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verityw's review against another edition
4.0
****Copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review****
As someone who goes to quite a lot of theatre (we're talking 20+ shows a year) and managed seven Broadway shows in five days when I went to New York a few years back, this book jumped out at me when I saw it on Netgalley. It's a really interesting Oral History of Broadway - with stories from some of the best known names of the Golden Age and the people connected with them.
I really enjoyed getting some behind the scenes glimpses of the US theatre mecca - it's well put together each contribution flows nicely into the next, the chapters work and suddenly you've covered a decade or more. I think though that the book presupposes a fair amount of knowledge about some of the shows. There is a glossary of contributors at the start (but on the Kindle edition it's not always as easy to skip back to as it would be in a physical copy) but you need to have a bit of an idea of the shape of Broadway history and some of the characters involved. I suspect that to people connected with the industry more closely that I am, this book may not hold a lot of new information, but it is so fascinating it's probably still worth a look for them too.
As someone who goes to quite a lot of theatre (we're talking 20+ shows a year) and managed seven Broadway shows in five days when I went to New York a few years back, this book jumped out at me when I saw it on Netgalley. It's a really interesting Oral History of Broadway - with stories from some of the best known names of the Golden Age and the people connected with them.
I really enjoyed getting some behind the scenes glimpses of the US theatre mecca - it's well put together each contribution flows nicely into the next, the chapters work and suddenly you've covered a decade or more. I think though that the book presupposes a fair amount of knowledge about some of the shows. There is a glossary of contributors at the start (but on the Kindle edition it's not always as easy to skip back to as it would be in a physical copy) but you need to have a bit of an idea of the shape of Broadway history and some of the characters involved. I suspect that to people connected with the industry more closely that I am, this book may not hold a lot of new information, but it is so fascinating it's probably still worth a look for them too.
ljbentley27's review against another edition
5.0
Synopsis
A potted history of the golden years on Broadway; told by those who worked the theatre life and lived to tell the tale.
Review
There are very few things in this world that can cause a frisson of excitement to creep up my spine and make my hair stand on end. The most powerful of this small selection is the musical. There is something about them that can reduce me to the eighteen month old girl who turned to her mother whilst watching her very first stage production and said “Mummy, I want to be one of those girls up there.” Sadly, for me, the dream ended at eighteen but my love of theatre never wavered.
With It Happened on Broadway, I got to see that it wasn’t just me who had that same love and passion. As each of these people who were associated with musical theatre on Broadway shared their story I realised that I was living my dream through the telling of their reality. Granted, this wouldn’t have been my first choice but it was magnificent all the same.
What the writers’ have cleverly done is allow the colourful cast charm you with their tales, yet it is the editing that has told the diverse story off Broadway. For some, it would be a hard concept to conceive that a simple musical can help pinpoint a time in social, political and cultural change but the link between theatre and the aforementioned topics is inextricably linked. It is the fresh look at it from this angle that makes It Happened on Broadway such an interesting read.
Whether musicals are an interest of yours or not, this book has enough fascinating tales to keep even the most ardent theatre hater enthralled. For those who love musicals, this is a no-brainer. Buy this book. It is, quite frankly, amazing.
It Happened on Broadway An Oral History of the Great White Way by Myrna Katz Fromer and Harvey Fromer is available now.
A potted history of the golden years on Broadway; told by those who worked the theatre life and lived to tell the tale.
Review
There are very few things in this world that can cause a frisson of excitement to creep up my spine and make my hair stand on end. The most powerful of this small selection is the musical. There is something about them that can reduce me to the eighteen month old girl who turned to her mother whilst watching her very first stage production and said “Mummy, I want to be one of those girls up there.” Sadly, for me, the dream ended at eighteen but my love of theatre never wavered.
With It Happened on Broadway, I got to see that it wasn’t just me who had that same love and passion. As each of these people who were associated with musical theatre on Broadway shared their story I realised that I was living my dream through the telling of their reality. Granted, this wouldn’t have been my first choice but it was magnificent all the same.
What the writers’ have cleverly done is allow the colourful cast charm you with their tales, yet it is the editing that has told the diverse story off Broadway. For some, it would be a hard concept to conceive that a simple musical can help pinpoint a time in social, political and cultural change but the link between theatre and the aforementioned topics is inextricably linked. It is the fresh look at it from this angle that makes It Happened on Broadway such an interesting read.
Whether musicals are an interest of yours or not, this book has enough fascinating tales to keep even the most ardent theatre hater enthralled. For those who love musicals, this is a no-brainer. Buy this book. It is, quite frankly, amazing.
It Happened on Broadway An Oral History of the Great White Way by Myrna Katz Fromer and Harvey Fromer is available now.