Musical Theatre

Mary Poppins: Anything Can Happen If You Let It
Brian Sibley & Micheal Lassell
This is an illustrated tribute to the world's favourite flying nanny, who blew in on the east wind one day, unpacked her carpetbag, and took up residence in the collective imagination of the world. The main book features her story and is divided into three sections - one for the books, one for the film, and one for the musical. Additionally, there are two seperate portfolios: one presents the inspired artwork of Tony award-winning set and costume designer Bob Crowley, and the other features dozens of colourful photographs showcasing every scene in the fully realized Broadway production. Hardcover, 107 pp. $58.00.

See What I Wanna See
Michael John LaChiusa
See What I Wanna See, a musical about lust, greed, murder, faith and redemption, was named by New York Magazine as one of the Best Musicals of 2005 and nominated for nine Drama Desk Awards, including Best Musical. It is based on three short stories by the Japanese writer Ryunsuke Akutagawa and unfolds like a classical Japanese screen painting. Softcover, 61 pp. $11.99.

The Drowsy Chaperone: Piano/Vocal Selections
Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison
These piano and vocal selections from the hit musical The Drowsy Chaperone include such musical numbers as Cold Feets, Show Off, As We Stumble Along, Toledo Surprise, and I Am Aldolpho. Softcover, 76 pp. $19.95.

Spring Awakening
Frank Wedekind, Steven Sater & Duncan Sheik
In their dynamic re-imagining of Spring Awakening, Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik have created a groundbreaking rock musical about adolescent love, the trials of puberty and the friendships that young people build in the face of an uncomprehending world. Inspired by Frank Wedekind's once-banned and still provocative German play from 1891, this Spring Awakening holds up a mirror to our own time, and has become the must-see musical of a new generation. Softcover, 94 pp. $15.95.

Frank Loesser
Thomas L. Riis
Immensely prolific and a personally magnetic man, Loesser was a major figure during the Broadway golden age that included Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, and Bernstein. Here, Thomas L. Riis, in a deeply informed and lively discussion of Loesser's life and musical career, presents a critical look at one of the mmost important -- though often overshadowed -- Broadway composers. Hardcover, 329 pp. $47.95.

The Rest is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century
Alex Ross
The Rest Is Noise takes the reader inside the labyrinth of modern sound. It tells of maverick personalities who have resisted the cult of the classical past, struggled against the indifference of a wide public, and defied the will of dictators. Whether they have charmed audiences with pure beauty or battered them with pure noise, composers have always been exuberently of the present, defying the stereotype of classical music as a dying art. Hardcover, 624 pp. $33.00.

The Routledge Guide to Broadway
Ken Bloom
This is an A-to-Z reference guide aimed at students of performance, theatre history, direction and production, as well as anyone with an interest in Broadway. Includes a comprehensive history of Broadway theatre, focusing on key performers, writers, directors, plays, musicals, and the folklore of Broadway. Softcover, 288 pp. $23.95.

Broadway Babylon: Glamour, Glitz, and Gossip on the Great White Way
Boze Hadleigh
Discerning fact from fiction, quoting hundreds of players, and revealing the stories behind over a century of major headlines, this hilarious and poignant volume raises the curtain on a legacy of top-of-the-line talent, outsized and clashing personalities, unprecedented greed, embarrassing disasters, and barely masked discrimination. Written with affection and audacity its subject demands, Broadway Babylon celebrates life on the Great White Way - warts and all. Hardcover, 342 pp. $31.00.

The House That George Built
Wilfrid Sheed
From Irving Berlin to Cy Coleman, from Tin Pan Alley to the MGM sound-stages, the Golden Age of the American song embodied all that was cool, sexy, and sophisticated in popular culture. For four decades, geniuses like Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Harold Arlen created unforgettable memories. Wilfrid Sheed has crafted a dazzling, authoritative history of the era that "tripled the world's supply of singable tunes." Hardcover, 335 pp. $37.95.

Sigmund Romberg
William A. Everett
Hungarian-born composer Sigmund Romberg arrived in America in 1909 and within eight years had acheived his first hit musical on Broadway. This early success was soon followed by others, and in the 1920s his popularity was unsurpassed. William Everett offers the first detailed study of this gifted operetta composer, examining Romberg's key works and musical accomplishments and demonstrating his lasting importance in the history of American musicals. Hardcover, 362 pp. $58.95.

The Making of The Sound of Music
Max Wilk
The Making of The Sound of Music tells the full story of the making of the show, from the first rough ideas through the tryouts, fine tuning, and eventual triumph - all from an eyewitness to the events themselves. Max Wilk brings a musical theatre historian's eye to the work, along with his passionate involvement as a witness to this history. For anyone and everyone who has ever been thrilled by The Sound of Music, this book is a must. Softcover, 111 pp. $21.50.

