"MAKING IT ON BROADWAY" A MUST READ!!!!

[NYC20042]

Posted: 6/23/04 at 11:06am

Has anyone here read the new book "Making It on Broadway: Actors' Tales of Climbing to the Top" by David Wienir and Jodie Langel? Here is what Peter Filichia said about it:

"Irving Berlin lied, but David Wienir and Jodie Langel have told the truth: When it comes to show business, everything about it is NOT appealing. Wienir and Langel conducted interviews with scores of people who have trod the boards -- and have been trod upon by management, audiences, and their co-workers. Many a book have been called 'an eye-opener,' but MAKING IT ON BROADWAY is an 'EYES-opener' in showing life upon the wicked stage is more wicked than we might have imagined. Anyone who's considering a theatrical career must read this book -- twice. They may still wind up wanting to go into the business, and that's fine -- but at least they will now be well-prepared for this life after all that they've learned from Wienir and Langel's book."
PETER FILICHIA - The New Jersey Star-Ledger and Theatermania.com

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 6/23/04 at 3:13pm

Here is another point of view, from a reader on Barnesandnoble.com:

Days of Whine and (Wouldbe Momma) Roses
What a solidly horrifying book. Performers who make it to Broadway find it isn't what they thought it would be. Welcome to the real world, kids. The performers complain that being in a long running show is, gulp!, hard WORK! They aren't treated like Olivier, they goof around onstage because others in the cast make fun of them if they actually do the jobs they were hired and are paid well to do. Take it to therapy, not a publisher. Some performers have actual insights but the majority of the people interviewd seem to have some connection to LES MIS- indeed one of the 'authors' played Cosette and then, boo hoo, went back into the show as a cover and found it hard to not be in the spotlight. Boo hoo! There were plenty of other actresses out there who would have been thrilled to do the job- if someone takes a job for the money they shouldn't whine about how overlooked they are. The book seems like it was written as a chance to get back at producers and production companies. I think it's a bit horrifying that former actor and current casting director Dave Clemmons would go on the record with homophobic remarks about the theatre industry. Googling him shows he works with Frank Wildhorn so one might take that as an indication of his intelligence. Is show business hard? Very much so. But it is up to each individual to decide how they are going to present themself at work and in the world. The majority of these people present themselves as people who would never be satisfied. Hopefully, they will all move on to other fields and let professionals handle the performing jobs they so obviously feel are beneath them. One final thought- I would think the book should be listed as EDITED by Langel- she merely edited (and somewhat sloppily I might add) a bunch of responses- there was no real writing. But again, this is from a woman who was paid to be a performer and by her own admission walked through the motions. Save your money.

Updated On: 6/23/04 at 03:13 PM

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 6/23/04 at 3:16pm

A thread on the book

[NYC20042]

Posted: 6/23/04 at 4:37pm

Interesting you would refer to the words of an anonymous unpleasant from the Barnes and Noble book page, when the rest of the theater industry is solidly behind the book, including Yale, NYU, and UCLA. Perhaps you are too scared to recognize the truths expressed in the book. Open your eyes...

Here is what the most celebrated drama schools have had to say:

The Broadway performers reporting in this devastating multiple-memoir on the real life of actors are hilarious, grim, rueful, resigned, even forgiving, but somehow, in every mood, their recollections are inspiring and transparently honest. Loving intensely what they're looking for, and even looking for it in what should be the right place - Broadway - they're pretty much shocked by the reality. But like saints and lunatics, they never lose the vision, see it as real, and sometimes, even for a moment, find it.
When you start out in New York with little money, and with rats in the walls of a closet you're supposed to think of as a whole apartment, it is not, God knows, any part of the dream that got you there. And then, when you find out later that life after 'making it' is not all that different, and certainly not different enough - there's reason to be discouraged. But like a torturous love affair, there is, after all, at the bottom of it, love. So, if this book is a warning, it is also PR for a hard, still proud, way of life.”
LEON KATZ - Emeritus Professor, Yale School of Drama

"How is a life in the theater possible when 'making it' is a false concept and 'Broadway' is no one's permanent address? This book is a wise, uncompromising, and invaluable document, featuring the passionate voices of those wrestling with the question and living the answer. Long live their history!"
MEL SHAPIRO - Head of Acting and Musical Theater, UCLA

"Usually, when you climb to the top of the beanstalk, you discover a giant monster. This book describes that trip up, and what’s there when you arrive. Some of the contributors to this book were once told what life would be like once they finally 'made it' on Broadway...but they didn’t believe it. Now, the actors in this book tell it like it is - they destroy the myths and inject the truth. Yet, will it discourage any young artist? Not likely."
ARTHUR BARTOW - Artistic Director, Undergraduate Department of Drama, NYU Tisch School of the Arts


Updated On: 6/23/04 at 04:37 PM

[Musetta1957]

Posted: 6/23/04 at 7:03pm

The boo-hoo-er had her comment deleted the first time it was up on BarnesAndNoble.com. I guess they gave her a second chance.

Well, I guess anyone would be bitter if they were a bad understudy in Les Miz for 9+ years. Updated On: 6/23/04 at 07:03 PM

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 6/23/04 at 10:07pm

why is a book called "making it on broadway" written by people I have never heard of? lol Guess they didn't make it to well.

[Musetta1957]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 12:18am

Obviously, if you haven't heard of someone, they must be a nobody. I'll remember to use you as a guage of who's who in theatre from now on.

Did you see the list of contributors?
http://www.makingitonbroadway.com

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 1:10am

Great contributor's but the authors were never "broadway stars". But hey I live by the motto "You're not a star untill you are a movie star."

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 1:12am

"But hey I live by the motto "You're not a star untill you are a movie star." "

I don't like that motto....

[StrStruckDreamr9]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 1:47am

This was an awesome book. I started it and read it straight through; I simply couldn't stop. The book was hilarious, insightful and definitely eye-opening (although somewhat depressing). It is an candid, no-frills look inside the life of Broadway performer. Is it weird that after reading the book I still want to be on Broadway?

[StrStruckDreamr9]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 1:48am

This was an awesome book. I started it and read it straight through; I simply couldn't stop. The book was hilarious, insightful and definitely eye-opening (although somewhat depressing). It is an candid, no-frills look inside the life of Broadway performer. Is it weird that after reading the book I still want to be on Broadway?

[Musetta1957]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 2:04am

"Is it weird that after reading the book I still want to be on Broadway?"

You're either delusional or resilient.

[StrStruckDreamr9]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 11:22pm

"You're either delusional or resilient."

I'll opt for "resilient" and throw in a little bit of "dedicated" lol.

[aspiringguy715]

Posted: 6/24/04 at 11:34pm

amen strstruck lol thats the only way

[John]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 5:11pm

Such a great book!!!!!