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Broadway Bookshelf

Biographies, show books, musical scores, history, and must-read theatre books.
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The Social Significance of Modern Drama (1/1/2000)

Out of print virtually since its completion in 1914, Emma Goldman's pioneer work Social Significance in Modern Drama bridges modern drama and political philosophy, pointing out the road that remains to be travelled toward a theatre of social empowerment. Activist, feminist, philosopher and anarchist, Emma Goldman was a passionate thinker about all things modern when the 20th century was still raw and new. The emergence of her treatise on the theatre after years of obscurity is certain to arouse ... 		The Social Significance of Modern Drama Cover
One-Act Comedies of Moliere: Seven Plays (2000)

These are the best of Moli?ere's masterful one-acts, blending broad farce and pointed wit to express his never-ending delight in human foibles. But Moli?re is more than just the "master of the laugh", for behind the comic gestures of these matchless rogues, tight-fisted masters, possessive lovers and elegant ladies lurk fears, insecurities and their consequences. 		One-Act Comedies of Moliere: Seven Plays Cover
Theater Yearbook 1990-1991: 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 1990-1991 season, including: The American Plan ¥ Falsettoland ¥ The Good Times Are Killing Me ¥ Lost in Younkers ¥ Miss Saigon ¥ Our CountryÕs Good ¥ Shadowlands ¥ Six Degrees of Separation ¥ The Substance of Fire ¥ The Sum of Us ¥ and a special ci... 		Theater Yearbook 1990-1991: The Complete Broadway and Off-Broadway Sourcebook Cover
13 by Shanley (2000)

Thirteen plays by the Oscar-winning author of Moonstruck. Includes: "The Big Funk," "Savage in Limbo," "Danny and The Deep Blue Sea," "Welcome to the Moon," "The Red Coat," "Down and Out," "Let Us Go Out Into the Starry Night," "Out West," "A Lonely Impulse of Delight," "Women of Manhattan," "The Dreamer Examines His Pillow," "Italian-American Reconciliation," and "Beggars in the House of Plenty." Also includes an introduction by the author. 		13 by Shanley Cover
Recycling Shakespeare (2000)

In the same way that Shakespeare himself continued to meditate and transform his own ideas and the shape they took, Marowitz gives us license to continue that meditation in productions extrapolated from ShakespeareÕs work. Shakespeare becomes the greatest of all catalysts who stimulates a constant re-formulation of the fundamental questions of philosophy, history and meaning. Marowitz introduces us to Shakespeare as an active contemporary collaborator who strives with us to yield a vibrant cont... 		Recycling Shakespeare Cover
The Best American Short Plays 1990 (2000)

A collection of 12 short plays from 1990. Includes: "Salaam, Huey Newton, Salaam" - Ed Bullins; "Naomi in the Living Room" - Christopher Durang; "The Man Who Climbed the Pecan Trees" - Horton Foote; "Teeth" - Tina Howe; "Sure Thing" - David Ives; "Christmas Eve on Orchard Street" - Allan Knee; "Akhmatova" - Romulus Linney; "Unprogrammed" - Carol Mack; "The Cherry Orchard" - Richard Nelson; "Hidden in This Picture" - Aaron Sorkin; "Boy Meets Girl" - Wendy Wasserstein; "Abstinence" - Lanford Wilso... 		The Best American Short Plays 1990 Cover
Theatre and Drama in the Making: Antiquity to the Renaissance (2000)

Theatre and Drama in the Making introduces readers not only to important primary sources, but to the uses made of them by distinguished theorists, critics, and historians. Unlike other texts, it discusses theatre as a whole, embracing both the art of dramatic writing and the art of performance. Included in this new edition are greatly expanded sections covering "Latin Theatre and Drama" and "The Golden Age of Spain," as well as all the exciting new archaeological information relating to the exca... 		Theatre and Drama in the Making: Antiquity to the Renaissance Cover
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 Cover
I Am a Woman: The Journey of One Woman and Many Women (2000)