Grey Gardens: The Complete Book and Lyrics
Doug Wright, Michael Korie, Scott Frankel
Based on the Maysle Bros. 1975 film about the eccentric Beales who languished in an East Hampton manor, this touching and heart wrenching musical examines the dysfunctional relationship between mother and daughter. Softcover. $20.95. Coming in August.

The Playbill Broadway Yearbook June 2006 - May 2007
Robert Viagas
Taking the form of a school yearbook, this third edition is packed with photos, facts and memorabilia fro the 2006-2007 Broadway Season. Crammed with backstage stories on all 67 Broadway production of the season gathered from excellent sources including dressers, stage doormen, stage managers and cast members, this is the definitive “ go-to” for Broadway fans everywhere. Hardcover. $37.95. Coming in September.

What Would Barbra Do? How Musicals Changed My Life
Emma Brockes
From An American in Paris to Oklahoma!, Brockes explores the history, art and politics of musicals, and how they have become an indelible part of our popular culture. At the heart of What Would Barbra Do? is a touching story about a daughter, a mother, and how musicals kept them together. Softcover, 270 pp. $28.95.

All That Glittered: The Golden Age of Drama on Broadway, 1919-1959
Ethan Mordden
From the 1920s to the late 1950s, the Broadway theatre was the center of America's cultural universe. Ethan Mordden, long one of the liveliest chriniclers of Broadway's history, re-creates this lost world as only he can, telling us how those fifteen square blocks of Manhattan real estate became every American's touchstone for sophistication, intelligence, and wit. Hardcover, 340 pp. $40.95.

The Routledge Guide to Broadway
Ken Bloom
This is an A-to-Z reference guide aimed at students of performance, theatre history, direction and production, as well as anyone with an interest in Broadway. Includes a comprehensive history of Broadway theatre, focusing on key performers, writers, directors, plays, musicals, and the folklore of Broadway. Softcover, 288 pp. $24.95.

Field of Stars: Songs of the Canadian Musical Theatre Volume 1 ed Jim Betts
This compilation spans 52 years of Canadian musical theatre. It includes the sheet music for 17 songs from these hit show, a CD of the piano/vocal performances of each song, and a bonus CD of the individual piano accompaniments. Among the shows included are Pelagie, Eight to the Bar, House of Martin Guerre, Billy Bishop Goes to War, Dracula: A Chamber Musical.  Coil Bound, 2 CD's. $41.95.

The Musical World of Boublil and Schonberg
Margaret Vermette
The Musical World of Boublil and Schonberg is the first book to offer a comprehensive look behind the closed doors of the two intensely private musical theatre giants Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg. Boublil and Schonberg take center stage and talk openly about their methods and the creative processes involved in writing the book, the music, and the lyrics of their shows. A Fact File gives information on all their productions in London, New York, and worldwide with plot synopses and details of the creative teams, casts, reviews, awards, and recordings as well as some intriguing trivia. Softcover, 345 pp. $25.95.

Billy Elliot: The Musical
Chris Harvey
Every track from the Olivier-Award winning hit musical Billy Elliot. Arranged for piano, voice and guitar, complete with full lyrics. Softcover, 102 pp. $37.95.

The Complete Gilbert and Sullivan
Ed Glinert
Gilbert and Sullivan's operas are some of the world's best-loved musical works, delighting audiences with their joyous wit, topsy-turvy logic and extravagant wordplay. This glorious treasury is the definitive annotated edition of all fourteen of the Savoy Operas. Also containing original illustrations from Gilbert's Bab Ballads, as well as extensive notes for every work, this ultimate Gilbert and Sullivan collection will delight all devotees of the incomparable duo. Hardcover, 866 pp. $55.00.

Broadway North: The Dream of a Canadian Musical Theatre
Mel Atkey
Did you know that the idea behind the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes was first tried out in Toronto? That Canada produced the world's longest-running annual revue? Or that Anne of Green Gables has played more performances at the Charlottetown Festival than South Pacific did in its original Broadway production? All this and more is illuminated in Mel Atkey's enthusiastic tribute to Canadian musical theatre. Softcover, 309 pp. $29.95.

The Color Purple: A Memory Book of the Broadway Musical
Lise Funderburg
This glorious book takes the reader inside the hit show with interviews, photographs, and personal mementoes from the cast, writers, and producers. See pages from Alice Walker's original handwritten version of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel; learn how Tony Award-winning actress LaChanze transforms night after night into Celie; see the original sketches of the costumes and sets. Designed to resemble a family album, this book is a piece of the show that is a must-have for anyone moved by Celie's story. Hardcover, 183 pp. $49.95.

