THE PRODUCER'S PERSPECTIVE SUMMER READING LIST from Ken Davenport (the producer blogger on GReader)

THE PRODUCER'S PERSPECTIVE SUMMER READING LIST  from Ken Davenport (the producer blogger on GReader)




1. Letters from An Actor by William Redfield



William Redfield's recollections of appearing in the 1964 production of Hamlet starring Richard Burton and directed by Sir John Gielgud.



2. Underfoot in Show Business by Helene Hanff



"Each year, hundreds of stagestruck kids arrive in New York determined to crash the theatre, firmly convinced they're destined to be famous Broadway stars or playwrights. One in a thousand turns out to be Noel Coward. This book is about life among the other 999. By one of them." -Helene Hanff



3. The Whorehouse Papers by Larry L. King



An account by a journeyman dramatist of the production--from phone call to first night--of his first play The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and the attendant wranglings, clashes, and confusions.



4. The Seesaw Log by William Gibson



A day-by-day candid account of the creativity, conflict, and compromise involved in the making of a smash-hit Broadway show (Seesaw), by the playwright himself.



5. We Bombed in New London by Brian Gari



A day-by-day candid account of the creativity, conflict, and compromise involved in the making of a legendary flop Broadway show (Late Nite Comic) written by the composer-lyricist.



6. Everything Was Possible: The Birth of The Musical Follies by Ted Chapin



Ted Chapin is now Chairman of the American Theatre Wing. But when he was 22 years old, he was just a lowly Production Assistant, running around after Hal Prince, Stephen Sondheim, and Michael Bennett as they created one of the most legendary musicals of all time. This was his journal.



7. A Year With The Producers: One Actor's Exhausting (But Worth It) Journey From Cats to Mel Brooks' Mega-Hit by Jeffry Denman



Jeffry Denman's journey with The Producers from audition to opening night.



8. The Show Business Nobody Knows by Earl Wilson



Earl Wilson chronicled Broadway's Golden Age in The New York Post from 1942 to 1983. This book tells some of his sordid tales.



9. Showstopper by Abigail Pogrebin



A recent release, this mini-book is now-author Abigail Pogrebin's story of getting cast in Merrily We Roll Along at the age of 16.



10. Making It Big: The Diary of a Broadway Musical by Barbara Isenberg



Barbara Isenberg was a fly on the wall during the out-of-town tryout and Broadway birth of the musical Big. From a review by Library Journal: "This book is not for the weak-hearted or those with illusions about Broadway as the home of art; making this musical was more like making war."