I Am A Woman is a journey, not through time so much as through realms of consciousness expressed in the haunting voices of some of literatureÕs most powerful women. Together, on the page or in performance, these voices weave a powerful and haunting tapestry. Each womanÕs struggle permeates anotherÕs triumph, and each triumph rings with the irony of its passing. Here is a repertoire of the heart. Among the selections: Pentimento ¥ Diary of Anne Frank ¥ Lady ChatterlyÕs Lover ¥ A Conversati... 		I Am a Woman: The Journey of One Woman and Many Women Cover
Speak with Distinction: The Classic Skinner Method to Speech on the Stage (2000)

Widely recognized as the most complete and rigorous text of its kind since it was first published in 1942, Speak With Distinction is an invaluable resource. It presents a comprehensive study of the sounds of Spoken English in their most important phonetic environments. This most recent revision also adds much material for comparisons of speech sounds; suggestions for accurate, efficient and conversational ways of combining the sounds into connected utterance; indications that foster a working kn... 		Speak with Distinction: The Classic Skinner Method to Speech on the Stage Cover
Classical Tragedy - Greek and Roman Eight Plays with Critical Essays (2000)

A collection of eight plays along with accompanying critical essays. Includes: "The Oresteia" - Aeschylus; "Prometheus Bound" - Aeschylus; "Oedipus the King" - Sophocles; "Antigone" - Sophocles; "Medea" - Euripides; "The Bakkhai" - Euripides; "Oedipus" - Seneca; "Medea" - Seneca. 		Classical Tragedy - Greek and Roman Eight Plays with Critical Essays Cover
The Best Short Plays 1989 (2000)

A collection of eleven short plays from 1989. Includes: "The AuthorÕs Voice" - Richard Greenberg; "San Antonio Sunset" - Willy Holtzman; "There Is No John Garfield" - Ernest A. Joselovitz; "The Mask of Hiroshima" - Ernest Ferlita; "Penguin Blues" - Ethan Phillips; "Haiku" - Katherine Snodgrass; "Chemical Reactions" - Andrew Foster; "Dolores" - Edward Allan Baker; "April Snow" - Romulus Linney; "Trout" - William R. Lewis; "A Poster of the Cosmos" - Lanford Wilson. 		The Best Short Plays 1989 Cover
The Monologue Workshop: from Search to Discovery in Audition and Performance (2000)

To those for whom the monologue has always been synonymous with terror, The Monologue Workshop will prove an indispensable ally. Jack PoggiÕs new book answers the long-felt need among actors for top-notch guidance in finding, rehearsing, and performing monologues. For those who find themselves groping for a speech just hours before their "big break," this book is their guide to salvation. The Monologue Workshop supplies the tools to discover new pieces before they become over-familiar, excavat... 		The Monologue Workshop: from Search to Discovery in Audition and Performance Cover
Duo! Best Scenes for the 90s (2000)

Over one-hundred and thirty great scenes erupt from page to stage in this addition to the Applause Acting Series. Each scene has been selected as a freestanding dramatic unit offering two actors a wide range of theatrical challenge and opportunity. Each scene is set up with a synopsis of the play, character descriptions and notes on how to propel the scene to full power outside the context of the play. DUO! offers a full spectrum of age, region, genre, character, level of difficulty, and non-tra... 		Duo! Best Scenes for the 90s Cover
Womenswork: 5 New Plays from the Women's Project (2000)

The voices of five major playwrights offering a vibrant range of styles and themes can be heard here as they resound from the stage of The WomenÕs Project. Cassandra Medley - Ma Rose; Lavonne Mueller - Five in the Killing Zone; Marlane Meyer - Etta Jenks; Maria Irene Forenes - Abingdon Square; Sally Nemeth - Mill Fire. 		Womenswork: 5 New Plays from the Women's Project Cover
Elizabethan Drama Eight Plays (2000)

Boisterous and unrestrained like the age itself, the Elizabethan theatre has long defended its place at the apex of English dramatic history. Shakespeare was but the brightest star in this extraordinary galaxy of playwrights. The stage boasted a rich and varied repertoire from courtly and romantic comedy to domestic and high tragedy, melodrama, farce, and histories. The Gassner-Green anthology revives the whole range of this universal stage, offering us the unbounded theatrical inventiveness of ... 		Elizabethan Drama Eight Plays Cover
Black Heroes: Seven Plays (2000)

