Favorite book about the theater? Here are 15

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 1:23pm

In honor of #BookLoversDay here are 



15 Great Books About Theater

(We're not talking scripts/plays, but books ABOUT theater.)

What's your favorite?

 

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 1:26pm

EVERYTHING WAS POSSIBLE is my favorite.

Just finished A CHORUS LINE and THE MUSICALS OF MICHAEL BENNETT. Excellent read.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 1:30pm

Happy to see "Unnaturally Green" on that list. Such a lovely and hilarious memoir! 

[leighmiserables]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 1:35pm

Only about thirty pages into The Secret Life of the American Musical, but I love it so far. 

[schubox]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 1:41pm

Thanks for this. Just last week I was trying to find the best books with some behind the scenes details and fun reads about Broadway but I couldn't get any consensus. Will check these out for sure 

[jtishere]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 1:57pm

Love the Viertel book and Everything is Possible. I also highly recommend any of Ethan Mordenn's books, as well as The Art of American Musical Theater and Showtime. The latter is a doorstopper but very good.

[A Canadian in NYC]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 3:47pm

I really enjoyed Not Since Carrie.  I thought it gave a really great breakdown on what it takes to bring a show to Broadway, and it's quite funny.   I'm interested in The Secret Life of the American Musical. will pick that one up.  Thanks for sharing!

[CorkySt.Clair]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 3:51pm

leighmiserables said: "Only about thirty pages into The Secret Life of the American Musical, but I love it so far. 

 

"

I hope you like the rest of it! This is one of my all time favorite books, I've probably read it five times in the last year. 

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 6:09pm

To elaborate on some of these answers:

 

Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater by Larry Temple

Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies, by Ted Chapin

A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett by Ken Mandslbaum

 

The others mentioned are detailed in the post.

 

 

[Demitri2]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 8:19pm

THE SEASON by William Goldman

 

THE MAKING OF NO, NO, NANETTE by Don Dunn

[At-the-glen]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 10:27pm

Alan Jay Lerner's The Street Where I Live may be my favourite, as well as the vastly underrated Underfoot in Show Business by Helene Hanff.

I'm currently in the middle of Free for All: Joe Papp, The Public, and the Greatest Theatre Story Ever Told which I'm enjoying; Riedel's Razzle Dazzle also dealt with the same period in an intriguing way. 

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 8/9/17 at 10:36pm

RAZZLE DAZZLE by Riedel

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 1:15am

Is Razzle Dazzle as accurate as his NYP articles?

[CorkySt.Clair]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 8:00am

^ I second that question. I'd love to read it, as I'm not too familiar with Broadway during that time period, but if it's like his articles (especially coming to accuracy) I don't think I'd enjoy it. 

Thanks!

[At-the-glen]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 6:34pm

I didn't verify sources or anything, but the book is much more scholarly than his column. It seems to me a very even-handed look at the period. 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 7:28pm

I reread William Goldman's THE SEASON and Craig Zadan's SONDHEIM & CO. every year or so.

I also recommend EVERYTHING WAS POSSIBLE and Kander & Ebb's autobiography, COLORED LIGHTS.

And any non-fiction by Ethan Morden, as well as NOT SINCE CARRIE.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 7:59pm

ACT ONE reads like a novel because it is. It's well written but not very truthful.

If you want to read about the real Moss Hart, read DAZZLER by Steven Bach.

And for juicy stories and great Musical Theatre History read any Cole Porter Biography.

Also Biographies of Zero Mostel, Angela Lansbury, Beatrice Lillie, etc. etc. etc.

[ceisen]

Posted: 8/10/17 at 11:08pm

What a great and very helpful thread!

I'm currently re-reading Backstage Pass to Broadway by Susan L. Schulman, a longtime press agent. The chapter about Lesley Ann Warren's behavior on the musical "Dream" is absolutely priceless. The book is very slim (under 200 pages) but filled with wonderful anecdotes about the people Schulman dealt with during her peak years.

I also love Not Since Carrie, The Season by William Goldman, all the Ethan Mordden books, all the Peter Filichia books, The Making of No, No, Nanette and Showtime by Larry Stempel. 

[At-the-glen]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 2:07pm

Came back to add Before the Parade Passes By: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical which marks an interesting counterpoint to The Abominable Showman as well as Razzle Dazzle's history of the Shuberts. I find the different factions that developed in the sixties and seventies fascinating.

[Hest882]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 10:46pm

Thanks for mentioning "The Secret Life of the American Musical." I've been reading it since last night and enjoying it immensely!

[notalwaysontime]

Posted: 8/11/17 at 11:30pm

JBroadway said: "Happy to see "Unnaturally Green" on that list. Such a lovely and hilarious memoir! "

Same! I love that book so much. I actually got to see Felicia as Elphaba, which was the reason I bought the book, but I got so much more than I had bargained for with it. It was very raw and honest, and I loved exploring the BTS aspect from her perspective.

[theater_tech]

Posted: 8/12/17 at 7:35am

"The Secret Life of an American Musical" was absolutely fantastic and informative, even non-theater people could understand it due to its informal language. It was the textbook used for my musical theater history course.

I also enjoyed "Razzle Dazzle" even thought I now question some of its validity. I didn't know who Riedel was back then, and now that I have read his articles, everything makes sense. Still a very enjoyable read though. 

I'd like to throw "I Wanna Be a Producer" by John Breglio, entailing the legal processes and financial methods used by Broadway producers. I like theater and I like money, so this book was the bullseye for me. It is much more of a textbook than of a 'story', due to the many legal and financial terms he uses. The anecdotes from his own personal experiences are still entertaining yet beneficial though. Summary: the book's titles says it like it is - if you've always been interested in what happens behind the curtains, this is the book for you.

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 8/12/17 at 11:30am

Since you bring up Razzle Dazzle, here is another post I wrote about theater books.

 

Theater books of 2016 to read in 2017