Book Review: Making It So by Patrick Stewart

Making It So
by Patrick Stewart (Biography Stewart)

This autobiography is not simply for Trekkies or fans of the X-Men franchises. This well-written autobiography covers Stewart’s life from a young boy living in astonishing poverty with a violent father, to his interest in stage plays, to getting some semi-regular work in plays and working his way up to more prestigious playhouses, to eventually the pinnacle of Shakespeare playhouses — Royal Shakespeare Company.

 

At RSC he finally had regular work at a decent income, and was able to play many characters in Shakespeare’s plays for over 15 years. He mentions veteran and current actors and actresses that fans of British TV, American TV, and movies will recognize. With RSC he was able to travel the world and work with his idols and I enjoyed those stories.

 

Then came along Star Trek: The Next Generation and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. ‘Everyone’ said it would last only a year. They offered an astonishing amount of money so he decided he could give them a year of his life. Well, we know how that went. His insider stories of fellow actors, several of whom became dear friends, were humorous and interesting as the stage actor had to learn to navigate the television world.

 

When he finished “The Next Generation” he was eager to jump into Shakespeare again but was offered the role of Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies. His thoughts at the time? “No more fantasy. No more sci-fi. I’m done with that.” But, his involvement in the movies is when he and Ian McKellen became best of friends. And a movie franchise allowed him to continue his beloved work in his Shakespeare plays whereas a weekly television contract did not.

 

His writing is eloquent as he pulls you into of his stories and experiences. As any good biography has there are photos in the middle of the book. And I admit to re-listening to my copy of his A Christmas Carol audio performance while washing up Thanksgiving dishes. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

 

( publisher’s official Making It So web site ) | ( Wikipedia page for Patrick Stewart — Sir Patrick Stewart has official accounts on Facebook, X, TikTok, Instagram and more… )

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Music Book Review: Musical Theatre for Dummies by Seth Rudetsky

Musical Theatre for Dummies
by Seth Rudetsky (Music 782.14 Rud)

I’ve been a fan of both Seth Rudetsky, and the “…for Dummies” series of books for years, so this was a perfect combination! I regularly listen to Rudetsky as he hosts the “On Broadway” program on SiriusXM radio, playing Broadway music, interviewing fellow Broadway stars, and dishing about Broadway history. And, since the inception of the “For Dummies” series in 1991, I can easily say I’ve read at least 20 “For Dummies” volumes on topics as widely diverse as Guitar Playing, Wine Basics, Digital Photography, various computer software packages, and Playwriting.

 

Seth (with his co-authors Ryan M. Prendergast and Bill Jenkins) breaks the world of Musical Theatre into three major sections (with multiple sub-sections) — Getting Started With Musical Theatre, The People Who Make Musical Theatre Happen, and The Blood, Sweat and Tears of Theatre Life. He follows this up with an extra, fourth, section “The Part of Tens”, covering “Ten (Plus) Songs You Didn’t Realize Came From Musical Theatre” and “Ten Celebs Who Started in Musical Theatre”. Seth uses the typical format of the “For Dummies” series to include sidebar articles marked with little icons: “Seth Speaks”, in which he shares tangential stories; “Tip”, in which he highlights useful tips for those wanting insider info; and “Remember” for his most important points.

 

Two of the most enjoyable things about listening to Seth on the radio are his encyclopedic knowledge about all things Broadway (and his inherent love for the subject matter), and his brassy, sassy, over-the-top personality. Both of those come through in this volume in spades. For anyone only vaguely familiar with the wild and crazy world of musical theatre — from Broadway to small community theatres — Musical Theatre for Dummies may feel a bit like an overdose. But for anyone who has a passion this field, reading this will feel like sitting in on a multi-hour dish session with one of the most knowledgeable Broadway insiders you’re ever likely to encounter — and not someone with a dry “informational/educational” tone, rather someone who simply loves musical theatre and can’t wait to tell you all about it.

 

(Reading all the tidbits Seth shares in this book may make you wish to read more books about Broadway history and the shows made famous there — our Polley Music Library on the second floor of the downtown library has tons on this topic. I also recommend Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway (no longer in the libraries) and Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway by Michael Riedel.)