The Musical as Drama
Scott McMillin
Derived from the colorful traditions of vaudville, burlesque, revue, and operetta, the musical has blossomed into America's most popular form of theater. Scott McMillin has developed a fresh aesthetic theory of this underrated art form, exploring the musical as a type of drama deserving the kind of critical and theoretical regard given to Chekhov or opera. Hardcover, 230 pp. $32.95.

The Rise and Fall of the Broadway Musical
Mark Grant
Many of today's Broadway shows, from Rent to The Lion King to Movin' Out, have become commercial hits, but do they have the cultural importance or the dramatic and musical artistry of such enduring productions as Oklahoma!, Show Boat, or Kiss Me, Kate? This is just one of the compelling questions considered by Mark N. Grant in his highly original, incisive, and spirited examination of the rise, heyday, and decline of American musical theatre. Softcover, $29.95.

The American Musical and the Performance of Personal Identity
Raymond Knapp
The American musical has long provided an important vehicle through which writers, performers, and audiences reimagine who they are and how they might best interact with the world around them. Musicals are especially good at this because they provide not only an opportunity for us to enact dramatic versions of alternative identities, but also the material for perfoming such alternatives in the real world, through songs and the characters and attitudes those songs project.
This book addresses a variety of specific themes in musicals that serve this general function: fairy tale and fantasy, idealism and inspiration, gender and sexuality, and relationships among others. It also considers three overlapping genres that are central, in quite different ways, to the projection of personal identity: operetta, movie musicals, and operatic musicals. Hardcover, 446 pp. $51.95.

Writing the Broadway Musical
Aaron Frankel
Brimming with advice and techniques, this essential reference, the only one of its kind, demonstrates the fundamentals of the three crafts of the musical -- the book, the music, and the lyrics. Using many examples from both contemporary and classic musicals and accounting for the "British Invasion" and Disney on Broadway, this is the ideal musical writer's guide to the art, and will increase the theatergoer's pleasure as well. Softcover, 182 pp. $29.00.

America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley
Phillip Furia & Michael Lasser
America's Songs tells the fascinating, funny, and sometimes poignant stories behind the greatest songs ever to emerge from the Broadway musical, Hollywood movies, and the music industry of Tin Pan Alley. In addition to recounting each song's inspiration, creation, and enduring popularity, America's Songs shows how these "standards" mirror American life from the years before World War I through the years after Vietnam. Hardcover, 328 pp. $38.95.

The Light in the Piazza
Adam Guettel
"Statues and Stories", "The Beauty Is", "Il Mondo Era Vuoto", "Passeggiata", "Dividing Day", "Say it Somehow", "The Light in the Piazza", "Let's Walk", "Love to Me", and "Fable": here are the songs from the multiple Tony award-winning musical sensation. Softcover, 95 pp. $23.95.

Monty Python's Spamalot
Eric Idle
Colour photographs and all of the songs from the 2005 Tony Award-winning musical based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Softcover, 84 pp. $23.95.

The Playbill Broadway Yearbook
2004-2005
Robert Viagas
Packed, cover-to-cover, with full-colour photographs and encyclopedic information, The Playbill Broadway Yearbook is the ultimate one-volume record of the Broadway season. Hardcover, 422 pp. $38.95.

Little Musicals for Little Theatres
Denny Martin Flinn
This comprehensive, practical, and entertaining handbook contains essential information on more than 150 small musicals that any theatre or school can produce with limited resources. In each entry you will find a synopsis of the musical, its cast size, a list of musical numbers, as well as the author's professional comments on the advantages and disadvantages of producing the show. Softcover, 293 pp. $23.95.

Today in History: Musicals
Joe Stollenwerk
Today in History: Musicals takes you through a year's worth of ups and downs in the history of Broadway and movie musicals, day by day. Packed with memorable events in musicals history, trivia, insider tidbits, and quotable lines from the best of musical theater, this is the perfect companion for any fan. Softcover, $19.50.

Second Act Trouble: Behind the Scenes at Broadway's Big Musical Bombs
Steven Suskin
If Broadway's triumphant musical hits are exhilararting, the backstage tales of Broadway failures are tantalizing soap operas in miniature. Behind every fabled flop is a set of claims, countercharges, and recriminations from some of the biggest egos in the public eye, struggling to save face. In Second Act Trouble Steven Suskin has compiled and annotated long-forgotten, first-person accounts of 25 Broadway musicals from the 1930s to the 1990s that stubbornly went awry. Hardcover, $36.95.

Staging Musicals for Young Performers
Maria C. Novelly & Adele Firth
This unique, step-by-step guidebook is designed to help teachers and directors successfully mount a musical with young performers. Every aspect of production is covered: casting and rehearsals, costumes and make-up, scenery and props, lighting, sound effects, and publicity and promotion. This is an invaluable resource for anyone teaching acting, singing, and dancing. Softcover, 229 pp. $22.95.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
David Yazbek
Vocal selections and sheet music from the multi-Tony Award-nominated musical. Softcover, 119 pp. $23.95.

