Book Description
A Broadway musical about a single man living in Manhattan who's surrounded by married couples? A show about aging chorines haunted by the ghosts of their past? Another performed on a bare stage featuring chorus dancers that lands on Broadway like a juggernaut? Reality came knocking in the 1970s when Company, Follies, and A Chorus Line all taught Broadway a new way to sing. Mordden's latest volume in his history of the musical looks at an era that brought the gritty reality of A Chorus Line, the brilliantly bitter works of Sondheim-Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures and Company-and the crowd-pleasers Annie and 42nd St. In the 1970s Broadway both looked to its past and to its future for its blockbusters. With Mordden as our guide to this thrilling era, it's once again 'Curtain going up!'
Customer Reviews:
disappointing.......2007-07-01
There's a lot of territory to cover but he covers a ground-breaking musical like Company in six pages and the writing is so jumbled that you don't get any kind of analysis of what worked and what didn't in the shows. Too much spillover of personal opinions rather than a broad spectrum. He also throws out explanations in a few words, again with no insight or search for the truth, e.g., that Dean Jones quit Company because he was uncomfortable with the role. That's not what most people have said and also sounds like a lame reason for someone quitting a play after a week. He puts in a lot of generalizations without any backup ("some of the players were not that good")--well, explain yourself. Too bad he garnered the monopoly on texts about the Broadway stage. I'm sorry I read it.
A thoroughly-detailed, colorful trip through 1970s musicals........2003-07-07
There's plenty to admire in Ethan Mordden's series of books about the art and craft of American musical theatre, and examples of some of the best of it can be found in his most recent volume, One More Kiss: The Broadway Musicals of the 1970s. In discussing some of the biggest hits (A Chorus Line, 1975), biggest flops (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue), and most groundbreaking (Follies, from which he derived the title of the book), Mordden provides a wild ride through a difficult decade in which the very nature of what made a musical--and what about the musical appealed to the theatregoing public--was changing irrevocably. His writing style is opinionated, yes, but also neat, with an incredible number of facts, and plenty of references to his exquisite knowledge of matters both musical and theatrical.
The book, however, reads very quickly, and is almost over before it's begun. While the length of the book cannot rightly be considered Mordden's fault, still greater detail about the decade's shows would have improved the overall flow of the book, as would have more of the social and showbiz atmosphere that made his earlier books (particularly Comin' Up Roses: The Broadway Musicals in the 1950s) such a joy. He also runs out of steam right at the end, when he really needs to wrap things up and not just... stop. As this is his last planned volume (chronologically), to let so much just drop is somewhat irresponsible, and prevents the book from achieving its full dramatic power and usefulness as a reference book.
Still, it's a highly entertaining read, and a must-have for those who have followed Mordden through previous decades in the Broadway musical's Golden Age.
Recommended With Caveats.......2003-06-09
Ethan Mordden has added another volume to his valuable series of books covering Broadway musicals, decade-by-decade, from the twenties to the seventies. One More Kiss, the Broadway musical in the 1970s, is the most personal of all the volumes. In many ways, this is one of its strong features as the author has personally seen all of the shows and can give an impression of it beyond what the critics have left. This strength, though, can often be the book's weakness as the author's personal feelings spill over all the pages. His political conservatism often shadows his opinions in ways that tell one more about the author than about the shows he is discussing. Still, it is an interesting book, sometimes fascinating and informative, sometimes shrill and bitchy, but always well-informed and particularly strong in its analysis of the major hits (Chorus Line, Chicago, Annie, etc.) and the Sondheim shows. A fascinating, frustrating addition to this series.
Alas, the Last Kiss of All.......2003-06-06
There have been numerous histories of the American Musical and, like that unique art form itself, their quality has varied. Some have been excellent such as Gerald Bordman's "The American Musical", some dreadful (kindness forbids naming names, but you know who you are Mr. Flinn!). And then there is one that is sui generis. Actually, that one is six. Ethan Mordden's six volumes, each covering a decade from the '20 when what we define as American musicals began through the '70's when, as Mr. Mordden mordantly beilieves, it ended. The genius of these works (really only one long work) lies in both its completeness (what other work on the subject would include "Smith", a Don Murray starring fiasco of the early '70's?) and the brilliant evocation of each show in its time and place in American theater and culture. Mordden manages this feat even for shows he couldn't possibly have seen unless he's old enough to make Bob Hope seem a comparative teen-ager. I am not stating anything radical when I say that this is NOT a book to everyone's taste. We can't get people to GO to musicals anymore, let alone READ about them. But for those who care, this is THE one to read.