Collected here for the first time are plays - many of which have been unavailable for decades - which pronounce a black American struggle for freedom, advancement and equality from the days of slavery to the era of civil rights. Includes: Emperor of Haiti by Langston Hughes; Nat Turner by Randolph Edmonds; In Splendid Error by William Branch; Harriet Tubman by May Miller; Paul Robeson by Phillip Hayes Dean; I, Marcus Garvey by Edgar White; and Roads of the Mountain Top by Roy Milner. 		Black Heroes: Seven Plays Cover
The Tutor (2000)

Pip Broughton has translated the play for The Old Vic with reverence for Brecht, an understanding of the social relationships in the play and last but not least with a fine feeling for the language. 		The Tutor Cover
Andromache (2000)

"Love? What does love mean in this fearsome drama? Not much that is affirmative. Not much to heat the heart of a sentimental spectator. It signifies a passion that amounts to illness, an alternately aching and frantic desire that cannot be slaked. The three characters who love strive to conquer love by straining their will power to its elastic limits.And what does loved mean here? Not the ecstasy of glowing with selflessness and basking in another's affection, but a tormenting burden that cannot... 		Andromache Cover
Plays by American Women 1900-1930 (2000)

Includes: Rachel Crothers: A ManÕs World ¥ Susan Glaspell: Trifles ¥ Georgia Douglas Johnson: Plumes ¥ Sophie Treadwell: Machinal ¥ Zona Gale: Miss Lulu Bett. 		Plays by American Women 1900-1930 Cover
Life Is a Dream and Other Spanish Classics (2000)

A translation of four great Spanish dramas: Calderon de la Barca - Life is a Dream; Miguel de Cervantes - Siege of Numantia; Lope de Vega - Fuente Ovejuna - Tirso de Molina - The Trickster of Seville. 		Life Is a Dream and Other Spanish Classics Cover
The Brute and Other Farces (2000)

All the farces of RussiaÕs greatest dramatist are rendered here in the classic lively translations which audiences and scholars alike applaud on the stage and in the classroom. The blustering, stuttering eloquence of ChekhovÕs unlikely heroes has endured to shape the voice of contemporary theatre. This volume presents seven minor masterpieces: Harmfulness of Tobacco, Swan Song, The Brute, Marriage Proposal, Summer in the Country, A Wedding, The Celebration. 		The Brute and Other Farces Cover
Classical Comedy - Greek and Roman: Six Plays (2000)

Rich anthologies of dramatic art and critical insight - varied, stimulating, broad in its view and deep in its perceptions...exciting variety of translations...enlightening essays from some of the most stiumlating minds of the century.- Leonard C. Pronko, author, Theatre East and West, Chair, Dept. of Theatre, Pomona College Includes: Aristophanes: Lysistrata, translated by Donald Sutherland; The Birds, translated by Walter Kerr; Menander: The Grouch, translated by Sheila DÕAtri; Plautus: Th... 		Classical Comedy - Greek and Roman: Six Plays Cover
Medieval and Tudor Drama: Twenty-Four Plays (2000)

The rich tapestry of medieval belief, morality, and manners, shines through this comprehensive anthology of the twenty-four major plays that bridge the dramatic worlds of medieval and Tudor England. Here are the plays that paved the way to the Renaissance and Shakespeare. In John GassnerÕs extensively annotated collection, the plays regain their timeless appeal and display their truly international character and influence. Medieval and Tudor Drama remains the indispensable chronicle of a drama... 		Medieval and Tudor Drama: Twenty-Four Plays Cover
Senior Square - 12 Monologues and a Rap (2000)

Nothing square about this place. Dreams and fears come in every size and shape as they take their places in John-Michael Williams' arresting new play. No scenery, no elaborate props; Senior Square is set in the human heart, and bursts with humor, wit and a warm understanding of a generation coming of age. Thirteen high school students stand at the crossroads of senior year. Where have they come from and where are they going? Easy to produce and delightful to direct, Senior Square offers challeng... 		Senior Square - 12 Monologues and a Rap Cover
Scapin and Don Juan: The Actor's Moliere - Volume 3 (2000)