Essential Songs: Broadway
A complete selection of Broadway favourites including over 90 songs from the greatest shows in musical theatre. Each song is arranged in Piano/Vocal/Guitar format. Included are songs from Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Urinetown, Camelot, South Pacific, The Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Annie, Cats, Paint Your Wagon, and dozens of others! Softcover, 400 pp. $32.95.

Musicals: Facts, Figures & Fun
Mike Evans
A beautifully researched trawl through the glamorous world of musicals on stage and screen. Perfect material for a music-based quiz or just a quiet read in the smallest room in the house. Hardcover, 96 pp. $7.95.

Unfinished Business: Broadway Musicals as Works-in-Progress
Bruce Kirle
In this fresh approach to musical theatre history, Bruce Kirle challenges the commonly understood trajectory of the genre. Drawing on the notion that the world of the author stays fixed while the world of audience is ever-changing, Kirle suggests that musicals are open, fluid products of the particular cultural moment in which they are performed. Incomplete as printed texts and scores, musicals take on unpredictable lives of their own in the complex transformation from page to stage. This lively study will appeal to students, scholars, and lifelong musical theatre enthusiasts. Softcover, 252 pp. $87.99.

Classic American Popular Song: The Second Half-Century, 1950-2000
David Velsey & Don Jenness
What happened to American popular song after 1950? While 1950 is seen as the end of an era, the tap of popular song creation hardly ran dry after that date. This book tackles the issue head on, answering questions such as: Was there a decline in quality or quantity of pop song after 1950? Were the highly successful writers who emerged after 1950 working in an antiquated style? Did they adopt new musical and verse techniques, and thus shape a new genre to be judged in retrospect as a new classic style? Are the post-1950 songs as memorable, viewed now after another 50 years, as those that came before? Will they last as long, and mean as much? Finally, if indeed there is still a great tradition, how vital is this tradition as of 2000? Hardcover, 385 pp. $46.50.

Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time
Ken Bloom & Frank Vlastnik
This lush celebration of musicals chronicles the 101 most influential, popular and enduring shows, along the way profiling dozens of composers, writers, performers and designers. A vast array of 850 ravishing photographs leap off the pages and, in themselves, make this book a publishing milestone. Broadway Musicals is made complete by an extensive collection plot synopses, cast and song lists, and much more. Hardcover, 336 pp. $52.00 .

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Before the Parade Passes By: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical
John Anthony Gilvey
During the Golden Age of the Broadway musical, few director-choreographers could infuse a new musical with dance and movement in quite the way Gower Champion could. From his earliest Broadway success with Bye Bye Birdie to his triumphant and bittersweet valedictory, 42nd Street, Champion's musicals filled the proscenium with life. In this lively biography, John Anthony Gilvey tells the story of this most American of Broadway musical director-choreographers. Hardcover, 371 pp. $39.95.

Wicked: The Grimmerie
David Cote
This is the behind-the-scenes story of the hit that has captivated Broadway, and now the nation. Designed to resemble the ancient book of spells that changes Ozian history, Wicked: The Grimmerie includes profiles of the cast and creative team, the complete illustrated lyrics to all the songs, and more than 200 full-colour photographs. This is a must have for Wicked fans of all ages. Hardcover, 191 pp. $54.00.

Contemporary Broadway
Revised Edition
This stunning collection of songs from hit Broadway musicals includes selections from 25 shows and revivals including, Avenue Q, The Boy From Oz, Chicago, Hairspray, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, The Producers, and Wicked. Softcover, 272 pp. $24.95.

Spreadin' Rhythm Around: Black Popular Songwriters 1880-1930
David A. Jasen & Gene Jones
This is the classic work on a little-studied subject in American music history: the contribution of African American songwriters to the world of popular song. Richly illustrated with rare photographs from sheet music, newspapers, and other unique sources, the book describes an entire era of performance when black singers, dancers, and actors were active on the New York stage. For anyone interested in the history of jazz, pop song, or Broadway, this book will be a revelation. Softcover, 435 pp. $33.50.

The Art of the American Musical: Conversations with the Creators
Jackson R. Bryer & Richard A. Davison
Readers are taken onto the stage, into the rehearsals, and behind the scenes in this beguiling collection of interviews with eighteen of the musical theatre's leading composers, lyricists, librettists, directors, choreographers, and producers. Included are candid conversations with Arthur Laurents, Kander and Ebb, Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, Susan Stroman, Burton Lane, Tommy Tune, and others. Softcover, 308 pp. $35.95.

