Musicals on CD:

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Classics on DVD

Screenwriting Software

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All the World's a Stage: A Pop-Up Biography of William Shakespeare
by Michael Bender
Hardcover
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American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording, featuring Green Day
2 CDs
American Idiot follows the exhilarating journey of a new generation of young Americans as they struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world, borne along by Green Day's electrifying score. This high-octane show includes every song from the acclaimed album American Idiot, as well as several songs from the band's Grammy-nominated new release, 21st Century Breakdown.
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And Here's the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers on their Craft
by Mike Sacks
Paperback
Every great joke has a punch line, and every great humor writer has an arsenal of experiences, anecdotes, and obsessions that were the inspiration for that humor. In fact, those who make a career out of entertaining strangers with words are a notoriously intelligent and quirky lot. And boy, do they have some stories. In this entertaining and inspirational book, you'll hear from 21 top humor writers as they discuss the comedy-writing process, their influences, their likes and dislikes, and their experiences in the industry. You'll also learn some less useful but equally amusing things, such as: How screenwriter Buck Henry came up with the famous 'plastics' line for 'The Graduate'; how many times the cops were called on co-writers Sacha Baron Cohen and Dan Mazer during the shooting of 'Borat'; what creator Paul Feig thinks would have happened to the 'Freaks and Geeks' crew if the show had had another season; how Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais created the original version of 'The Office'; And what it's really like in the writers' room at SNL."
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The Best of Broadway Musicals - Classic Performances from The Ed Sullivan Show (DVD)
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Best Revenge: How Theater Saved My Life and Has Been Killing Me Ever Since -- With Appearances by Joseph Chaikin, Sholem Asch, and Sam Shepard
by Stephen Fife
Paperback
A middle-aged playwright--in conflict with his ex-wife, his current girlfriend, and a legion of creditors--journeys from Hollywood to Atlanta to work with his youthful idol, legendary avant-garde director Joseph Chaikin. Thus begins a roller coaster ride of a very unusual sort, combining personal revelations with theatrical obsessions, a step-by-step disclosure of a master director's rehearsal process with a search for spiritual truth (and a decent night's sleep). Just hop aboard and get a backstage pass to the "holding-on-by-your-fingernails" reality of the contemporary American theater.
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The Big Picture: Who Killed Hollywood? and Other Essays
by William Goldman
Hardcover
Amazon.com: "The trouble with the Oscar show is that it's too short," William Goldman writes more than once in these infectiously droll essays about Hollywood stars, box office roulette, vintage movie years, and the illogic of Saving Private Ryan. Any other writer would be in deep ironical mode saying that, but the great screenwriter (All the President's Men, The Princess Bride) and giddy movie enthusiast is hardly a "prevailing view" kind of guy.
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The Book of Mormon: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical
by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone (Authors), Mark Harris (Foreword)
Paperback
The only official companion book to the Tony Award winner for Best Musical from the creators of "South Park" and the co-creator of "Avenue Q." The book includes an original foreword by journalist Mark Harris (author of "Pictures at a Revolution"), an original introduction by the authors on the genesis of the show, a production history, and the complete book and lyrics, with four-color spot illustrations throughout. "The best musical of this century. Heaven on Broadway. 'The Book of Mormon' achieves something like a miracle." —Ben Brantley, The New York Times. "So good it makes me angry." —Jon Stewart, The Daily Show.
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The Book of Mormon [Cast Recording]
Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone (Composers)
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Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now
by Mark Steyn
Hardcover
The New Yorker: "A witty, anecdote-stuffed history of the past seventy years in musicals."
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Broadway's Lost Treasures
Broadway's Lost Treasures delivers what the title promises: 21 historic performances of great moments in American musical theater televised on the Tony Awards between 1967 and 1986. (Five were not included when the program was broadcast on PBS in 2003.) Unlike some other arts, theater has rarely been well-documented, so it's a treat to see these numbers performed by the original artists rather than experience them through audio recordings or tepid movie adaptations.
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The Cambridge Illustrated History of British Theatre
by Simon Trussler
Hardcover
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Citizen Kane (Special Edition DVD)
No minuscule "featurette" for the greatest movie ever made. The backbone for this grand two-disc set is the 1995 Oscar®-nominated documentary The Battle over Citizen Kane, a very rich two-hour film on how this masterpiece was almost destroyed by Welles's adversary, William Randolph Hearst. A great remastered print of Citizen Kane is complemented by two running commentaries, the better one by critic Roger Ebert. Don't think you want a two-hour lecture by Mr. Ebert? Just listen to his 10-minute talk over the gallery of photographs from the movie (which you can flip through manually with your remote or see as a slide show), and you'll want more. Ad campaigns, storyboards, and even call sheets are included in this must-have DVD. --Doug Thomas
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Comedy-Tragedy Earrings (Sterling Silver)
A great gift for yourself or a loved one. Makes the perfect addition to any jewelry collection.
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The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre
by Peter Found (Editor), Phyllis Hartnoll
2nd Edition Hardcover
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Conversations With Wilder
by Billy Wilder, Cameron Crowe
Hardcover
