Book picks similar to
Hat Box: The Collected Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
theatre
non-fiction
plays
fiction-literature
Broadway: The American Musical
Laurence Maslon - 2004
A companion to the six-part PBS documentary series, BROADWAY: THE AMERICAN MUSICAL is the first comprehensive history of the musical, from its roots at the turn of the 20th century through the smashing successes of the new millennium. The 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sheet-music covers, posters, scenic renderings, production stills, rehearsal shots, and caricatures, many previously unpublished. Complementing the narrative are lively sidebars that highlight the stars, the shows, and the songs--the key ingredients that make the musical great. Each chapter also included essays written by some of Broadway's most fascinating luminaries, past and present. An entertaining amalgam of unpublished material, candid and production photographs, and a trunkful of anecdotes and Broadway lore, BROADWAY will appeal to eighth-graders in their first high school musical as well as to connoisseurs of the art form.
The Street Where I Live: A Memoir
Alan J. Lerner - 1978
Lerner, one of America’s most acclaimed and popular lyricists. Large-hearted, humorous, and often poignant in its reverence for a celebrated era in the American theater, this is the story of what Lerner calls "the sundown of wit, eccentricity, and glamour." Try as he might to keep himself out of these pages, Lerner reveals himself to be a man of great talent, laughter, and love. Along the way, we meet a sensational supporting cast: Moss Hart, Fritz Loewe, Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Cecil Beaton, Louis Jourdan, and Maurice Chevalier, to name a few. They are seen in moments of triumph and disaster, but all are professionals at the creation of theater. And the creation of theater is the matrix of this wonderful book. Included are the complete lyrics to My Fair Lady, Gigi, and Camelot.
Spoon River Anthology
Edgar Lee Masters - 1915
Unconventional in both style and content, it shattered the myths of small town American life. A collection of epitaphs of residents of a small town, a full understanding of Spoon River requires the reader to piece together narratives from fragments contained in individual poems."
The Burial at Thebes: A Version of Sophocles' Antigone
Seamus Heaney - 2004
During the War of the Seven Against Thebes, Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, learns that her brothers have killed each other, having been forced onto opposing sides of the battle. When Creon, king of Thebes, grants burial of one but not the "treacherous" other, Antigone defies his order, believing it her duty to bury all of her close kin. Enraged, Creon condemns her to death, and his soldiers wall her up in a tomb. While Creon eventually agrees to Antigone's release, it is too late: She takes her own life, initiating a tragic repetition of events in her family's history.In this outstanding new translation, commissioned by Ireland's renowned Abbey Theatre to commemorate its centenary, Seamus Heaney exposes the darkness and the humanity in Sophocles' masterpiece, and inks it with his own modern and masterly touch.
The Ladies of the Corridor
Dorothy Parker - 1954
Loosely based on Parker?s life, and co-written with famed Hollywood playwright Arnaud d?Usseau, The Ladies of the Corridor exposes the limitations of a woman?s life in a drama teeming with Parker?s signature wit.
Into the Woods: A Five Act Journey Into Story
John Yorke - 2013
Many of us love to tell them, and even dream of making a living from it too. But what is a story? Hundreds of books about screenwriting and storytelling have been written, but none of them ask 'Why?' Why do we tell stories? And why do all stories function in an eerily similar way? John Yorke has been telling stories almost his entire adult life, and the more he has done it, the more he has asked himself why? Every great thinker or writer has their theories: Aristotle, David Hare, Lajos Egri, Robert McKee, Gustav Freytag, David Mamet, Christopher Booker, Charlie Kaufman, William Goldman and Aaron Sorkin - all have offered insightful and illuminating answers. Here, John Yorke draws on these figures and more as he takes us on a historical, philosophical, scientific and psychological journey to the heart of all storytelling.What he reveals is that there truly is a unifying shape to narrative - one that echoes the great fairytale journey into the woods, and one, like any great art, that comes from deep within. Much more than a 'how to write' book, Into the Woods is an exploration of this fundamental structure underneath all narrative forms, from film and television to theatre and novel-writing. With astonishing detail and wisdom, John Yorke explains to us a phenomenon that, whether it is as a simple fable, or a big-budget 3D blockbuster, most of us experience almost every day of our lives.
You Will Be Found
Benj Pasek - 2020
So they tapped into their main character's loneliness and allowed him to sing his way out of it. The result was "You Will Be Found," a song that sets in motion a moment that goes viral in the world of the show and in turn helps Evan find connection.And then something happened in the world outside the show: Fans loved the song. It connected. It went viral. People who had never even seen Dear Evan Hansen found the song, and found comfort in its message of hope.This beautifully illustrated edition of the "You Will Be Found" lyrics is for them, and for anyone on the edge of a new chapter in life. It serves as a reminder to anyone who feels lost or uncertain that, as the song says, you are not alone.
The Mathematics of the Breath and the Way: On Writers and Writing
Charles Bukowski - 2018
Bringing together a variety of previously uncollected stories, columns, reviews, introductions, and interviews, this book finds him approaching the dynamics of his chosen profession with cynical aplomb, deflating pretentions and tearing down idols armed with only a typewriter and a bottle of beer. Beginning with the title piece—a serious manifesto disguised as off-handed remarks en route to the racetrack—The Mathematics of the Breath and the Way runs through numerous tales following the author’s adventures at poetry readings, parties, film sets, and bars, and also features an unprecedented gathering of Bukowski’s singular literary criticism. From classic authors like Hemingway to underground legends like d.a. levy to his own stable of obscure favorites, Bukowski uses each occasion to expound on the larger issues around literary production. The book closes with a handful of interviews in which he discusses his writing practices and his influences, making this a perfect guide to the man behind the myth and the disciplined artist behind the boozing brawler.Born in Andernach, Germany, and raised in Los Angeles, Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) is the author of over forty-five books of poetry and prose.David Stephen Calonne has written several books and edited four previous volumes of uncollected Bukowski for City Lights.
How to Think Like Shakespeare: Lessons from a Renaissance Education
Scott L. Newstok - 2020
In fourteen brief chapters that draw from Shakespeare's world and works, and from other writers past and present, Scott Newstok distills enduring practices that can make learning more creative and pleasurable.Challenging a host of today's questionable notions about education, Newstok shows how mental play emerges through work, creativity through imitation, autonomy through tradition, innovation through constraint, and freedom through discipline. It was these practices, and a conversation with the past--not a fruitless obsession with assessment--that nurtured a mind like Shakespeare's. And while few of us can hope to approach the genius of the Bard, we can all learn from the exercises that shaped him.Written in a friendly, conversational tone and brimming with insights, How to Think like Shakespeare enacts the thrill of thinking on every page, reviving timeless--and timely--ways to stretch your mind and hone your words.
The Woolgatherer
William Mastrosimone - 1986
Into her life saunters Cliff, a hard working, hard drinking truck driver. He is rough and witty and just as starved for love as she is. Produced to great success at New York's Circle Repertory, this delicate two-character drama starred Peter Weller and Patricia Wettig. The Woolgatherer features several excellent monologues. "Energy, compassion and theatrical sense are there."-The New York Times "[Mastrosimone] has a knack for composing wildly humorous lines at the same time that he is able to penetrate people's hearts and dreams."-Hollywood Reporter
Greek Tragedies, Volume 1: Aeschylus: Agamemnon, Prometheus Bound; Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Antigone; Euripides: Hippolytus
David Grene - 1960
Over the years these authoritative, critically acclaimed editions have been the preferred choice of more than three million readers for personal libraries and individual study as well as for classroom use.