The Rise and Fall of the Broadway Musical
Mark N. Grant
Many of today's Broadway shows, from Rent to The Lion King to Movin' Out, have become commercial hits, but do they have the cultural importance or the dramatic and musical artistry of such enduring productions as Oklahoma!, Show Boat, or Kiss Me, Kate? This is just one of the compelling questions considered by Mark N. Grant in his highly original, incisive, and spirited examination of the rise, heyday, and decline of American musical theatre. Hardcover, 365 pp. $55.99.

The Amazing Story of The Fantasticks
Donald C. Farber & Robert Viagas
Frequently called the "miracle on Sullivan Street," The Fantasticks has been the most often performed musical around the world, setting more national and international longevity records than any musical in theatre history. This is the detailed history of how this fabulously successful show came into being and how and why it succeeded. Softcover, 263 pp. $24.95.

Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre
Foster Hirsch
Here is the complete look at the outstanding career of Harold Prince, the most honoured and influencial producer/director in the history of postwar American musical theatre. Foster Hirsch has updated the original edition of this book adding new interviews with Prince. He also analyzes Prince's more recent work, including Kiss of the Spider Woman, Parade, and the award-winning revival of Show Boat. Softcover, 269 pp. $23.95.

Noel & Cole: The Sophisticates
Stephen Citron
Based on access to previously unpublished manuscripts, lyrics, scores, and letters, plus dozens of interviews, this book offers an elucidating treatise on the parallel careers and frequent collaborations of Noel Coward and Cole Porter. Noel & Cole skillfully fuses their biographical strands, giving the reader a clear insight into both men's private lives, illuminating their musical achievements, including a frank discussion of their homosexuality. Softcover, 360 pp. $21.95.

Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies
Ted Chapin
Based on the detailed journal the author kept in 1971, while working as a production assisstant on Follies, Everything Was Possible provides an extraordinary eyewitness chronicle of the process behind producing a musical. And not just any musical, Follies was created by some of Broadway's giants: Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Michael Bennett, and James Goldman -- all geniuses at the top of their game. Softcover, 331 pp. $23.95.

Sing for Your Supper: The Broadway Musical in the 1930s
Ethan Mordden
In the 1930s, America was struggling in the midst of the Depression. Aficionados of the Broadway musical have always maintained that this was the decade of the serious, political show, but Ethan Mordden is here to correct the record, once and for all, and show that Broadway's lights burned brightly during the 1930s in some of the most enjoyable, fun-filled and starry vehicles to ever grace Broadway. Hardcover, 279 pp. $38.95.

Avenue Q - The Musical
Robert Lopez & Jeff Mary
Winner of 3 2004 Tony Awards, Avenue Q - The Musical is a cross between The Muppets and South Park. Relive the hilarious lyrics and irresistable music with this collection of piano/vocal selections. Softcover, 159 pp. $25.95.

tick, tick . . . Boom!
Jonathan Larson
A collection of songs (sheet music and lyrics) from the musical tick, tick . . . Boom! Softcover, 126 pp. $23.95.

The Songwriter Goes to War
Alan Anderson
The is the story of Irving Berlin's World War II all-army production of This is the Army. Essentially it is a "backstage" account, detailing the logistics of transporting a full-scale Broadway musical revue to Great Britain in the blitz, the Italian front lines, the Persian desert and the jungles of New Guinea. Recalled by Alan Anderson, this is a beguiling, but little-know slice of cultural history from WWII. Hardcover, 361 pp. $46.50.

Broadway: The American Musical
Michael Kantor & Laurence Maslon
The Broadway musical is one of the few uniquely American art forms. A companion to the six-part PBS documentary series, Broadway: The American Musical is the first comprehensive history of the genre, from its roots at the turn of the twentieth century through the smash successes in the new millennium. This compelling, in-depth text is lavishly illustrated with a treasure trove of photographs, sheet music covers, posters, scenic renderings, production stills, rehearsal shots, and caricatures, many previously unpublished. Hardcover, 469 pp. $87.00.

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Musicals
Kurt Ganzl
Musicals is a spectacular trip through the history of the most consistently popular form of live entertainment. The leading authority on the genre, Kurt Ganzl, leads the reader through the international journey, highlighting the most significant shows and movements along the way. Audiences who have been dazzled by musical theatre will be equally charmed by this splendidily illustrated volume. Hardcover, 272 pp. $62.00.

The American Musical and the Formation of National Identity
Raymond Knapp
The American musical has achieved and maintained relevance to more people in America than any other performance based art. This thoughtful history of the genre, intended for readers of all stripes, offers probing discussions of how musical numbers, advance themes related to American national identity. Hardcover, 361 pp. $52.95.