In one of Moliere's most popular plays, Scapin, that monarch of con men, puts his store of ingenuity to work, getting two lovesick young men married to the girls they pine for and, along the way, taking revenge on their grasping old fathers. Closed down after its first, highly successful run because of opposition from powerful enemies of the playwright, Don Juan was performed in a bowdlerized version for almost two hundred years, until actors, directors and critics restored the original text, re... 		Scapin and Don Juan: The Actor's Moliere - Volume 3 Cover
The Miser & George Dandin: The Actor's Molière - Volume 1 (2000)

Harpagon, the most desperate, scheming miser in literature, starves his servants, declines to pay them, cheats his own children if he can save (or make) a few coins, and when his hoard of gold disappears, insanely accuses himself of being the thief. Dandin, in this rousing classic, not previously available in English for sixty years, is a man in a plight that everybody but him will find entertaining. 		The Miser & George Dandin: The Actor's Molière - Volume 1 Cover
Soliloquy! The Shakespeare Monologues for Women (2000)

Your one-stop classical workshop! At last, over 175 of ShakespeareÕs finest and most performable monologues taken from all thirty-seven plays are here in two easy-to-use volumes (Men and Women). Selections travel the entire spectrum of the great dramatistÕs vision, from comedies, wit and romances, to tragedies, pathos and histories. Soliloquy! is an excellent and comprehensive collection of ShakespeareÕs speeches. Not only are the monologues wide-ranging and varied, but they are superbly ann... 		Soliloquy! The Shakespeare Monologues for Women Cover
Solo! The Best Monologues of the 80s for Women (2000)

This collection of 75 solo speeches and performance pieces for actors has been selected from the finest material being written today for theatre in America and England. For the reader who wants to know and for the artist who must know, SOLO! presents dramatic monologues on the cutting edge. All selections include acting notes along with the quick and easy guide to the art of auditioning. 		Solo! The Best Monologues of the 80s for Women Cover
Oh, Calcutta! (2000)

Oh! Calcutta! is an avant-garde theatrical revue, created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in London in 1970. It ran in London for over 3,900 performances, and in New York initially for 1,314. Revivals enjoyed even longer runs, including a Broadway revival that ran for 5,959 performances, making the show the longest-running revue in Broadway history at the time. It is currently the sixth longest... 		Oh, Calcutta! Cover
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 Cover
Antigone: In a Version by Bertolt Brecht (2000)

Sophocles, Holderlin, Brecht, Malina - four major figures in the world's theatre - have all left their imprint on this remarkable dramatic text. Friedrich Holderlin translated Sophocles into German, Brecht adapted Holderlin, and now Judith Malina has rendered Brecht's version into a stunning English incarnation. Available for the first time in English. 		Antigone: In a Version by Bertolt Brecht Cover
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 Cover
Women Heroes: Six Short Plays from the Women's Project (2000)

The English Channel, the United States Government, Hitler, cancer - these are a few of the obstacles which these extraordinary women hurdle on their way to ticker tape parades, prison cells and anonymous fates. These are not theatrical accolades to daring public feats; the inner frontiers we learn, are the most treacherous to navigate. So these figures are not statues in the park being polished for public view. And not "heroines" in a male melodrama, but heroes in their own right, and in their o... 		Women Heroes: Six Short Plays from the Women's Project Cover
The Servant of Two Masters & Other Italian Classics (2000)

An anthology of four classic Italian plays edited by Eric Bentley. Also includes directorial and technical notes. 		The Servant of Two Masters & Other Italian Classics Cover
The Misanthrope and Other French Classics (2000)

The complete play scripts to: The Misanthrope by Moliere, English version by Richard Wilbur; Phaedra by Racine, English version by Robert Lowell; The Cid by Corneille, English version by James Schevill; and FigaroÕs Marriage by Beaumarchais, English version by Jacques Barzun. 		The Misanthrope and Other French Classics Cover
Seeds of Modern Drama (2000)