 

( official Seth Rudetsky web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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Check out this, and all the other great music resources, at the Polley Music Library, located on the 2nd floor of the Bennett Martin Public Library at 14th & "N" St. in downtown Lincoln. You'll find biographies of musicians, books about music history, instructional books, sheet music, CDs, music-related magazines, and much more. Also check out Polley Music Library Picks, the Polley Music Library's e-mail newsletter, and follow them on Facebook!

DVD Review: Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy

Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy
directed by Michael Kantor (DVD 782.14 Bro)

Fascinating episode of PBS’ Great Performances, which explores how the Jewish culture is inextricably connected to the history of the American popular Broadway music tradition. Lots of great mini-interviews and historical footage help us look back at such pioneering Jewish entertainers as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim. Includes clips of performances by such Broadway stars as Barbara Steisand, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, Kelli O’Hara, Nathan Lane, Bernadette Peters and many more.

 

From the earliest days of pre-Broadway Yiddish Theater, through the Broadway heyday of such classics as Funny Lady and Mame, to modern-era hits with Jewish influences, such as Wicked, I found it absolutely fascinating to see both the broad and narrow strokes the Jewish culture paints across musicals. For me, the best part of this documentary are all interviews, particularly with current composers/lyricists like Mark Shaiman, in which they play a little piano refrain from a Jewish folk song or worship song, and show how it could be integrated into a Broadway pop hit. Terrific narration by Broadway legend Joel Grey (Cabaret), and a humorous bookending of the documentary at both the start and end, with David Hyde Pierce singing “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway (if You Don’t Have Any Jews)” which was a showstopping number for him in the Tony-winning Spamalot.

 

Intriguing viewing — just be aware that although the DVD release of this was just added to the library collection in 2021, it was produced for PBS and aired back in 2012.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try It Happened on Broadway: An Oral History of the Great White Way by Myrna and Harvey Frommer, The Secret Life of the American Musical by Jack Viertel or both Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway and Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway by Michael Reidel.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this documentar)]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Book Review: Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett

Full Disclosure
by Camryn Garrett (YA Garrett)

Full Disclosure is a young adult novel that was actually written by a teenager. It’s about a high school girl who was born HIV positive. Simone knows she’s lucky that she can live a healthy life so long as she takes her medication, but she wishes she could have sex without having to disclose her status and risk the disaster that happened at her last school.

Things do seem to be going well with a boy she’s crushing on, until she gets an anonymous note in her locker: someone knows! And if she doesn’t stop talking to the boy, they promise everyone is going to find out.

Meanwhile, Simone is directing her school’s production of the musical Rent. This is book that goes behind the scenes more so than on stage. It’s a book with vibrant racial and sexual diversity that shares story beats with Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, but rings out as more thoroughly authentic.

Recommended for high schoolers, some interested middle schoolers, and adults who like an upbeat story that also gets you thinking.

[ official Full Disclosure page on the official Camryn Garrett web site ]

Recommended by Garren H.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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It Happened on Broadway: An Oral History of the Great White Way by Myrna and Harvey Frommer

It Happened on Broadway: An Oral History of the Great White Way
by Myrna Katz Frommer and Harvey Frommer [Music 782.14 Fro] 

For anyone who is a fan of classic Broadway history, this is an essential read. In the grand historical tradition of previous “oral histories”, the Frommers gathered the remembrances of dozens of Broadway luminaries — both on stage, and behind the scenes — and in this volume they let those memories flow. Sometimes the effect can be of letting Carol Channing go on a stream-of-consciousness ramble, or Celeste Holm recollect how she got her role in the original cast of Oklahoma, sometimes it’s the children of famous Broadway composers and lyricists, remembering what their noteworthy parents’ creative processes were like — growing up hearing Dad tinkle out future Broadway hit songs on the piano in his home office.

There’s a strong feeling of sitting around a cozy living room, listening to Broadway legends tell their personal little stories in this volume. Originally published in 1998, and re-printed in 2004, It Happened on Broadway captures the history of Broadway from the earliest days of vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley, up through the mid-1980s. This volume is definitely oriented towards readers who have at least a passing knowledge of Broadway’s movers and shakers in the mid-20th century. Fortunately, it also includes a Who’s Who index at the front of the book, giving nutshell biographies of all the folks who are quoted throughout the book. The oral history recollections are then broken into thematic sections, including: “Broadway Calling” (break-in stories), “Look, Look, Look Who’s Dancin’ Now”, “The X Factor” (what makes certain performers unique), “That’s the Craft” (behind-the-scenes lore from the folks whose hard work allows the actors to shine), and so much more.