The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen: The Last 25 Years of the Broadway Musical
Ethan Mordden
This final chapter in Ethan Mordden's epic chronicle of the Broadway musical laments the passing of the classic eras of Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Merman, Preston, Channing, Fosse, and Robbins, and examines Broadway's hits and (more often) misses from the past 25 years. The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen is an unsparing and acerbic look at the condition of the contemporary Broadway musical. Hardcover, 312 pp. $38.95.

The Theater Mania Guide to Musical Theater Recordings
Michael Portantiere
This, the one and only comprehensive guide to recordings of musical theatre scores from the early 20th century to the present, is an essential addition to every theatre buff's library. Softcover, 416 pp. $29.95.

A Must See! Brilliant Broadway Artwork
Steven Suskin
Theater historian Steven Suskin has combed through the archives to bring together this ravishing collection of Broadway artwork from the past fifty years. In all, this book offers almost 200 examples of stunning graphic design from artists such as Al Hirschfeld, Don Freeman, James Thurber, Charles Addams, Ludwig Bemelmans, William Steig, Richard Avedon, Peter Arno, Alberto Vargas, and Norman Rockwell. A Must See! is a must own for theatre enthusiasts. Softcover, 156 pp. $31.95.

Andrew Lloyd Webber
John Snelson
In this sustained examination of Lloyd Webber's creative career, music scholar John Snelson explores the vast range of influences that have informed Lloyd Webber's work, from film, rock, and pop music to Lloyd Webber's own life story. This rigorous and sympathetic survey will be essential reading for anyone interested in Lloyd Webber's musicals and the world of modern musical theatre that he has been so instrumental in shaping. Hardcover, 267 pp. $45.00.

Jerry Herman: Poet of the Showtune
Stephen Citron
Drawing on extensive interviews with Jerry Herman and his theatrical colleagues, collaborators, and close friends, this revealing biography tells the full story of Jerry Herman's life and career. Stephen Citron provides insights into Herman's music and lyrics -- including voluminous examples from each of his musicals -- in a way that is instructive, edifying and entertaining. Hardcover, 338 pp. $45.00.

Chanteuse in the City
Kelley Conway
An icon of working-class feminity and the underworld, the realist singer signaled the emergence of new cultural roles for women as well as shifts in the nature of popular entertainment. Chanteuse in the City provides a genealogy of realist performance through analysis of the music hall careers and film roles of Mistinguett, Josephine Baker, Frehel, and Damia. Above all, this volume offers a fresh interpretation of 1930s French cinema, emphasizing its love affair with popular song and its close connections to the music hall and the cafe-concert. Softcover, 246 pp. $37.95.

Ever After: The Last Years of Musical Theater and Beyond
Barry Singer
Ever After is more than a detailed show-by-show history of the last quarter century in American musical theatre. It explains how the storied Broadway tradition went so very wrong in so many cases. Both anecdotal and analytical, Ever After features personality profiles of important creative figures, while critically evaluating all of the musicals produced during the past 25 years. Hardcover, 328 pp. $40.00.

The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey
Second Edition
Joseph P. Swain
To see a Broadway musical is to experience how drama, melody, harmony, and rhythm evoke the emotion needed to perpetuate a story line. Without music, many of these plays would fail to convey their intended message. This new edition of Swain's classic text reveals how a musical drama achieves plot movement, character development, and conflict through the strategic placement of song and music in twenty musical plays. Softcover, 451 pp. $52.95.

Fine and Dandy: The Life and Work of Kay Swift
Vicki Ohl
Kay Swift was one of the few women composers active on Broadway in the first half of the twentieth century. Best known as George Gershwin's assistant, musical adviser, and intimate friend, Swift was in fact an accomplished musician herself, a pianist and composer whose Fine and Dandy (1930) was the first complete Broadway musical written by a woman. This fascinating book -- the first biography of Swift -- discusses her music and her extraordinary life. Hardcover, 294 pp. $45.00.

Kurt Weill On Stage: From Berlin to Broadway
Foster Hirsch
In Kurt Weill On Stage, the focus of the biography is on Weill's career in the United States, but Hirsch's primal aim is to explore the truth in the comment made by Weill's wife, the unforgettable Lotte Lenya: "There is no American Weill, there is no German Weill. There is no difference between them. There is only Weill." Hirsch is able, in this book, to give the reader a multifaceted portrait of a man who fought critics, collaborators and prejudice to ensure that his theatrical vision was executed down to the smallest detail. Softcover, 403 pp. $32.95.

The George Gershwin Reader
Robert Wyatt & John Andrew Johnson
This reader offers a kaleidoscope collection of writings by and about Gershwin, including more than eighty pieces of superb variety, colour, and depth. Hardcover, 354 pp. $39.95.

The Impossible Musical: The "Man of La Mancha" Story
Dale Wasserman
For centuries, writers all over the world have tried to adapt Cervantes' comic masterpiece; where all others failed, Dale Wasserman succeeded. From the Costa del Sol to Hollywood, Broadway and beyond, with a host of spectacular people, this is the full story of Man of Lan Mancha. Hardcover, 351 pp. $36.00.