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Greening Up Our Houses: A Guide to a More Ecologically Sound Theatre
Larry K. Fried , and
Theresa J. May
Manufacturer: Drama Publishers
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0896761320 |
Customer Reviews:
An important book.......2007-08-17
This book should be on the desk of every technician, manager, administrator, designer and theater visionary, period. When Dramatics reviewed this book over a decade ago, they wrote, "Greening Up Our Houses is an informational goldmine. It should be considered required reading for every environmentally conscious student, teacher, or practitioner of theatre." Well, they almost got it right. Strike "environmentally conscious student" from the last line, and they would have had it spot on. In short, if you care about the theater, and you care about your community, buy this book, read it, and start making changes today.
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More Broadway Musicals: Since 1980
Martin Gottfried
Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0810936216 |
Book Description
Contemporary observers on acting, directing, make-up, costuming, stage props, machinery, scene design, from Ancient Greece to Chekov.
Customer Reviews:
What was theatre really like?.......2000-07-14
So...what was Euripides like during rehearsal? Kind of cranky, it appears. What did they do for special effects in the 17th century? Quite a lot, actually: floating gods and goddesses, strange animals, they had it all. First-hand accounts will show you all this and more in a fascinating book for theatre lovers. I had read this during a college course years ago, and was delighted that it's still in print. A good read and reference for those interested in theatre, literature, and history, only slightly marred by occasionally poor quality illustrations.
Excellent book for students, teachers and (even) theatergoer.......2000-06-01
The author divides the material in 14 parts: Antiquity, The Middle Ages, The golden age of Spain, Italian Renaissance, Tudor and Stewart periods, The age of Louis XIV, The restoration theater, Venetian comedy, Eighteenth century England, Weimar Classicism, Nineteenth Century England, The American Theater, European naturalism.- For each period, the author has collected more than 300 primary texts, through which we feel that the past is still next to us. The spectator's manners, the way of acting, the conditions of rehearsals, the reactions of the audience, all of them come to us through real documents. More than 80 pictures in black-and-white complete this very good edition. (The pictures are, unfortunately, not very well printed.) I really suggest this editon.
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More Monologues for Kids
Ruth Mae Roddy
Manufacturer: Dramaline Publications
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Monologues for Kids
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Kids Stuff
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Childsplay: A Collection of Scenes and Monologues for Children
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ASIN: 0940669188 |
Book Description
Twenty-eight monologues for boys and girls. Modern approaches to subjects close to young people: friends, divorce, death, family, pets, vacations, grandparents, etc. Each is presented in a larger-type format and accompanied by a lined worksheet. These scene-study pieces have been "memory-tested" in the classroom, and are proven winners for children with a theatrical bent. Perfect for classwork, auditions, and workshops.
Customer Reviews:
This Book is Cliché .......2006-05-17
Had this book been written in the mid 80's it may have been vaguely cutting edge. As a first edition published in 2004, it is sadly behind the times. It gives me the small town "Waiting for Guffman" feel, and NOT in a good way.
The commentary in this book is not helpful and should be eliminated almost in its entirety. I also did not find any of the games listed as new material. These games were either old games that had been re-named or fragmented versions of other games. One google search on the internet would have brought me closer to a new game than the entirety of this book.
Many of the scene examples in the book break the iron clad laws of Improv: 1) Yes, and 2) Don't ask questions and 3) No real time I.S.C. (Improv Stage Combat). As a teaching tool, especially for young children (is the target market for this book middle school children?) this book missed the mark. If a teacher wants to teach children to be polished and clever Improvisers, (s)he needs to make sure the children have a strong basic understanding of the Improv rules, especially for short form games.
The author of this book needs to read the Pearls of Wisdom from "Truth in Comedy" by Charna Halpern, Del Close, Kim Johnson, the bulleted pearls are helpful for beginners. She should then read anything by Viola Spolin, "Theater Games for the Classroom: A Teacher's Handbook" or "Improvisation for the Theater". She should also read "Group Improvisation: The Manual of Ensemble Improv Games" by Peter Gwinn.
I teach high school Improv and am currently putting together an Improv book list of items that will be added to the school library. Unfortunately, this book is nowhere on that list.