This is a marvelous historical volume. My only complaint is that it ends with the 1980s — Broadway, in many ways, has re-created itself in the past 3 decades, and it would have been nice, especially in the 2004 reprint edition that I read, to share more recent stories. Otherwise, this is marvelous fun and I highly recommend it. Rather than a dry and studious volume on theatrical trends, this is a collection of memories from the folks who actually put on the shows…and the love they have for the business of the theatre shines through!

[ official It Happened on Broadway web site ] | [ page dedicated to The Frommers at Dartmouth ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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The Backstagers, Vol. 1: Rebels Without Applause by James Tynion IV and Rian Sygh

The Backstagers, Vol. 1: Rebels Without Applause
by James Tynion IV (writer), Rian Sygh (artist) and Walter Baiamonte (colorist) [YA PB Tynion]

Being active in the local community theater culture, this youth graphic novel caught my eye on a library book display. The “Backstagers” are a group of oddballs and misfits who serve as the backstage crew for theatrical productions at an all-boys private high school. This first graphic novel follows new transfer Jory, as he looks for an after-school group he could potentially join. The on-stage Drama Club isn’t a good fit, but he immediately bonds with the quirky gang who build the sets, create the props, and run both sound and light for the shows.

If that were all that this story were going to cover, it would have been enough — “introverted loner finds group of fellow quirky oddballs that he can belong to”. However, this is also a storyline with a strong dark fantasy element to it. The doors at the back of the crew area lead to a series of tunnels, storerooms, and, ultimately, other doors to other dimensions. The tunnels and rooms change their configuration every time you enter them — sometimes even while you’re in them! In fact, an entire backstage crew from the late 1980s disappeared in the tunnels and was never heard from again.
While newcomer Jory is the central protagonist, every member of the Backstagers gang is a well-rounded character, and has a moment to shine — Hunter (the whiz with power tools), Aziz, Sasha, and Beckett (the light/sound board operator who’s created his own little fiefdom, powered by an energy crystal taken from one of the alternate dimensions in the tunnel labyrinth. This “Volume 1” paperback compiles four comic book issues, and the storyline continues/concludes in “Volume 2”. The art is pretty good, but the character of diminutive Sasha is drawn as if it stepped out of a cross-breed between big-eyed Disney animation and Japanese manga. That’s one element I didn’t care for.
Overall, this was an entertaining read, though the heavier the dark fantasy element became, the less I cared for the story. Your mileage may vary. I look forward to reading the rest of the story when the libraries add the second volume as a paperback.

[ official The Backstagers web site ] | [ official James Tynion IV web site ] [ official Rian Sygh web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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The Secret Life of the American Musical by Jack Viertel

The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built
by Jack Viertel [Music 782.14 Vie] 

Jack Viertel has been the producer or has overseen the production of dozens of Broadway plays and musicals, including multiple Pulitzer and Tony Award winner, such as City of Angels and Angels in America. In addition to conceiving of the ideas for Smokey Joe’s Cafe and After Midnight, he has been a creative consultant on many other shows, from Hairspray and A Christmas Story to the recent hit Dear Evan Hansen. He has also spent more than 10 years teaching classes about musical theater history at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, which he used as the inspiration for this fascinating look at the underpinnings of American Musicals.

Though there are always exceptions to any standardized formula, you’d be surprised how many American musicals follow the blueprint that Viertel lays out in this volume. He breaks each significant part of an American musical into its own section, and each section gets a chapter of focus: Opening Numbers; the “I Want” song; Conditional Love Songs (“If I Loved You”); The Noise (the rambunctious numbers in the first 1/3 of the show that ramp up the energy); Bushwacking (secondary couples, villains, multiple plot lines); Stars (the numbers that create break-out stars; Tent Poles (the numbers that shows prop up entire shows…a.k.a. the numbers everyone will remember about the show); the Curtain numbers that end Act I and open Act II, “The Candy Dish” — fun, often light-hearted numbers early in Act II that bring the energy back up and make people smile; Beginning to Pack (starting to wrap up the plot); The Main Event (the songs that solve most of the major problems for the characters); the Next-to-Last Scene; and The End (finales). Not to mention the various ways that shows handle their curtain calls, from simple to complex.

