Together they come up with the ultimate con: raise more money than needed, produce a show that is bound to flop, and pocket the change. Of course, all best laid plans are subject to be mucked up.

    Our matching folio for this multiple-Tony Award-winning musical by Elton John and Tim Rice features 17 outstanding songs, and a stunning 8-page section of full-color photos from the Broadway production. Includes: Another Pyramid * Dance of the Robe * Easy as Life * Enchantment Passing Through * Every Story Is a Love Story * Fortune Favors the Brave * How I Know You * I Know the Truth * My Strongest Suit * Not Me * Written in the Stars * and more. A Piano/Vocal Highlights collection (00313223, $16.95) is also available, featuring 11 songs in standard piano/vocal format with the melody line in the piano part.

    With this detailed examination of all fourteen operas, Gayden Wren fills the void. His bold thesis finds the key to the operas' longevity, not in the clever lyrics, witty dialogue, or catchy music, but in the central themes underlying the characters and stories themselves. Like Shakespeare's comedies, Wren shows, the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan endure because of their timeless themes, which speak to audiences as powerfully now as they did the first time they were performed.Written out of an abiding love for the Savoy operas, this volume is essential reading for any devotee of these enchanting works, or indeed for anyone who loves musical theater.

    These are musicals that broke all the old rules and created new ones, and changed the way we looked at musical theatre forever: the savage political satire of The Cradle Will Rock in 1937the surprisingly dark sexuality of Pal Joey in 1940the profound innovations of Oklahoma! in 1943the absurdist social satire of Anyone Can Whistle in 1964the convention-shattering experiment that was Hair in 1967the intimacy and emotional power of Jacques Brel in 1968the provocative honesty of the gay-themed Ballad of Little Mikey in 1994the abstract sophistication of the jazz/pop/R&B-flavored Songs for a New World in 1995the emotional immensity of the "anti-spectacle" Floyd Collins in 1995the overwhelming influence of the 1996 rock musical Rent.Offering insightful, provocative opinions on character, plot, musical and textual themes, lyrics, subtext, motivation, backstory, and historical context, Miller reveals astonishing new details about what makes each one of these musicals great. He'll get you thinking and talking about these shows like you never have before. Visit Scott's website at http: //www.geocities.com/Broadway/3164/.