We noticed that lately we've accumulated a few books and videos dealing with broadway musicals, along with some other odds and ends, so we thought we'd share what we've got with you.
BOOKS
Aylesworth, Thomas G. BROADWAY TO HOLLYWOOD Copyright 1985. A history of Broadway musicals that were made into films. Starts with the 1920's and ends with the early 1980's.
Behr, Edward and Steyn, Mark. THE STORY OF MISS SAIGON Copyright 1991. The story of the exciting and moving musical by Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schonberg. Includes a short history of the city of Saigon, itself, and how the musical came about. Also details about what went into the production.
Brown, Gene. SHOW TIME: A CHRONOLOGY OF BROADWAY AND THE THEATRE FROM ITS BEGINNINGS TO THE PRESENT Copyright 1997. Each Broadway season (which goes from June to May) starting with 1914 to 1997 is broken down into 4 categories and then chronicled month to month. The categories are: personalities; plays and musicals; business and society; and births, deaths, and marriages. Each season's info also includes Tonys, N.Y. Drama Critics Circle awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and statistics dealing with money, people, and other stuff. There's also a section for the years from 1826 to 1914, which is quite a bit shorter than the rest of the book, because there wasn't as much going on back then. (Or if there was, it wasn't documented as well.)
Ganzl, Kurt. THE BLACKWELL GUIDE TO THE MUSICAL THEATRE ON RECORD Copyright 1990. Sure, it's a little old, but it serves its purpose. This is a complete guide to recordings that were made (through 1990) of operas, musicals (Broadway and otherwise), and stuff like that. Includes short descriptions of the shows and also what variations there were between different recordings of the same show. If you're a show buff that likes to frequent flea markets and used record stores, this is a good book to keep around. If nothing else, it can at least help you create a list of what to look for that may be out of print and unavailable in regular record stores. If you use this in conjunction with the book by Ken Mandelbaum (listed below), you'll get an idea of what great musicals there were that you'll probably never get to see, but you can at least hear them!
Hirschfeld, Al
We've included Mr. Hirschfeld's books and other stuff on our page because he's the man who's famous for his theatre drawings for the New York Times, among other things. If you've never seen a Hirschfeld and you're a theatre fanatic, where have you been? The fun part of his drawings is the search for the Ninas. Unfortunately, we can't put anything of his on our page because we don't want to get into trouble. Sorry. HIRSCHFELD: ART AND RECOLLECTIONS FROM EIGHT DECADES Copyright 1991. A collection of over 330 drawings selected from each decade from the 1920's, when he began his work, through the early 1990's. Includes lots and lots of Broadway stuff, as well as a few pages of introduction by Mr. Hirschfeld himself. HIRSCHFELD ON LINE Copyright 1999. Another collection of over 400 drawings, including commentary by Mr. Hirschfeld for each and every one. Also includes commentary essays by Whoopi Goldberg, Arthur Miller, Mel Gussow, Kurt Vonnegut, Grace Mirabella, Louise Hirschfeld and, of course, Nina. SHOW BUSINESS IS NO BUSINESS Copyright 1951. A humorous book Mr. Hirschfeld both wrote and illustrated, exploring aspects of theatre production.
Mandelbaum, Ken. NOT SINCE CARRIE: 40 YEARS OF BROADWAY MUSICAL FLOPS Copyright 1991. A chronicle of all those musicals between 1950 and 1990 that didn't quite make it. It's a really cool book, broken down into the author's eight different flop categories which explain why they didn't make it. As we read the book, there were dozens of times where we thought, "Gee, that would have been a really good show to see." Each musical is described in detail, including how much money was lost, whether or not it closed before it got to New York, and if it did get to Broadway, how many performances there were before it went bottoms up. For each musical, there's a plot synopsis, how the writers came about writing it, and why the author thinks it didn't work out like it should have.
Perry, George. THE COMPLETE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Copyright 1987. Traces the whole story behind the blockbuster Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, still running on Broadway after 10 years! Includes information about the book by Gaston Leroux, the many films made over the years, how the musical was put together, and the libretto. SUNSET BOULEVARD: FROM MOVIE TO MUSICAL Copyright 1993. The history of another spectacular musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Includes the origins of Sunset Boulevard itself (when it was first laid down, etc.) and also the movie making industry in Hollywood. Also, a brief bio of Billy Wilder, the writer and director of the film; and, naturally, the whole story of the original London production of the musical, starring Patti LuPone, including how they designed the set of Norma Desmond's home, which flies up to reveal what's going on elsewhere at the same time. This book doesn't include anything about the subsequent productions which starred Glenn Close; it was written before they got going.
