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“Masterful . . . Many books have been written about Streisand but few, if any, put readers as close to the subject as Mann does” (Miami Herald). A legendary singer, songwriter, actress, and filmmaker with multiple Academy, Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and even two Peabody awards to her name, Barbara Streisand is a talent like no other. In Hello, Gorgeous, celebrity biographer William J. Mann profiles the Brooklyn-born talent, focusing on her early years, honing her persona at Greenwich Village nightclubs like the Blue Angel and the Bon Soir. Streisand lost her father at an early age and had a rocky relationship with her mother, but her natural abilities and supernatural chutzpah soon earned her t...
The “masterful” (The Wall Street Journal), “invaluable” (Los Angeles Times) first authoritative biography of August Wilson, the most important and successful American playwriting of the late 20th century, by a theater critic who knew him. August Wilson wrote a series of ten plays celebrating African American life in the 20th century, one play for each decade. No other American playwright has completed such an ambitious oeuvre. Two of the plays became successful films, Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis; and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. Fences and The Piano Lesson won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Fences won the Tony Award for ...
Throughout the twentieth century women have made significant contributions to the creation of American musical theatre. Directing, choreographing, writing, arranging, producing and designing musicals in a variety of venues throughout America, women have played a significant role in shaping the development of musical theatre both on and off Broadway and in regional, educational, and community venues. The essays in this book examine the history of women in musical theatre, providing biographical descriptions of the women themselves; analyses and interpretations of their productions; and several accounts of how being a woman affected the artists' careers. Topics include the similarities among t...
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The only woman to achieve major success as a songwriter during the golden age of the American musical, Dorothy Fields brought a genuinely feminine point of view to the writing of romantic lyrics. She wrote the words for more than 400 songs, among them unforgettable standards like "I'm in the Mood for Love", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", "A Fine Romance", and "The Way You Look Tonight". On the Sunny Side of the Street chronicles Dorothy's start in life as the daughter of vaudeville star Lew Fields, and her determination to break into show busines despite her parents' opposition. It brings to life her experiences working in New York and Hollywood from the roaring twenties to the rocking sixties and seventies, her friendships with legendary figures of the musical theatre, and her parallel existence as a wife and mother. Woven through the text is a generous sampling of her finest lyrics, never before collected in book form. In addition, comments by songwriters such as Fred Ebb, Sheldon Harnick, Burton Lane, and Stephen Sondheim and performers such as Rosemary Clooney and Michael Feinstein help to put the achievement of Dorothy Fields in perspective.
(Applause Books). He penned songs such as "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come" (signature tunes for Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, respectively) and wrote such musicals as Sweet Charity , I Love My Wife , On the Twentieth Century , and The Will Rogers Follies yet his life has gone entirely unexplored until now. You Fascinate Me So takes readers into the world and work of Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning composer/performer Cy Coleman, exploring his days as a child prodigy in the 1930s, his time as a hot jazz pianist and early television celebrity in the 1950s, and his life as one of Broadway's preeminent composers. This first-time biography of Coleman has been written with the full cooperation of his estate, and it is filled with previously unknown details about his body of work. Additionally, interviews with colleagues and friends, including Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Ken Howard, Michele Lee, James Naughton, Bebe Neuwirth, Hal Prince, Chita Rivera, and Tommy Tune, provide insight into Coleman's personality and career.