Viertel’s expertise and trenchant observations give this a scholarly feel, but his enthusiasm for his topic makes it more engaging than a dry college course. My only complaint, and he addresses this in his introduction, is that he doesn’t use more varied examples to prove his various points…but as he says, the “rules” he is explaining are hewed to by so many different successful shows that he could have pulled from a lot of other shows…he just sticks with those he likes the best or is most familiar with.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway.]

[ publisher’s official Secret Life of the American Musical web site ] | [ official Jack Viertel Twitter feed ] | [ 1-hour video lecture on this topic by Jack Viertel ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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How Does the Show Go On? by Thomas Schumacher

How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction to the Theatre
by Thomas Schumacher [j792.02 Sch] 

Having grown up in a theatre family (my Dad was a theatre-professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University), and having been active in my high school theatre program, a lot traditional theatre “lingo” was familiar to me as a kid and teenager. I went over thirty years before finding my way back into theatrical productions locally, and this handy and profusely illustrated little volume would have been very helpful in refreshing my memory about a lot of little details about how a theatre is run, and how theatrical productions are staged.

Written by Broadway producer Thomas Schumacher (The Lion King, and others), this colorful volume is organized in easily-readable format, and features hundreds of photos from several different theatrical productions, to explain everything from “Front of House/Back of House” to “fly systems” to “in the round” to “stage managers” to how big shows are publicized. It’s all very entertaining, but despite Schumacher’s connections to the big Disney stage musicals, I would have appeciated a more varied set of examples than just the handful of shows Schumacher happened to have personal experiences with. None-the-less, for anyone who’s new to the behind-the-scenes world of stage shows — both musical and non-musical — this is a nice introductory volume with helpful illustrations.

[ Publisher’s official How Does the Show Go On? web site ] | [ Wikipedia page for Thomas Schumacher ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Forbidden Broadway - 20th Anniversary Edition on CD and Hoopla

Forbidden Broadway – 20th Anniversary Edition
by Gerard Allesandrini [Music Compact Disc 782.14 For — also Hoopla Digital service online] 

Forbidden Broadway is a series of frequently retooled cabaret shows, mocking huge Broadway hits and the people behind them. A case of four singers (two men, two women), with piano accompaniment take well-known (and frequently well-loved) hit Broadway songs and completely change the lyrics to poke fun at the occasionally-over-the-top nature of Broadway, or larger-than-life Broadway perfomers. Forbidden Broadway, itself, will run a few years, then disappear, then come back with all new songs, then disappear again. Having first been performed in 1982, it has gone through 21 different incarnations, mostly in New York City, although occasionally on the road as well — there’s been a London show, and one in Los Angeles, Forbidden Hollywood, which poked fun at the movie industry. Over the course of all these productions, there have also been over a dozen different Forbidden Broadway CD recordings. This particular album, their 7th, was released in 2000 and referred to as their 20th Anniversary Edition. It features tracks from most of the preceding albums, as well as few that had been previously unreleased. There are a few “blah” songs, but most of the contents are hilarious, for anyone who is a fan of musical theatre. If you’re not a fan of musical theatre, you’re

Some of my favorites from this collection: “Trouble in New York City” (thematically about Broadway musicals, but parodying “Trouble in River City” from The Music Man), “My Souvenir Things” (mocking Broadway show producer Cameron Mackintosh’s merchandising, to “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music), “Into the Words” (having fun with the Stephen Sondheim style of songwriting prevalent in Into the Woods), “Chita – Rita – America” (being silly about a Chita Rivera/Rita Moreno rivalry, set to “America” from West Side Story), “Somewhat Overindulgent” (mocking Mandy Patinkin’s singing style, set to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”), a medley of Les Miserables parodies including “At the End of the Play” and “I Dreamed a Show”, “And I am Telling You I’m Not Screaming” (having fun with the hit song “And I am Telling You I’m Not Leaving” from Dreamgirls), and “Ambition” (mocking the classic “Tradition” from Fiddler on the Roof).
[Although this is a review of the CD collection that is in the libraries’ physical collection, this album and multiple other Forbidden Broadway musical albums are also available through the Hoopla digital online music service.] [ official Forbidden Broadway web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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The Hirschfeld Century by David Leopold