Sennett, Ted. SONG AND DANCE: THE MUSICALS OF BROADWAY Copyright 1998. The author breaks the 20th century down into eras, spanning a number of years. He critiques the most famous musicals of each era, including lots of info and pix.
Stone, Peter and Yeston, Maury. TITANIC: THE COMPLETE BOOK OF THE MUSICAL Includes the story of the development of the musical, lots of pictures, a list of those who died on the ship, and a complete libretto.
Taymor, Julie. THE LION KING: PRIDE ROCK ON BROADWAY Copyright 1997. The story of the creation of the Broadway musical based on the cartoon. The book is written by the director and costume designer herself. Very detailed, includes lots of Ms. Taymor's original drawings.
CD ROMS
BACKSTAGE By Clarence Sheridan, Copyright 1997. According to the package, you must "find your way from the stage dor to curtain up." You are in the Lunt-Fontanne theatre on Broadway (which is where Titanic: The Musical is playing now) and you must go through a maze of hallways, stopping in each of the rooms to work out different theatre-related puzzles, all before curtain time. If you find the right door, you are greeted by Carol Channing. It's pretty cool. If you are a theatre buff, by all means try this out.
HIRSCHFELD: GREAT ENTERTAINERS Jasmine Media, Copyright 1995. Another Al Hirschfeld goodie. Over 1,000 celebrity bios along with over 400 Hirschfeld drawings you can print out. Also has video interviews with Hirschfeld and other celebrities.
VIDEOS
We'll only list stuff that is available in the store for right now. If anyone would like a list of everything (that we know of, anyway), including appearances on TV shows like Rosie O'Donnell, let us know and we'll update the list.
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S 50TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION A celebration including performances from just about all of ALW's musicals. We thought the best part was when Glenn Close, dressed as Norma Desmond, performed her 2 show stopping numbers from Sunset Boulevard. Also includes a song from the proposed Phantom of the Opera sequel.
CATS A production for public television, also available on home video. A very good specially staged for tv version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber blockbuster. Elaine Paige, who originated the role in London, plays Grizabella. The video may be better than the tv version, because we noticed they cut out a couple of numbers (that we remembered from seeing it on the stage) when we watched it on public television.
DISNEY PRESENTS THE BEST OF BROADWAY MUSICALS Walt Disney Home Video. Original cast performances of Broadway musicals as performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. Includes Annie Get Your Gun, Okalahoma, Flower Drum Song, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, My Fair Lady and much more. Neat stuff.
HEY, MR. PRODUCER Columbia Tri-Star home video, copyright 1997. Subtitled "The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh". This is a benefit concert staged in London before the queen. There are performances from 26 different shows that Mackintosh has produced over the years. It's a really good production with more than one selection from some of the shows presented. It's a good way to get a little bit of Broadway on tape, especially for those of us who wish they would tape stage versions of musicals, rather than re-writing them into a new version for the movies.
IPI NTOMBI! Another public television production, which is also available at the video store. We've included it here, because even though it isn't a true Broadway musical, it's so good that it plays like one, and we've been wondering why it didn't get there. It's a coming of age musical about an African man getting ready to get married. He wants to renounce his tribal ways, but eventually sees the light and comes around. It's really good, so if it ever comes on again, check it out. If you liked the style of music in "Sarafina!", you'll like this, too.
LES MISERABLES IN CONCERT A concert version of the musical, celebrating it's 10th anniversary. Shown on public television from time to time, a complete version is available in video stores. (They cut stuff out to show it on television.) It's pretty good, and as close as you'll get to having a tape of the show. Everyone dresses the part, even if they're only standing in front of microphones. There are scenes from the show edited in sometimes, however.
LES MISERABLES: STAGE BY STAGE Follows the making of the musical. Includes lots of clips from different productions around the world.
THE MAKING OF MISS SAIGON The title says it all. Includes clips from the show.
ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY D.A. Pennebaker's documentary of the 18 hour marathon recording session of the Stephen Sondheim smash musical.
VICTOR/VICTORIA Not the movie! This is a video of the actual stage version of the Broadway musical starring Julie Andrews, Tony Roberts, Michael Nouri, and Rachel York. If you didn't get a chance to see it on Broadway, get the tape. It's just as much a hoot as the original movie was, and the music is teriffic.
Email / knighton@cablespeed.com
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