Books on the Making of Musicals
Read about Behind-the-Scenes Stories
KEITH GAREBIAN, a noted theatre scholar and critic, created a series of "Making of Books" --
The Making of Cabaret from Amazon.com
The Making of Gypsy
The Making of Guys and Dolls (Great Broadway Musicals) from Amazon.com
The Making of West Side Story from Amazon.com
Not Since Carrie : Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops from Amazon.com
The Tough Realities of Broadway Stage
The Season : A Candid Look at Broadway
"Still the best book ever written about the commercial theatre. It is dated in some ways but remains invaluable"--Stephen Schwartz
Playwright/novelist/screenwriter Goldman analyzes Broadway from the perspective of the audiences, playwrights, critics, producers and actors. "William Goldman's highly opinionated, mercilessly funny, and tirelessly reported account of the 1967-68 season was, and is, the single best guide to how the theatre..."
SECOND ACT TROUBLE: BEHIND THE SCENES AT BROADWAY'S BIG MUSICAL BOMBS by Steven Suskin (Applause Theatre & Cinema Books; $27.95). Buy Second Act Trouble : Behind the Scenes at Broadway's Big Musical Bombs
REVIEW by William Squiers: "What's more exciting than a big new Broadway musical hit?" That's the question that kicks off author Steven Suskin's 'Second Act Trouble.' And the answer is, apparently, a big fat Broadway musical flop.
Subtitled 'Behind the Scenes at Broadway's Big Musical Bombs,' this entertaining book is comprised of writings by multiple authors about twenty-five of Broadway's highest-profile fiascos. The first-hand accounts have been culled by Suskin from newspapers, magazines and theatrical memoirs and organized into subgroups such as Star Turns and Salvage Jobs. The tone of the pieces runs the gamut from snippy fun to writing that is earnest and revealing. Journalist John Gruen has a ball taking potshots at 'Holly Golightly,' the 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' tuner. A few chapters later, Richard Adler talks frankly about his marriage to Sally Ann Howes and his musical 'Kwamina' crumbling simultaneously. Suskin pulls it all together by providing each of the entries with a crisp introduction, a conclusion that places the musical in historical context, a great deal of relevant annotation and an occasional anecdote of his own.
Where Ken Mandelbaum's seminal work on the subject Broadway flopdom, 'Not Since Carrie,' offered his personal analysis of why many of these same musicals failed (along with a couple of hundred others!), Suskin's emphasis is on simply setting the record straight. Though his annotations, which are placed directly into the other writers' text, are a bit distracting and dilute some of the immediacy of the original writing, his clarifications are ultimately very helpful. And in the case of William Gibson's touching description of show-doctoring his deceased mentor Clifford Odet's musical version of 'Golden Boy,' Suskin wisely holds his comments until the conclusion of the chapter.
The book's lengthy finale is one of the all-time great pieces of theater reporting: Lewis H. Lapham's infamous Saturday Evening Post article about the making of 'Kelly.'Lapham details the show's disastrous out of town tryout "a chronicle that's dramatic enough to serve as the basis for a couple of musicals ('Say, Darling II.' anyone?). The production is still such a sore subject to book writer and lyricist Eddie Lawrence that he turned up on NPR as recently as April of this year to complain about it. He even brought the out of town reviews with him!
If 'Second Act Trouble" isn't likely to prevent fledging musical theater writers from making the same mistakes as their illustrious forerunners, it certainly hammers home the fact that no one is impervious to failure. Or as one young cast member in Mitch Leigh's 'Cry For Us All' "one of his many misfires after 'Man of La Mancha' -- puts it: "I sure hope it's a hit. My mother's had it up to here."
Making It on Broadway: Actors' Tales of Climbing to the Top
From the Publisher
MAKING IT ON BROADWAY (Allworth Press) goes beyond the glitz and the glamour to show what really happens both on a Broadway stage...
Book Description: Countering the misperceptions about Broadway performers leading glamorous lives, the words of more than 150 Broadway stars provide unprecedented insight into their struggle for stardom. With an introduction by Jason Alexander and candid interviews with today's most celebrated Broadway stars, this book offers stories to entertain and astonish theater lovers, as well as serve as a sobering reality check for those considering careers on the stage. This book shares firsthand accounts of professional actors' difficult yet fulfilling journeys to Broadway: moving to New York, finding survival jobs, auditioning, landing roles, avoiding pitfalls, forging a family life, and much more.
Musical History
American Musical Theater : A Chronicle from Amazon.com
Broadway Musicals - Show by Show from Amazon.com
Broadway Musicals : The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time from Amazon.com
Musical Theater : An Appreciation from Amazon.com
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