From Stage to Page: Pandemic Edition

I've written posts about cool musical theatre books, about cool videos, about cool theatre books not about musicals, and lots more. And it occurred to me that I've read a lot of good books since I wrote those posts, so I feel that you, Dear Reader, deserve a sequel. So here are some of the interesting books I've been reading lately...

Flop Musicals of the Twenty-First Century, by Stephen Purdy. A really fun, quirky, slightly snarky tour through the carnage of Spider-Man, Lestat, Urban Cowboy, The Pirate Queen, Rocky, King Kong, Escape to Margaritaville, Glory Days, Bullets Over Broadway, and Dance of the Vampires. It's a short book, and it's really fun to read.

The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical, by Warren Hoffman. This is an incredibly interesting book that periodically blew my mind. Although I think about issues of race and inclusion a lot, this book allowed me to understand all the related issues from a different perspective. I thought I was already very aware of these issues, but this book made me much more so. Read it.

Big Deal: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical, by Kevin Winkler. This is the best book about Fosse's work by far, going into great detail about individual dance numbers in all his big projects. I felt like I knew Fosse before this, but now I feel like I know so much more about how he works, and that's very cool.

Pal Joey: The History of a Heel, by Julianne Lindberg. This book gets a little dry, a little too detailed sometimes, but it's still a really interesting look at an incredibly interesting show. And yes, New Line will produce Pal Joey someday.

Oklahoma!: The Making of an American Musical, by Tim Carter. I'm pretty sure I've read every book about Oklahoma! and about Rodgers and Hammerstein, but this newly revised and expanded book took me behind the scenes and into the process like never before. There's so much rich detail, so much about early drafts, revisions, musical examples, etc. For a serious fanboy like me, this book is a five-course meal.

All That Jazz: The Life and Times of the Musical Chicago, by Ethan Mordden. This is a good book, and Ethan Mordden is a great, entertaining writer. But it does feel padded with quite a bit of information that is not about the musical. Still, if you love Chicago, you'll want to read this.

They Made Us Happy: Betty Comden & Adolph Green's Musicals & Movies, by Andy Propst. This is a really fun read, tracing the wild career of the prolific comedy geniuses Betty Comden and Adolph Green (father of Amanda Green!), from their start in sketch comedy to their long run as writers (and sometimes performers) on Broadway and in Hollywood. They wrote the Singin' in the Rain screenplay, and book and lyrics for a ton of stage musicals.

Granville Barker on Theatre: Selected Essays, by Harley Granville Barker (1877-1946). Last on my list is a book about theatre, though not specifically musicals. Still, this guy wrote these amazing essays about theatre in the first half of the twentieth century, and they read like they were written yesterday. He has truly brilliant insights into the art form, and how he thinks it should and should not be practiced. I haven't enjoyed a theatre book this much since the amazing Connecting Flights.

And here are a couple books I plan to read in the coming year...

Footnotes: The Black Artists Who Rewrote the Rules of the Great White Way, by Caseen Gaines

Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George, by James Lapine

And I can't help but indulge in some shameless self-promotion by also asking you to check out my new books. I've published five books in 2020, Idiots, Heathers, and Squips; Night of the Living Show Tunes; Broadway Musical Christmas Carols; The ABCs of Broadway Musicals; and the Dr. Seuss-esque Shellie Shelby Shares the Spotlight, with illustrations by Zak Farmer! You can check out all my books here.

And Remember -- when you shop at Amazon, go to Amazon Smile instead, and choose New Line Theatre as your charity. Then almost every time you buy something, New Line gets a small donation from Amazon! And they really add up! Thanks in advance!

Stay Safe and We'll See You Soon!

Long Live the Musical!
Scott