Year-in-the-life books, part III: Theater and Business
Theater
Goldman, William. The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway. New York, Harcourt, Brace & World, [1969].
An oldie but a goodie, as they say. And it's by the author of The Princess Bride! I read this so long ago that I don't even remember what season was profiled--I think it was 1967/68. Goldman tracked the progress of all the shows that opened on Broadway in that season. Not completely a "fly on the wall" view, but it was compelling nonetheless. I believe Goldman did interview key people as to what went right, and wrong, with the various shows of that season.
Cohen, Leah Hager. Stuff of Dreams: Behind the Scenes of an American Community Theater. New York : Viking, 2001.
...and the community is a suburb of Boston, Mass. The play: the controversial M. Butterfly, dealing with issues of race and gender. I admit, I only remember a few particulars about the book: how isolated the Asian-American actor who played one of the leads was, partly by choice; the hunt for costumes, and a lot about the author's experience with theater. Maybe there wasn't a lot, but I didn't want to read ANY of her reminiscences. Especially because it's not like books chronicling a season of a community theater are a dime a dozen. Now that I've read more about theater, though, I'd like to re-read this one. I bought it shortly after it came out, I was so eager for this kind of book.
Hapgood, David. Year of the Pearl: The Life of a New York Repertory Theatre Company. New York : Knopf, 1993.
The title says it all. Another one I want to go back and re-read, having seen more theater and read more about it.
Isenberg, Barbara. Making It Big. New York : Limelight Editions, 1996.
Okay, this one I read this spring. So I remember much more about it. Written in a diary format, it follows the musical Big from its birth (genesis of the idea, getting financing, pulling together the creative team) through its opening on Broadway. This book covers more than a year, but the idea's the same. Amazing to learn about how much tinkering goes on with a play. Interesting stuff about casting, the tryout in Detroit, and converting a movie to a stage show. (That seems to be the fashion on Broadway these days.) Could've done with less about the financing. Otherwise, a fun, quick read.
See also the entry for Backstage at Stratford.
Business
Stabiner, Karen. Inventing Desire: Inside Chiat/Day: The Hottest Shop, the Coolest Players, the Big Business of Advertising. New York : Simon & Schuster, c1993.
Yes, another one I read quite a while ago. Chiat/Day developed some of the most famous ads for Apple computers. I recall a lot in this book about advertising campaigns for an artificial sweetener and a car. This book is good enough I remember it, probably 10 years after I read it. More memorable for me, though, was Stabiner's Courting Fame: the Perilous Road to Women's Tennis Stardom.
Shactman, Tom. Around the Block: The Business of a Neighborhood. New York : Harcourt Brace, c1997.
This book was GREAT!! I wish there were more like it. I've recommended it to family members who are fans of or are in small or independent businesses. That's really what this book is about. I don't recall more than a couple chain stores being on the New York City block Shactman writes about. An established department store, Barney's, rubs shoulders with new start-ups. The block includes restaurants, offices retail, and wholesale. There are two plumbing supply stores on the block, and Shactman explains how they're different.
Other entries with "Year in the Life" books: June 20, 2006–restaurants/chefs; June 22, 2006–part II: education; Oct 11, 2006–part IVa: sports; Feb 21, 2007–part IVb: sports; March 28, 2007–part V: religion; April 6, 2007–part IVc: sports; and May 2, 2007–part VI: miscellaneous.
Theater
Goldman, William. The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway. New York, Harcourt, Brace & World, [1969].
An oldie but a goodie, as they say. And it's by the author of The Princess Bride! I read this so long ago that I don't even remember what season was profiled--I think it was 1967/68. Goldman tracked the progress of all the shows that opened on Broadway in that season. Not completely a "fly on the wall" view, but it was compelling nonetheless. I believe Goldman did interview key people as to what went right, and wrong, with the various shows of that season.
Cohen, Leah Hager. Stuff of Dreams: Behind the Scenes of an American Community Theater. New York : Viking, 2001.
...and the community is a suburb of Boston, Mass. The play: the controversial M. Butterfly, dealing with issues of race and gender. I admit, I only remember a few particulars about the book: how isolated the Asian-American actor who played one of the leads was, partly by choice; the hunt for costumes, and a lot about the author's experience with theater. Maybe there wasn't a lot, but I didn't want to read ANY of her reminiscences. Especially because it's not like books chronicling a season of a community theater are a dime a dozen. Now that I've read more about theater, though, I'd like to re-read this one. I bought it shortly after it came out, I was so eager for this kind of book.
Hapgood, David. Year of the Pearl: The Life of a New York Repertory Theatre Company. New York : Knopf, 1993.
The title says it all. Another one I want to go back and re-read, having seen more theater and read more about it.
Isenberg, Barbara. Making It Big. New York : Limelight Editions, 1996.
Okay, this one I read this spring. So I remember much more about it. Written in a diary format, it follows the musical Big from its birth (genesis of the idea, getting financing, pulling together the creative team) through its opening on Broadway. This book covers more than a year, but the idea's the same. Amazing to learn about how much tinkering goes on with a play. Interesting stuff about casting, the tryout in Detroit, and converting a movie to a stage show. (That seems to be the fashion on Broadway these days.) Could've done with less about the financing. Otherwise, a fun, quick read.
See also the entry for Backstage at Stratford.
Business
Stabiner, Karen. Inventing Desire: Inside Chiat/Day: The Hottest Shop, the Coolest Players, the Big Business of Advertising. New York : Simon & Schuster, c1993.
Yes, another one I read quite a while ago. Chiat/Day developed some of the most famous ads for Apple computers. I recall a lot in this book about advertising campaigns for an artificial sweetener and a car. This book is good enough I remember it, probably 10 years after I read it. More memorable for me, though, was Stabiner's Courting Fame: the Perilous Road to Women's Tennis Stardom.
Shactman, Tom. Around the Block: The Business of a Neighborhood. New York : Harcourt Brace, c1997.
This book was GREAT!! I wish there were more like it. I've recommended it to family members who are fans of or are in small or independent businesses. That's really what this book is about. I don't recall more than a couple chain stores being on the New York City block Shactman writes about. An established department store, Barney's, rubs shoulders with new start-ups. The block includes restaurants, offices retail, and wholesale. There are two plumbing supply stores on the block, and Shactman explains how they're different.
Other entries with "Year in the Life" books: June 20, 2006–restaurants/chefs; June 22, 2006–part II: education; Oct 11, 2006–part IVa: sports; Feb 21, 2007–part IVb: sports; March 28, 2007–part V: religion; April 6, 2007–part IVc: sports; and May 2, 2007–part VI: miscellaneous.
posted by Beth at 2:03 PM
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