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Making Americans: Jews and the Broadway Musical
Andrea Most
Looking at the period from 1925 to 1951, this book reveals how Jewish writers brought to the musical stage a powerfully appealing vision of America, fashioned through song and dance. Brilliantly written and compulsively readable, Making Americans is a fascinating account of Jewish acculturation and of the Broadway musical's coming-of-age. Hardcover, 253 pp. $44.95.

Aaron Copland: A Reader
Selected Writings: 1923-1972
Richard Kostelanetz
Aaron Copland is universally recognized as one of the great American composers of the 20th century. He was also a prolific writer, turning out many popular books and essays during his lifetime, and maintaining a detailed diary. This stunning new collection offers the only currently available overview of these important and illuminating writings. Hardcover, 368 pp. $53.00.

Jerry Herman: The Lyrics A Celebration
Jerry Herman and Ken Bloom
For fans of Broadway theatre, and of Jerry Herman's works, this book will be a treasure. Inside you'll find all of the lyrics to Herman's much-loved songs along with rare production photographs from all of his shows. And, as an added bonus, this book includes an CD of Michael Feinstein performing Herman's favorite songs. Hardcover, 241 pp. $49.95.


The New American Musical: An Anthology From The End Of The Century
Wiley Hausam
This anthology collects the groundbreaking musicals, Floyd Collins, Rent, Parade, and The Wild Party. Together these works represent a new generation of composers, lyricists and librettists who have extended and transformed the serious musical. A must-have collection. Softcover, 448 pp. $28.95.

Colored Lights: 40 Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration, and All That Jazz
John Kander & Fred Ebb
Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb are the longest-running composer-lyricist partnership in Broadway history, having first joined forces in 1962. Told through a dialogue between the two men, enlivened with excerpts from Fred Ebb's lyrics and sixteen pages of photographs, Colored Lights is a uniquely wonderful work of the musical theatre. Hardcover, 231 pp. $34.50.

The Complete Lyrics of Frank Loesser
Robert Kimball and Steve Nelson
Robert Kimball and Steve Nelson have gathered lyrics from such varied sources as rare private recordings, the personal files of Frank Loesser and the archives of film studios. Included are photos of the stars who helped make Loesser‰s songs famous including Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Marlene Dietrich. Loesser‰s extraordinary songs include Baby, It‰s Cold Outside, Slow Boat to China, Heart and Soul and musicals hits such as Guys and Dolls, Most Happy Fella, How to Succeed in Business á $75.00.

The Everything Songwriting Book
C.J. Watson
All in one handy reference book is professional advice on how to find and develop song ideas, formulate a catchy rhyme scheme, incorporate unique phrasing, create colourful imagery and word play, get compostions into the right hands, and much more. Whether you are just starting out or are looking for inspiration, this book is the first step towards achieving songwriting success. Softcover, 289 pp. $22.95.

Harry B. Smith: Dean of American Librettists
John Franceschina
This study of Harry B. Smith's extraordinary career not only reveals the fascinating life of an ebullient workaholic (he composed some 6,000 songs), but also offers an important history of the American musical theatre during its formative years. A wonderous document of an era, as lived by one of its seminal figures. Hardcover, 300 pp. $74.95.

Hairspray: The Roots
Various
Based on John Waters's hilarious 1988 film, the musical comedy Hairspray opened on Broadway in August 2002 to rave reviews and a sold-out box office. This book captures all of the creative energy, brilliant colour, and full-out emotion that made the musical a one-of-a-kind theatrical event that captured the heart of everyone who saw it. Hardcover 168 pp. $52.50.

Sondheim on Music
Mark Horowitz
Over a three-day period in 1997, Mark Eden Horowitz sat down with Stephen Sondheim in his Turtle Bay home to discuss his creative process. These remarkable dialogues, published here, shed light on Sondheim's approach to composing, include his musings on art and musical theatre, and contain several amusings anecdotes about his career. Hardcover, 401 pp. $65.95.

Boy Loses Girl: Broadway's Librettists
Thomas S. Hischak
One hundred years of libretto writing are explored as the growth and changes in the Broadway musical are charted through the work of the most important writers. Boy Loses Girl presents a whole new perspective for looking at the American musical theatre. Hardcover, 277 pp. $65.95.

The Cambridge Companion to the Musical
William A. Everett & Paul R. Laird
The Cambridge Companion to the Musical provides an accessible introduction to one of the liveliest and most popular forms of musical performance. Written by a team of specialists, this volume covers the early history of the musical and comes right up to date by looking at some of the most recent productions. With an extensive bibliography and photos from key productions, this book is excellent for students and theatregoers. Softcover, 310 pp. $37.95.