Excellent for a teacher.......2006-02-08
I run an improv program in Switzerland. This is a fantastic book with tons of very good and new exercices. They are easy to run, very well explained and it opened new way of teaching for me. I lost this book, and I have just ordered a new one today! Laurent
a must for any educational theatre library.......2004-07-12
Zimmerman did it again! Her previous work, Intro to Theatre Arts was a clear, readable and comprehensive textbook for middle and high school theatre. Her present work is not only a collection of games and exercises for the classroom, but a creative, logical, and step by step approach to incorporating improv into any middle school or high school curriculum. She includes forms for the students to evaluate their own work. Many of the games are old hat to experienced teachers but there are a number of unique exercises and even non-acting theatre games that even the seasoned professional educator may find of interest. Zimmerman starts off each chapter with an inspirational story about a theatre educator.
I must admit that this review may be biased since she uses one of my games in her book.
Book Description
After more than a decade in print, Readers Theatre for Beginning Readers continues to outsell all comparable books on Readers Theatre. More RTBR capitalizes on both the popularity of Readers Theatre for Beginning Readers and the emphasis on fluency due to the recommendations of the National Reading Panel. Further, the fact that many classrooms now have ESL students or struggling readers provides a demand for more easy scripts. The introduction includes a brief overview of how to get started with Readers Theatre, with particular attention to the needs of young students. Thirty new scripts are organized into 3 sections with ten scripts each for grades one, two, and three as analyzed by the Flesch Kincaid readability formula. As with RTBR, each script includes suggestions for props, presentation, and the like. For the first section, more choral and/or group responses is included with particular emphasis on rhyme and repetition. Grades K-2.
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- This author built London's famous Lions in Trafalgar Square
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Hand Shadows and More Hand Shadows
Henry Bursill
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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The Art of Hand Shadows
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The Little Book of Hand Shadows/Miniature Edition (Miniature Editions)
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The Usborne Book of Puppets (How to Make Series)
ASIN: 0486295133 |
Book Description
Delightful activity book for older children (and adults, too) shows how to create 34 fascinating shadows on a wall simply by positioning hands and fingers. Learn how to make a bird take flight, a duck quack, Toby the dog wag his tail, a rabbit munch his meal, and more.
Customer Reviews:
This author built London's famous Lions in Trafalgar Square.......1999-01-26
Henry Burcill, the author of Hand Shadows, was my great-great-grandfather. He was a sculptor by trade and his statues stand in London to this day. The most famous of these are the four great lions in Trafalgar Square, which he created with Sir Edwin Landseer. Written in an era when people lived by candle-light and gas lamp - hand shadowing was a popular entertainment. Henry Burcill's Hand Shadow books are treasures from a bygone age. I hope they never go out of print.
Book Description
In these four new plays, renowned playwright Philip Kan Gotanda explores the choices and challenges Japanese American women face. Although set in different decades of the twentieth century, the playsare all absolutely modern in the human struggles they depict.
Sisters Matsumoto tells of three Japanese American sisters who return to their family farm in Stockton, California, after living in an internment camp during World War II. The Wind Cries Mary is a gripping drama set in the tumultuous heyday of social upheaval that was San Francisco in 1968, when California's Asian American intellectuals were first finding a political voice. Ballad of Yachiyo, set in 1919 in Hawai'i, is a moving story of a girl's coming to sexual maturity after being sent from home to work for an alcoholic artisan and his wife.
Under the Rainbow combines two one-act plays. Natalie Wood Is Dead examines the tensions between a mother and her daughter, both television actresses trapped in an industry that views them exclusively through the lens of their Japanese American identity. White Manifesto and Other Perfumed Tales of Self-Entitlement, or, Got Rice? is a sly and disturbing expose of a white male who prefers Asian American females.
Customer Reviews:
brutal & lovely dive into api experiences.......2006-03-09
"No more cherry blossoms" is a brutal dive into the tangled hearts of a select but varied group of Asian American characters, from sisters returning home after the internment to a 1919-Hawaiian potter's apprentice to a Hollywood-obsessed mother-daughter team of actors.
This collection of plays crosses decades & perspectives--each one exploring a specific Asian American experience/theme (post-internment, the civil rights movement, asian fetishism/objectification)--but in each play Gotanda tunnels through overarching broad, political climates to unearth the most intimate and beating core of the character and her individual challenges and questions.
