{"product_id":"the-secret-life-of-the-american-musical-how-broadway-shows-are-built-paperback","title":"The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJack Viertel\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eBestseller\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor almost a century, Americans have been losing their hearts and losing their minds in an insatiable love affair with the American musical. It often begins in childhood in a darkened theater, grows into something more serious for high school actors, and reaches its passionate zenith when it comes time for love, marriage, and children, who will start the cycle all over again. Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of the American Musical\u003c\/i\u003e, Jack Viertel takes them apart, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he invites us to fall in love all over again by showing us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate audiences, and how one landmark show leads to the next--by design or by accident, by emulation or by rebellion--from \u003ci\u003eOklahoma \u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eHamilton\u003c\/i\u003e and onward. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eStructured like a musical, \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of the American Musical\u003c\/i\u003e begins with an overture and concludes with a curtain call, with stops in between for \"I Want\" songs, \"conditional\" love songs, production numbers, star turns, and finales. The ultimate insider, Viertel has spent three decades on Broadway, working on dozens of shows old and new as a conceiver, producer, dramaturg, and general creative force; he has his own unique way of looking at the process and at the people who collaborate to make musicals a reality. He shows us patterns in the architecture of classic shows and charts the inevitable evolution that has taken place in musical theater as America itself has evolved socially and politically. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of the American Musical\u003c\/i\u003e makes you feel as though you've been there in the rehearsal room, in the front row of the theater, and in the working offices of theater owners and producers as they pursue their own love affair with that rare and elusive beast--the Broadway hit.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJack Viertel is the senior vice president of Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns and operates five Broadway theaters. He has been involved in dozens of productions presented by Jujamcyn since 1987, including multiple Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winners, from \u003ci\u003eCity of Angels\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eAngels in \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmerica\u003c\/i\u003e. He has also helped shepherd six of August Wilson's plays to Broadway. He is the artistic director of New York City Center's acclaimed Encores! series, which presents three musical productions every season. In that capacity he has overseen fifty shows, for some of which he adapted the scripts. He conceived the long-running \u003ci\u003eSmokey Joe's Cafe\u003c\/i\u003e and the critically acclaimed \u003ci\u003eAfter Midnight\u003c\/i\u003e and has been a creative consultant on many shows, including \u003ci\u003eHairspray\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristmas Story\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eDear Evan Hansen\u003c\/i\u003e. He was the Mark Taper Forum's dramaturg and the drama critic\u003cbr\u003eand arts editor of the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Herald Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e, and he has spent a decade teaching musical theater\u003cbr\u003eat the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 336\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 14, 2017\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51755632558368,"sku":"9780374536893","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/0ca699b47c5480ab016b116e7216f61d.webp?v=1780064191","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-secret-life-of-the-american-musical-how-broadway-shows-are-built-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}