PICTURES AT A REVOLUTION

[Chason2]

Posted: 4/25/08 at 6:39pm

I'll bet some of you have read it, right? It's by Mark Harris, and it's an awesome new book about how film (and movie audiences) literally changed right around the time of the "Best Picture" Oscar nominees in 1967 (Bonnie & Clyde, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner and Doctor Dolittle). It's a fascinating read. I highly recommend it.
So! I'm hoping YOU can tell ME - what are some great books about Broadway/Theatre? Books that analize plays over years, types or even a particular show? I think the only theatre book I've read (so far) is At This Theatre by Louis Botto.
Know of some others? Anything about theatre is good - though I'm interested in plays/musicals that were actually on stage (not How-To, etc.). It doesn't matter to me how old it is (hopefully they are still in print). Thank you VERY much in advance.

[Chason2]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 2:02am

Seriously!! No readers at ALL??? Maybe you're taking time to go through your books! LOL I'm certainly hoping that at least one or two people on this board don't let me down. But maybe they're all asllep right now. You think?

[Not Barker, Todd.]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 2:04am

I think your posts are annoying.

[Not Barker, Todd.]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 2:08am

"The Season" by William Goldman

[Not Barker, Todd.]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 2:08am

I'm not totally heartless.

[Not Barker, Todd.]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 2:09am

But I still find your posts annoying.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 3:16am

F*CK you, Todd!

NOT SINCE CARRIE... by Ken Mandelbaum is an entertaining read. It's all about Broadway flops, the musical variety.

[Not Barker, Todd.]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 3:18am

F*CK you too StageManager2. And thank you, I almost lost hope in this board after my Cry-Baby thread got deleted, and it's just nice to know people still care.

[A Director]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 4:25am

Chason2 - Here are some theatre books worth reading.

*The Fervent Years by Harold Clurman It's about the Group Theatre, a 1930s theatre group that influenced acting in this country.

*Clurman was one of the best theatre critics. Some of his reviews and essays about theatre were collected in three books, Lies Like Truths, The Naked Image, and The Divine Pastime

* Broadway by Brooks Atkinson who was the New York Times Theatre critic for many years. The book is an informal history.

*The Dramatic Imagination by Robert Edmond Jones who was an important designer in the early years of the last century.

*The Presence of the Actor by Joseph Chaikin who founded The Open Theatre in the late 1960s. The book will get you thinking.

*A good reference guide is Cambridge Guide to the American Theatre edited by Don W Wilmeth and Tice L Miller.

*Method Actors Three Generations of An American Acting Style by Steve Vineberg

*The Shakespeare Riots Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America by Nigel Cliff An interesting and fun book.

[westcoast_wannabe]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 6:19am

The only theater book I’ve ever read is On The Line. It’s been years since I’ve read it, but if your at all interested in A Chorus Line then it’s definitely worth a read.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 6:32am

Act One - autobiography of Moss Hart
The Abominable Showman (Bio of David Merrick) by Howard Kissel
The Empty Space - by Peter Brook (Amazing)
The Artist's Way
The Season
Fosse (All that Jazz?) - autobiography? maybe just bio. GREAT read.
Lenny Bruce - by Wm Goldman. Long, but superb Bio on our tragic dead hero of free speech and justice in America and show business)! (personal Fave) Updated On: 4/26/08 at 06:32 AM