Five great forces - Checkhov, Hauptmann, Ibsen, Strindberg and Zola - dramatists whose work define, embrace and transcend the trends and genres of the modern stage, meet here in this extraordinary exhibition of their sustained and sustaining power in todayÕs theatre. 		Seeds of Modern Drama Cover
The Best Short Plays - 1986 (2000)

"These are sharp, tightly constructed pieces with small casts, as readable as they are actable - just the sort of thing community players and other small ensembles will find practical." - Booklist 		The Best Short Plays - 1986 Cover
The Stanislavsky Technique: Russia (2000)

It is virtually impossible to discuss modern acting or actor training without first mentioning the Russian thoerist and director Konstantin Stanislavsky. Complete in one volume, Mel Gordon explores the actor training systems of Stanislavsky and his two most important disciples, Evgeni Vakhtangov and Michael Chekhov, tracing the major teachings and refinements over the first 50 years of use by actors. Gordon reconstructs the actual exercises taught at the Moscow Art Theatre and various Russian ac... 		The Stanislavsky Technique: Russia Cover
The Unseen Hand and Other Plays (2000)

The complete scripts to six Sam Shepard plays: The Unseen Hand ¥ Forensic and the Navigators ¥ The Holy Ghostly ¥ Back Bog Beast Bait ¥ Shaved Splits ¥ 4-H Club. 		The Unseen Hand and Other Plays Cover
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2000)

"Mr. Sondheim fearlessly explores psychic caverns where civilized people are not dying to go ... A naked Sweeney Todd stands revealed as a musical of naked rage, chewing up everyone in its path as it spits out blood and tears." - Frank Rich, The New York Times ¥ "A work of such scope and such daring that it dwarfs every other Broadway musical that even attempts to invite comparison." - Rex Reed, New York Daily News 		Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Cover
Sunday in the Park with George (2000)

Winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize! "Sunday is itself a modernist creation, perhaps the first truly modernist work of musical theatre that Broadway has produced ... a watershed event that demands nothing less than a retrospective, even revisionist, look at the development of the serious Broadway musical."- Frank Rich, The New York Times Magazine 		Sunday in the Park with George Cover
A Little Night Music: Libretto (2000)

"Throwing caution to the winds, I assert that A Little Night Music comes as close as possible to being the perfect romantic comedy musical." -Brendan Gill, The New Yorker "Heady, civilized, sophisticated and enchanting. Good God! An adult musical." -Clive Barnes, The New York Times 		A Little Night Music: Libretto Cover
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (2000)

Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry GelbartIntroduction by Larry Gelbart"This brazenly retro Broadway musical, inspired by Plautus, is as timeless as comedy itself." - Vincent Canby, The New York Times * "The most urbane and literate musical comedy text ever conceived." - John Simon, New York Magazine 		A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Cover
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 Cover
The Fantasticks: The Complete Illustrated Text Plus the Official Fantasticks Scrapbook and History of the Musical (2000)

"Richly illustrated, it is ideal for fans of the show, as well as admirers of musical theatre." - Variety * "Anybody who has seen the show (who hasn't?) should read the book" - Entertainment Today * "The perfect present for any Fantasticks fans." - Cleveland Plain Dealer * "A valuable resource. Recommended for all collections." - Choice 		The Fantasticks: The Complete Illustrated Text Plus the Official Fantasticks Scrapboo Cover
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 Cover
A Chorus Line: The Complete Book of the Musical (2000)

It is hard to believe that over 25 years have passed since A Chorus Line first electrified a New York audience. The memories of the showÕs birth in 1975, not to mention those of its 15-year-life and poignant death, remain incandescent - and not just because nothing so exciting has happened to the American musical since. For a generation of theater people and theatergoers, A Chorus Line was and is the touchstone that defines the glittering promise, more often realized in lengend than in reality,... 		A Chorus Line: The Complete Book of the Musical Cover
Four by Sondheim (2000)

The complete book and lyrics with set and costume designs, production photos, essays, cast lists and credits, awards for major productions, selected discographies, and much more! Includes the shows A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. A richly illustrated Sondheim treasury! 		Four by Sondheim Cover
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 Cover

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