high comedies don't find verbal sophistication difficult or unfam...

Style	: Acting in High Comedy

The End of Acting: A Radical View

(2000)

From Richard Hornby's preface: This book is written for those who act, those who teach acting, and those who are interested in seeing it. It is both a theoretical work and a call for action. This book is an unashamed attack on the American acting establishment ... The concepts derive from my graduate seminars in acting theory and history in the School of Theatre at Florida State University ... Much of the feistiness of those classes carries over into this book ... If my arguments serve only to s...

The End of Acting: A Radical View

Theatre World 1992-1993, Vol. 49

(2000)

Theatre World, the statistical and pictorial record of the Broadway and off-Broadway season, touring companies, and professional regional companies throughout the United States, has become a classic in its field. The book is complete with cast listings, replacement producers, directors, authors, composers, opening and closing dates, song titles, and much, much more. There are special sections with biographical data, obituary information, listings of annual Shakespeare festivals and major drama a...

Theatre World 1992-1993, Vol. 49

Accidentally on Purpose: Reflections on Life, Acting and the Nine Natural Laws of Creativity

(2000)

The author is the son of Lee Strasberg (a major force in the history of the Actors Studio), brother of Susan (the actress) and a would-be theater guru in his own right. His book is a combination autobiography ("My parents were too busy with their own dreams of success... for me") and a how-to guide to creative acting, his answer to his father's famous "Method," which, he says, only taught actors to think like actors. Lee Strasberg is presented as a selfish martinet who came alive only at the Stu...

Accidentally on Purpose: Reflections on Life, Acting and the Nine Natural Laws of Cre

Environmental Theater

(1973)

Here are the exercises which began as radical departures from standard actor training etiquette and which stand now as classic means through which the performer discovers his or her true power of transformation. Available for the first time in fifteen years, this new expanded edition offers a new generation of theater artists the gospel according to Richard Schechner, the guru whose principles and influence have influenced a quarter century of theater.

Environmental Theater

Creating a Character: A Physical Approach to Acting

(2000)

For over 20 years, Moni Yakim has taught his unique blend of physical training and emotional exploration to a generation of American actors that include Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, and Kevin Kline. Now, for the first time, his acting process is available to every actor and theater professional.

Creating a Character: A Physical Approach to Acting

The Craftsmen of Dionysus: An Approach to Acting

(2000)

This book, by Jerome Rockwood and endorsed by actors such as Bruce Willis and Burgess Meredith, has been praised as the best acting textbook on the market today. It covers auditioning, blocking, relaxing, improvisation, standard stage speech, dialects and accents, movement in period plays, and much more.

The Craftsmen of Dionysus: An Approach to Acting

Theatre World 1991-1992, Vol. 48

(2000)

Theatre World, the statistical and pictorial record of the Broadway and off-Broadway season, touring companies, and professional regional companies throughout the United States, has become a classic in its field. The book is complete with cast listings, replacement producers, directors, authors, composers, opening and closing dates, song titles, and much, much more. There are special sections with biographical data, obituary information, listings of annual Shakespeare festivals and major drama a...

Theatre World 1991-1992, Vol. 48

The Collected Works of Harold Clurman

(2000)

For six decades, Harold Clurman illuminated our artistic, social, and political awareness in thousands of reviews, essays, and lectures. His work appeared indefatigably in The Nation, The New Republic, The London Observer, The New York Times, Harper's, Esquire, New York Magazine, and more. The Collected Works of Harold Clurman captures over six hundred of Clurman's encounters with the most significant events in American theatre - as well as his regular passionate embraces of dance, music, art an...

The Collected Works of Harold Clurman

Theatre World 1990-1991, Vol. 47

(2000)

Theatre World, the statistical and pictorial record of the Broadway and off-Broadway season, touring companies, and professional regional companies throughout the United States, has become a classic in its field. The book is complete with cast listings, replacement producers, directors, authors, composers, opening and closing dates, song titles, and much, much more. There are special sections with biographical data, obituary information, listings of annual Shakespeare festivals and major drama a...

Theatre World 1990-1991, Vol. 47

The Life of the Drama

(2000)

"Eric Bentley's radical new look at the grammar of theatre...is a work of exceptional virtue...CENTRAL, INDISPENSABLE...The book justifies its title by being precisely about the ways in which life manifests itself in the theatre...THIS IS A BOOK TO BE READ AGAIN AND AGAIN." - Frank Kermode, The New York Review of Books

The Life of the Drama

Theater Yearbook 1988-1989: The Complete Broadway and Off-Broadway Sourcebook

(2000)

The Applause Best Plays Yearbook was started by Burns Mantle in 1919 and has appeared every year since then, becoming the standard reference book for American Theater. This volume features synposes and excerpts for the ten best plays of the 1988-1989 season, including: Aristocrats ¥ The Cocktail Hour ¥ Eastern Standard ¥ Emerald City ¥ Gus and Al ¥ The Heidi Chronicles ¥ Lend Me a Tenor ¥ Other PeopleÕs Money ¥ Road ¥ Shirley Valentine. This value-packed volume also includes Al Hirschf...

Theater Yearbook 1988-1989: The Complete Broadway and Off-Broadway Sourcebook

The Theatre of Black Americans: A Collection of Critical Essays

(2000)

From the origins of the Negro spiritual and the birth of the Harlem Renaissance to the emergence of a national black theatre movement, The Theatre of Black Americans offers a penetrating look at a black art form that has exploded into an American cultural institution. Among the essays: James Hatch - Some African Influences on the Afro-American Theatre; Shelby Steele - Notes on Ritual in the New Black Theatre; Sister M. Francesca Thompson OSF - The Lafayette Players; Ronald Ross - The Role of Bla...

