BWW Reviews: AN UNBROKEN BOND: The Untold Story of How the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald Families Face the Tragedy of 9/11 and Beyond by Edie Lutnick
What more can be said about 9/11 and the families who lost loved ones on that horrific day? Well, as it turns out, there is a lot more to learn....
BWW Reviews: ROBIN'S BLUE by Pam Alster Brings Back 1980s Excess And Survival
Robin Daniels is a woman trying her best to survive the go-go years of the 1980's, and hanging on by a thread....
BWW Reviews: PLAYING THE PART Steamy Reading for a Hot Summer Night
In my inaugural column for BroadwayWorld, I told you about a relative newcomer to the romance scene, Robin Covington. Her first two books for Entangled's Indulgence line, A Night of Southern Comfort and His Southern Temptation, are fast-paced, fun frolics centered on a group of childhood friends who...
BWW Reviews: Kirstie Clements' THE VOGUE FACTOR
The former VOGUE AUSTRALIA editor lifts the lid on how to get to the top, though not always how to stay there, and discloses some startling truths about the fashion industry in the process....
BWW Reviews: LET IT BE by Chad Gayle
Letting it be is something that does not come naturally for the characters in this book. More than one refuses to back down emotionally or physically. And that leads to a tragedy that no one could've foreseen: a tragedy that changes everyone forever....
BWW Reviews: Jenna Ushkowitz's CHOOSING GLEE: 10 Rules to Finding Happiness and the Real You
Chris Colfer has written a childrens novel as well as a young adult novel, and Jane Lynch has written a memoir. Now, Jenna Ushkowitz is following suit as another Glee cast member dabbling in writing. The Glee star released her debut novel 'Choosing Glee: 10 Rules to Finding Happiness and the Real Y...
BWW Reviews: Party Lines and Party Dresses - A Look at New Work from Julia Park Tracey
A review of the latest book edited by Julia Park Tracey, 'I've Got Some Lovin' to Do: The Diaries of a Roaring Twenties Teen.'...
BWW Reviews: Cara Black's MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE
Murder Below Montparnasse is the 13th installment of Cara Black's series about Parisian private investigator Aimee Leduc. Not only was I sad when it ended, but I wanted to read more....
'Kidpreneurs Parent/Teacher Guide' Debuts to Rave Reviews
First, there was 'Kidpreneurs,' a revolutionary book written by brothers Matthew Toren and Adam Toren that teaches even the youngest entrepreneurs about proven business tactics. Since its release in 2009, 'Kidpreneurs' has won the NAPPA Gold Award, was named a best seller on Amazon.com, and has earn...
BWW Reviews: FORTUNE IN MY EYES: A Memoir of Broadway Glamor, Social Justice, and Political Passion
Fortune in My Eyes is a fascinating chronicle of how one man, over six decades, moved easily between the glamorous world of theatre and the gritty world of the disenfranchised (gays, prisoners, ex-cons, AIDS patients). And if it seems at times as if he's lived a Forrest Gump-like life, well, that's ...
BWW Reviews: Anna Pavlova, Twentieth Century Ballerina
Jane Pritchard, the curator of the dance collection at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, was responsible for much of the success of its 2009 Exhibition, Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes. This exhibition, or parts of it, continues to travel around the world. Anyone with an interest in the ...
BWW Reviews: STAGED by Ruby Preston
I'm sure author Ruby Preston is tired of her books being compared to NBC's "Smash". But with two and a half million viewers, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Both the hit TV series and Preston's novels have a bright and breezy tone matched with biting wit, all set inside the enigmatic world of ...
BWW Reviews: LES MISERABLES From Stage to Screen
What looks deceptively like just a pretty book is love letter to the talented artists who brought Victor Hugo's tale to life. Nightingale and Palmer have created a fitting homage to one of the most important musicals in theatre history and its ground-breaking film version....
BWW Reviews: WITHOUT YOU by Anthony Rapp
It's been said that an artist's primary goal is to create something unique and specific that is at the same time universally identifiable. As a performer, Anthony Rapp has been doing just that since the age of 9, most notably as Mark Cohen in the hit musical "Rent". Now, Rapp has added author to his...
BWW Reviews: PERFORMANCE OF THE CENTURY: 100 YEARS OF ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION AND THE RISE OF PROFESSIONAL AMERICAN THEATER
In an age where union-bashing is all the rage, Performance of the Century: 100 Years of Actors' Equity Association and the Rise of Professional American Theater by Robert Simonson is a powerful chronicle of excellence achieved by union professionals....
BWW Book Reviews: THE BROADWAY MUSICALS QUIZ BOOK
No matter how much you think you know about musical theatre, this book will delight and enlighten you. It might also make you scream....
BWW Book Reviews: BALLERINA by Deirdre Kelly Reviewed by Seyna Bruskin
"Like Emma Livry!" cried Janine Charrat,a French dancer in 1961, as her costume caught fire. She survived, but Livry, one hundred years earlier, had not. So begins "Ballerina," a new book by Deirdre Kelly, who vividly describes the treatment of women in ballet from a historical perspective. Ms. ...
BWW Book Reviews: SMUT
Fans of playwright Alan Bennett were no doubt excited to hear his new play PEOPLE a late entry to this year's National Theatre's schedule and due to be broadcast worldwide on NT Live. But in the meantime, whet your appetite for Bennett's insightful eye for character by reading SMUT. As the title sug...
BWW Book Reviews: LOVE IS THE CURE: On Life, Loss and the End of AIDS by Elton John
A lot of musicians have written books lately: Pete Townsend, Neil Young, Patti Smith, among others. They tend to be memoirs filled with tales of past debaucheries and feuds, creative process and awards. But Love is the Cure: On Life, Loss and the End of AIDS by Elton John is a very different kind of...
BWW Book Reviews: THE CAGE: Dancing for Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine, 1949-1954 by Barbara Bocher and Adam Darius.
For many dance enthusiasts the question persists: do we need another book unearthing more about George Balanchine or Jerome Robbins?
Barbara Bocher answers that question in her memoir The Cage, named after one of Robbins' most noted ballets. If any ballet could serve as a metaphor for her brief car...
BWW Book Reviews: THE CRAFTY ART OF PLAYMAKING
BWW Books review of THE CRAFTY ART OF PLAYMAKING by Alan Ayckbourn...
BWW Book Reviews: I HAD A BALL: MY FRIENDSHIP WITH LUCILLE BALL
When I was a couch potato kid in the 70's I couldn't imagine anything more fun than being part of Lucy Ricardo's crazy schemes. During 'I Love Lucy's twice a day airings, I dreamed of stomping grapes in Italy, stuffing chocolates down my shirt, selling Vitameatavegamin, or disguising myself in crazy...
BWW Book Reviews: SAVE THE CAT! By Blake Snyder
I intend to review several mini-genres of theater books in this column, anecdotal, critical, nostalgic, historical- but all share the common thread of risk, social relevance and of great storytelling structure. ...
BWW Book Reviews: The New Acting Bible-Penny Templeton's ACTING LIONS
While the cover of "ACTING LIONS: Unleash Your Craft in Today's Lightning Fast World of Film, Television and Theatre" may seem a bit esoteric, the text contained therein is not. In fact, Templeton's tome may well become "the" book for actors. Whether you're just starting out, following a particular ...