Each of these plays has been and should be staged again and again, as their relevance lies in the human themes and not within any specific timeframe or ethnic affiliation (I know that's probably obvious to most). But these plays are also plays to be read on the page; reading the book cover-to-cover is an absorbing experience, and you feel almost pummeled by the end (or at least I did). In experiencing this particular book, I was reminded that reading a play is an entirely different experience from watching one. In reading a play, you are able to imagine the setting and the possibilities, to see these plays and the intent of the playwright, before they are shaped and changed by a director's eye and an actor's interpretation.
"What I try to do," says Gotanda in the book's preface, "is get up each day and give my body the chance to speak. In whatever format, language, medium it chooses." The plays of "no more cherry blossoms" live out this approach: each play speaks in its own unique voice and moves to its own distinct rhythm. The reader can hear the everpresent musical clamor in The Wind Cries Mary, see the cinematics of Ballad of Yachiyo-it's clear from the varied composition and structure of each piece that the playwright's professional/creative background encompasses film, music, and poetry as well as theater.
At times, you might find yourself yearning for more self-determination in the women characters in particular, but the complex relationships and dynamics throughout generate an insistent energy that makes these plays resonate regardless. "No more cherry blossoms" is an arresting and powerful volume, one that, after reading, will work its way into your consciousness, and whose themes and questions will surface again and again. These stories stay with you.
A Different View - I highly recommend it.......2006-01-10
As an Asian American man, I've been familiar with Philip Kan Gotanda's work that centers primarily around the Asian American male in plays such as "Yankee Dog You Die." Knowing his work in this way made me curious to see how a man, who writes so well about men, would choose to write about women. And not just any women, Asian American women.
"No More Cherry Blossoms" spans decades from 1919 Hawaii in the aching "Ballad of Yachiyo," to the post World War II release of Japanese American internees in the beautiful "Sisters Matsumoto," and even to 1968 in the play "Wind Cries Mary."
The breadth is evident but what is truly exciting is the voice that Mr. Gotanda gives to each of his female characters. Each has something specific to say and no matter how different their actions or their attitudes, they are always honest, uncompromising and because of this, surprising.
The title itself, "No More Cherry Blossoms," breaks the long perpetuated stereotypes of Asian women as submissive, demure, and delicate. Each play successfully presents Asian women that are far more complex than any cherry blossom stereotype. It is an interesting choice that Mr. Gotanda chooses to end this collection of plays, about Asian American women, with a modern white male's "how-to" discourse on getting them into bed in the final play, "Got Rice?" It seems Mr. Gotanda is saying that as far as things may have come, we still have a long way to go.
Something for Everyone.......2005-12-14
There is remarkable breadth to this collection. Not only do the four plays span the 20th century of Japanese-American experience, but they range widely in style and tone as well. From the quiet, bittersweet beauty of "Ballad of Yachiyo" to the rock n' roll defiance of "The Wind Cries Mary," Gotanda's plays showcase heroines who search for identity in vastly different social climates, and with vastly different voices. The collection will move you at times with its lyricism, surprise you at times with its wit, but always engage you because of the unapologetic honesty of the author. Avoiding melodrama at every turn, Gotanda crafts characters who lust for something more than they are prescribed. In doing so, this truly gifted playwright at once honors a culture's experience while creating works that are universal in appeal.
A Must-Have Collection for Theater Fans of All Stripes.......2005-10-25
This rich collection of works by one of our country's foremost playwrights reveals an incredibe breadth of vision. From the achingly poignant, exquisitely lyrical "Ballad of Yachiyo"; to the elegant, Chekhovian "Sisters Matsumoto"; to the ruthless honesty of "The Wind Cries Mary;" to the boldly political diatribe of "White Manifesto;" Gotanda continually surprises us with his uncanny ability to paint the truth of human experience with candor, wit and grace. His compact language, solid command of form, and daring willingness to articulate the uncomfortable realities of social engagement -across the lines of gender, race and class-- truly set him apart among contemporary playwrights. This is a must-have collection for any serious theater person, and one that will surely lead to many more productions for this already widely-produced playwright.
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Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s
The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen: The Last Twenty-Five Years of the Broadway Musical
Coming up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s
Beautiful Mornin': The Broadway Musical in the 1940s
Sing for Your Supper: The Broadway Musical in the 1930s (Golden Age of the Broadway Musical)