The Theatre of Black Americans: A Collection of Critical Essays

Curtain Times - The New York Theater 1965-1987

(2000)

Curtain Times is a uniquely comprehensive, uniquely detailed and uniquely contemporaneous history of the New York theater in the seasons from 1964-65 up to 1987. This is a collection of more than two decades of annual critical surveys (originally published in the Best Plays series of yearbooks) in a single volume. Each of these surveys is a report and criticism of a whole New York theater season: its hits and misses onstage and off, its esthetic innards. Each is a comprehensive overview which ta...

Curtain Times - The New York Theater 1965-1987

The Great Movie Musical Trivia Book

(2000)

"If you're a fan of the celluloid musical, get ready - you are about to have one terrific time." - Shirley Jones * "It's here. The perfect gift for anyone who likes a good movie musical ... This is complete coverage: from stats through awards, to fun dirt on ten of everyone's favorite movies. It grabs you and you can't quit nibbling." - 4-Front * "Kurtti challenges even the most astute music fan." - Edge. Includes more than 100 photos!

The Great Movie Musical Trivia Book

The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater

(2000)

This revised and expanded edition of Kislan's acclaimed study of America's musical theater includes a new section on "Recent Musical Theater: Issues and Problems." "The ancient union of drama and song, known as musical theater, comes in many forms - vaudeville, burlesque, comic opera, minstrels, etc. The author reviews these and other highlights of American musicals ... with a fascinating background on the elements that contribute to the success of a Showboat." - King Features * "Worth study by ...

The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater

Backstage Handbook: An Illustrated Almanac of Technical Information

(1994)

First published in 1988, Backstage Handbook is one of the most widely used stagecraft textbooks in the United States, with about 10,000 copies sold every year. This handy reference book brings together under one cover an incredible variety of information useful to designers, technicians and students who work behind the scenes in theatre, film and television. Its sturdy leatherette binding will stand up to years of constant use. The third edition updates this popular reference book with new...

Backstage Handbook: An Illustrated Almanac of Technical Information

Theater: The Lively Art

(2004)

Created for Theater Appreciation courses that cover both history and elements, the new fifth edition of The Lively Art remains a comprehensive introductory theater text that incorporates a number of elements in one volume: an introduction to the audience’s experience of theater, an investigation of the elements of theater, and a study of the important developments in the history of theater.

Theater: The Lively Art

The Theatre Experience

(2010)

The re-imagined twelfth edition of The Theatre Experience is students' ticket to the best seat in the house. From Broadway to makeshift theater spaces around the world, the author demonstrates the active and lively role they play as audience members by engaging them in the collaborative and creative processes behind and in front of the curtain. Wilson introduces students to the roles of the performers, directors, producers and designers, while emphasizing the insights they as audience members br...

The Theatre Experience

The Infinite Variety of Music

(2007)

With style, wit, and expertise, Leonard Bernstein shares his love and appreciation for music in all its varied forms in The Infinite Variety of Music, illuminating the deep pleasure and sometimes subtle beauty it offers. He begins with an "imaginary conversation" with George Washington entitled "The Muzak Muse," in which he argues the values of actively listening to music by learning how to read notes, as opposed to simply hearing music in a concert hall. The book also features the reproduction ...

The Infinite Variety of Music

The Best Plays Theater Yearbook 2006-2007

(2008)

Continuing a tradition that dates back to 1920, this beloved annual honors 10 new plays and musicals and three regional plays cited in the Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Awards and Citations competition. As always, The Best Plays Theater Yearbook includes a comprehensive collection of facts and figures about the year in United States theatre. The Best Plays of 2006-2007 where chosen from Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off Off Broadway productions of new plays that opened between June 1, 2006 an...

The Best Plays Theater Yearbook 2006-2007

Seats: New York

(2008)

This new edition of Seats: New York, the first since 2002 and now published in conjunction with TheaterMania.com, features new venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New Jersey PAC, and the new Yankee Stadium opening in 2009. Features include: Detailed seating charts that each feature a Seats pricing guide; Insider tips on locating the best seats at the best discount prices; Maps of the Seats theatre districts in Manhattan; User-friendly directions and transportation information to get you t...

Seats: New York

The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations

(2009)

Broadway's top orchestrators - Robert Russell Bennett, Don Walker, Philip J. Lang, Jonathan Tunick - are names well known to musical theatre fans, but few people understand precisely what the orchestrator does. The Sound of Broadway Music is the first book ever written about these unsung stars of the Broadway musical whose work is so vital to each show's success. The book examines the careers of Broadway's major orchestrators and follows the song as it travels from the composer's piano to the or...

The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations

Broadway's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Dynamic Divas, Surefire Showstoppers, and Box-Office Busts

(2004)

It’s not just a street anymore—it’s a genre of its own, and it’s celebrated in Tom Shea’s Broadway’s Most Wanted™: The Top 10 Book of Dynamic Divas, Surefire Showstoppers, and Box-Office Busts. Part of Potomac's popular Most Wanted™ series, Broadway’s Most Wanted™ sings the praises of musical theater with a dash of whimsy thrown in. Shea honors those who have made musical theater what it is today—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Oh, the ugly! When a show hits gold, the worl...

Broadway's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Dynamic Divas, Surefire Showstoppers, and

BroadwayWorld TV


Ticket Central
Hot Show
Tickets From $59
Hot Show
Tickets From $65
Hot Show
Tickets From $59
Hot Show
Tickets From $71