The Hirschfeld Century: Portrait of an Artist and His Age
by David Leopold [Biography Hirschfeld] 

This large, coffee-table art book is a wonderful tribute to the incredible art of legendary caricaturist Al Hirshfeld, whose highly stylized art appeared in dozens of publications over the course of his career. Perhaps best remembered for the line-drawing works that graced many a Playbill, celebrating the New York theatre scene, Hirschfeld’s earliest published art which is reproduced in this volume comes from the late 1920s. Hirschfeld continued to create new pieces until his death in 2003, and a 2002 self-portrait is the last (chronologically) presented in this collection. The over-360 pieces in this large volume are interspersed with biographical information about Hirschfeld, and historical information about the stage shows celebrated in the art — this text by editor David Leopold is equal parts technical writing combined with equal parts reverential tribute.

As a fan of Broadway theatre history, I particularly enjoyed the background information included with the art. There have been other past Hirschfeld collections, but this is a great combination of art and text, and I highly recommend it. As always, part of the fun in looking at Hirschfeld’s line drawings is finding his daughter Nina’s name hidden in the art, usually in the drape of clothing, hairdoes, shadoes, or bits of the backgrounds or scenery — often there is more than just one “Nina” present. Have fun looking!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Hirschfeld: Art and Recollections from Eight Decades, by Al Hirschfeld [1991], Hirschfeld: On-Line, by Al Hirschfeld [1999], and Hirschfeld’s New York, by Al Hirschfeld [2001] ]

[ publisher’s official The Hirschfeld Century web page ] | [ official Al Hirschfeld Foundation web site ] [ New York Historical Society Museum & Library’s web page for the Hirschfeld Century exhibit in 2015 ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Better Nate Than Ever

Better Nate Than Ever
by Tim Federle [j Federle]

This book was recommended to me by a fellow theatre lover, and I'm very glad I took his recommendation...it was a terrific read! Classified as a youth book (j Federle), I still found it appealing as an adult. Nate Foster, at 13, is a picked-upon kid in school, younger brother of a star athlete and BMOC. He doesn't really feel connected to his parents, and his only real friend is a girl (Libby) who transferred to his Pennsylvania public school from a performing arts academy. His one great love – shared with Libby – is musical theatre. He's bullied by all the "normal" kids for not fitting in, and seeming to be "gay" because of his non-typical interests. He may not be able to sink a shot from the three point line, but he can perform monologues and sing entire show-stopping numbers from nearly any Broadway hit produced in the past 20 years. Nate is taking advantage of his parents' absence for a few days, and his older brother's obliviousness, to escape from Jankburg PA via a Greyhound bus to attend auditions for a new Broadway musical version of E.T. the Extraterrestrial. This novel chronicles his experiences on his own, and after he connects with his former-actress aunt, now a waitress in New York City, who's estranged from the rest of the family, mainly for having the same kinds of goals that Nate now has. The characters are smart and witty, the dialog is filled with equal parts hilarious zingers and angst, and as a reader you really get a strong sense of what auditioning (as a kid) for a theatrical show must be like. Nate is going through a lot of things in his personal life, trying to figure out who he is and what he's going to be, so expect a little soul-searching in addition to the humor, and a little of Nate figuring out his own sexuality. One of my favorite running gags is how Nate and Libby substitute the names of Broadway musical flops for swear words. Anyone with a love for the theatre, particularly musicals, should enjoy this charming book. -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [Once you're done with this one, read the sequel -- Five, Six, Seven, Nate! -- right away; it picks up just a couple of months later...]

[ publisher's official Better Nate Than Ever web site ] | [ official Tim Federle web site ]

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Booktalk Booklist - A Nutshell History of Western Theatre

Are you a fan of traditional theatre? Did you miss former South Branch librarian Jim W's booktalk -- A Nutshell History of Western Theatre -- back in May 2010, at both the Bethany BooksTalk group and the Gere BooksTalk group?

If you're curious about the materials available through the Lincoln City Libraries on the history of stagework, you can see Jim's booktalk booklist at the following link:

A Nutshell History of Western Theatre