Open A New Window:
The Broadway Musical in the 1960's
Ethan Mordden
As the Rodgers and Hammerstein era ended, the 1960's ushered in the modern concept musical. Bye Bye Birdie, Hello Dolly!, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, Sweet Charity, and dozens of other dynamic musicals premiered in the 1960's making it decade of excitement and innovation. This riveting account highlights all of the key works, and captures the energy and intelligence of this unique era in the history of musical theatre. Softcover, 279 pp. $24.95.

The Lyrics of Noel Coward
Noel Coward
This selection of Noel Coward's lyrics brings together over 250 classics, including Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Mrs. Worthington, Don't Let's be Beastly to the Germans and Mad About the Boy. The lyrics are arranged chronologically and grouped by show. Also included are notes and an introduction by the Master himself. Softcover, 418 pp. $24.95.

The Sound of Their Music
Frederick Nolan
Lovers of musical theatre will rejoice over this completely revised, and significantly expanded version of Frederick Nolan's authoritative biography of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein. Timed to coincide with the centennial year of Richard Rogers, this book tells the intimate story of the creation of this spectacular pair's most beloved musicals, and the people who took part. Hardcover, 326 pp., $37.95.

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Sondheim & Lloyd-Webber: The New Musical
Stephen Citron
A composer and lyricist himself, with several acclaimed books to his credit, Citron explores the lives and works of two of the musical theatre's greatest practitioners in a mesmerising excursion. $65.95.

Something For the Boys:
Musical Theater and Gay Culture
John M. Clum
Why do gay men love musical theater? Carol Channing, Ethel Merman, Noel Coward, Cole Porter -- need we say more? This book is a tribute to the quintessential American art form that dares to speak its name: the Broadway musical. Hardcover, $41.99; Softcover, $24.95.

Astaire And Rogers
by Edward Gallafent
Astaire and Rogers provides a unique account of two of Hollywood's most memorable performers. A thoroughly researched and enlightening look at the films made by the famous dancing duo. Hardcover, $41.95.

Reading Lyrics
Edited and with an Introduction by Robert Gottlieb and Robert Kimball
An encyclopedic collection of more than a thousand of the finest lyrics from 1900 to 1975, presented chronologically with short biographical sketches of each lyricist. George M. Cohan, P.G. Wodehouse, Gus Kahn, Cole Porter, Maxwell Anderson, Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Hoagy Carmicheal, Noel Coward, Johnny Mercer, Sammy Cahn, Billy Strayhorn, Betty Comden, Adoph Greene, Alan Jay Lerner, Peggy Lee, Stephen Sondheim, and many many more. $63.50.

Broadway: The Golden Years --
Jerome Robbins and the Great Choreographer-Directors 1940 to the Present
Robert Emmet Long
This authority on British and American literature with several acclaimed books to his credit offers a pioneering work on the "greats" of the musical theatre. $50.00.  

Not Since Carrie: 40 Years of Broadway Musical Flops
Ken Mandelbaum
Fascinating book -- most definitely not a flop. It practically reads itself and is full of stuff that's hard to find elsewhere. $32.99.

Cabaret
Joe Masteroff
The illustrated book, lyrics, and story behind the award-winning Roundabout Theatre Broadway revival. It includes interviews with the cast, director, choreographer, and production crew and full-colour production and behind-the-scenes photos. $49.00.

Rocky Horror: From Concept To Cult
Scott Michaels & David Evans
When a small company of actors set out on the very first production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Royal Court Theatre in 1973, no one could have realised what a world-wide phenomenon it would become. The stage show would enjoy a short life, but the subsequent film would steadily build a cult following. This book is a celebration of the story of the film and its makers. Softcover, $29.95.

4 by Sondheim
Steven Sondheim
The complete books, lyrics, set and costume designs, production photos, essays and more on A Little Night Music; Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; Sunday in the Park with George and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum . $50.00.

The Showmakers:
Great Directors of the American Musical Theatre
Lawrence Thelen
Thelen creates lively portraits of twelve of the most creative and influential directors of the contemporary musical theatre. Directors profiled include Des McAnuff, James Lapine, Arthur Laurents, Harold Prince, Jerome Robbins, and others. Hardcover, $37.95; softcover, $29.95.

A Most Ingenious Paradox
Gayden Wren
Gilbert & Sullivan's operas were written over a century ago and today they represent the world's most popular body of musical-theatre works. In this book, Gayden Wren looks at the operas themselves rather than on biography or performance history and find that they endure because of resonant stories, characters, and themes. An ideal book for Gilbert & Sullivan fans. Hardcover, $61.50.

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Last modified July 15, 2003 .
Please note that all prices are in Canadian dollars. All prices are subject to change without notice.