The Season by William Goldman

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 3:07pm

Finally got around to reading...Still in the middle, but how interesting it is! So much information that is still extremely relevent today.

Should be a required read for anyone who considers themself a real theater fan.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 3:43pm

William Goldman is my favorite author - I've loved just about every book he's written, and this was no exception.

[egskl]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 3:49pm

Creede Rep is doing Albee's "Everything in the Garden".
This play is mentioned prominently in "The Season".
RIP to Barry Nelson, the original leading man.

[jennyish]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 3:53pm

This is scarily coincidental . . . I was cleaning out my room less than an hour ago, stumbled upon my old copy of The Princess Bride, and began to read.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 4:55pm

I'm so glad someone created this thread! I just finished reading it and am in awe of the relevance of the material today. Its really a fanastic read for anyone interested in theater and the business of putting on a broadway production. I'll have to update this with some of my favorite quotes but really great book.

[Piercemn]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 5:03pm

I completely agree. I read this book while I was in high school and returned to it many times over the years. I think, along with Not Since Carrie, it's required reading for anyone who wants to know about the Commercial American Theatre.

Posted: 7/4/07 at 5:16pm

Yep it's essential. I wish someone would do The Season Today-- but I doubt as many insiders would talk this time around. The chapter on Homosexuals was certainly interesting. I wonder how it would be written today? How much has changed. And an updated chapter on how tickets are sold would be interesting. So muhc has changed since credit cards-- but I still hear stories that surly box office people will lie and not sell best available seats because they want the show to close and a better show come in...

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 7:41pm

It was a great read & one of the best books written about Broadway

[Hogarth]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 7:55pm

Still the best. I just wasted money on Broadway Babylon....cut and paste book typing at its worst.

But I love The Season.....one of my favorite stories.

Two men took their wives to see Judy Garland At Home at the Palace. Afterwards they are standing in the lobby waiting for the ladies.

Guy One: I don't know....is it theatre?

Guy Two: It's gotta be.

Guy One: What do you mean?

Guy Two: It sure as hell ain't singin'!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:16pm

I'd LOVE to write a modernized version, detailing this upcoming season or even the last one. Alas, I am a nobody without a publisher, literary agent, or, most importantly, connections.

Anyone want to help? PM me.

There's a lot to be written about the 06-07 season: Raul Esparza unintentionally coming out to the NY Times; Donna Murphy's damage control and rumors of her husband's stroke; how art doesn't equal profit; everything about Pirate Queen....

Trouble is that this idea has already been explored....that's what Show Business, Dori Berenstein's film was about. Updated On: 7/4/07 at 11:16 PM

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:19pm

I freaking adore this book.

[jennyish]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:21pm

By "how art doesn't equal profit" . . . I assume you're referring to Company and Grey Gardens?

A family friend has had several books about Shakespeare in the cinema published through Ohio University Press. If you have any affiliations with a publishing university, I'd look there first.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:21pm

The only books on the theater that have come close to being as good as "The Season" are those books that Stephen Suskin was writing where he would write about each and every show that opened that season. Unfortunately, he stopped writing them because of all the time that they took.

One thing that I will always remember about "The Season" is at the end where he has this little odds and ends section and says that, each year, more money is spent on bathroom deodorizers than on Broadway show tickets.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/4/07 at 11:25pm

Art not equaling profit refers to Coram Boy, Company, Grey Gardens, Spring Awakening, and LoveMusik (which was commercially funded, despite being produced by a non-profit).

Another excellent topic for a chapter: it looked better on paper (Deuce, LoveMusik, Butley, Year of Magical Thinking...)

I'd love to work on something about last season, but with so much already closed, there's no chance for something substantial. Maybe if I can get someone to finance (as well as find connection)...eh, who am I kidding? Updated On: 7/4/07 at 11:25 PM

[Hogarth]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 1:19pm

The immediacy and lunacy of the internet (present company excepted of course) has made this kind of book somewhat redundant.

[Hogarth]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 1:20pm

Unfortunately.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 1:23pm

It's still an excellent book, and not irrelevant at all. Yes, a lot of it is outdated, but the principles still apply.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 4:24pm

The book would be important as a snapshot of a time in Broadway and American cultural history, but it is also so well written it really is in a class by itself. Required reading for both a professional and an academic in theatre.

It is also an excelent example of never knowing how things connect - in his book "What Lie Did I Tell?" Goldman details how his the section that talked about Carl Reiner's play was directly responsible for Carl giving his son Robert (then known better as Meathead) The Princess Bride as "something that might interest you". Only 10+ years latter the film came out!
So ya jest don know what road is gonna lead you to success- but obviously being nice helps.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 4:57pm

There are loads of great anecdotes. Since he has a disclaimer in his prologue, one wonders how true they are....

[Piercemn]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 5:29pm

Think how much things have changed since the book was published almost 40 years ago. Sondheim and Lloyd Webber's work leading to the megamusical, Important playwrights changed from Neil Simon and Edward Albee to August Wilson, Harvey Fierstein, Wendy Wasserstein and Beth Henley. Harold Prince, Tommy Tune and Michale Bennett gained muscle while David Merrick lost it, four theatres opened, while four others were torn down, TKTS was established to get people into theatre seats, and stars who would work a season or two on Broadway now only do limited engagements.

Of course, this is only scratching the surface, but there have been some remarkable changes in theatre, and an updated version would be fascinating to read.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 5:54pm

I always like the Chapter titled "Washing Garbage"

[madlibrarian]

Posted: 7/5/07 at 10:39pm

Fans of Goldman's The Season should seek Jack Gaver's Season In, Season Out, which offers a similar overview of the 1965-66 Broadway season.
Updated On: 7/5/07 at 10:39 PM