The Los Angeles Times Book Review: ... Crowe's book is a pleasure .... He was drawn to Wilder out of admiration and the idea of doing an extended interview book, such as Francois Truffaut did with Alfred Hitchcock in the 1960s. He's well-equipped: He does comedy himself; he is a writer-director; and he has a real tenderness for the older man, enough to handle those moments when Wilder is brusque, forgetful or pretty rough.
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The Crafty Art of Playmaking
by Alan Ayckbourn
Hardcover
For the first time, Alan Ayckbourn shares all of his tricks of the playwright's trade. From helpful hints on writing to tips on directing, the book provides a complete primer for the newcomer and a refresher for the more experienced. Written in Ayckbourn's signature style that combines humor, seriousness, and heady air of theatrical sophistication that Noel Coward would envy, The Crafty Art of Playmaking is a must-have for aspiring playwrights and students of drama.
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Creative Screenwriting Magazine (12 month subscription)
Creative Screenwriting Magazine interviews filmmakers, the writers and directors, to reveal what went into the creative processes of major motion pictures, art films and TV series. It is a wonderful, easy read for film and TV fans.
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Dear Writer, Dear Actress: The Love Letters of Olga Knipper and Anton Chekhov
by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Olga Knipper, Jean Benedetti
Hardcover
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Diaries of Kenneth Tynan
by Kenneth Tynan, John Lahr (Introduction)
Hardcover
These entries, consistently fascinating, also manage to be witty (frequently of the laugh-out-loud variety), thought-provoking (few sacred cows escape Tynan's dead-on skewering) or raunchy (not a few sections should carry an "R" rating). Not surprisingly, Tynan dissects theatrical foibles and politicking with a keen inside perspective; he can also discourse on the European common market, Spaniards' attitudes toward homosexuality, cricket, French cuisine, Ethel Merman and much more.
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Director's Voice 2: Interviews With Twenty Stage Directors
by Jason Loewith (Editor)
Paperback
The Director's Voice 2 presents a cross-section of the most diverse and dynamic stage directors defining today's American theater in a conversation with director/producer Jason Loewith. In the twenty years since the debut of the immensely popular first volume of The Director's Voice, which has sold over eighteen thousand copies, much has changed. "The nonprofit model was turned on its head in the aftermath of the Reagan years," Loewith notes. "Institution-building is out for these directors; creating a distinctive voice from a multiplicity of influences is in." Taken together, these directors sketch a compelling portrait of the art form in the new century.
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Disney on Broadway
by Michael Lassell (Editor)
Paperback
Go "behind-the-curtain" for an insider's view of Disney's mega-hit Broadway shows Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aida are showcased in a lavish volume of dazzling costumes and set design, creator commentary, and simply spectacular production photography in Disney on Broadway. Discover the secrets behind the special effects of Beauty and the Beast, which are revealed in vivid detail. Witness how director Julie Taymor and her co-designers developed the mechanics of The Lion King with its stylized imagery and distinctive puppetry. And follow the long and sometimes bumpy road from the concept of Aida to the glamorous realization of this innovative musical, through rounds of revisions to its grand opening in New York's famed Palace Theatre.
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Dreams on Spec (Amazon Instant Video)
Dreams on Spec takes an intimate look at how far people will go - and how much they will sacrifice - to pursue their dreams. This feature-length documentary follows three screenwriters as they struggle against overwhelming odds - and often their families' disapproval - to turn their scripts into movies. David is a hip talent agent's assistant with three scripts circulating around town. He's plugged into "Young Hollywood" - and when he's not working or writing, he's usually hanging out at the beach. Joe is a middle-aged family man who has split time over the last three years between caring for his autistic daughter and writing what he believes could be the Great American Screenplay. And Deborah is trying to become one of the few African-American women to ever write and direct a feature film, though she's struggling just to pay her bills while she searches for money to produce her script. These poignant portraits are intercut with wisdom from a "Greek Chorus" of superstar screenwriters like James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Gary Ross, Carrie Fisher, Ed Solomon, Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander, Paul Guay, and Dennis Palumbo to forge a funny and compelling look at inspiration, creativity, and solitude in Hollywood.
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Elaine Stritch: At Liberty [Cast Recording]
Elaine Stritch is a legend and she knows it. And so she came up with a whole one-woman show about the best topic she could think of: her life in the theater. And what a trip it's been. From Ethel Merman to Noel Coward, Stritch has worked with some of the greatest names to grace the American stage, and she has anecdotes about all of them (most are included on this recording). In this show, she hits all the marks with the acuity of a seasoned pro who's seen it all and whose love for the theater remains undiluted.
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The Encyclopedia of the Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies
by R. G. Young
Paperback
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Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical "Follies"
by Ted Chapin
Hardcover
In 1971, college student Ted Chapin was in the right place at the right time. As a production assistant, or gofer, he found himself front row center at the creation of one of the greatest of all Broadway musicals: Follies. And since (as part of a college assignment) he kept a journal of everything he saw and heard, he was able to document-- in unprecedented detail -- how a musical is actually made.
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Buy the DVD of "Stephen Sondheim's Follies in Concert": Further info or to order
Or rent now: Further info or to order or download now: Further info or to order from Amazon Instant Video.

The First Time I Got Paid For It: Writers' Tales From The Hollywood Trenches
by Laura J. Shapiro (Editor), Peter Lefcourt (Editor), William Goldman (Introduction)
Hardcover
The First Time I Got Paid For It is an unprecedented collection of essays by over 50 leading film and television writers. Linked by the theme of a writer's "first time"--usually the first time they got paid for their work, but sometimes veering off into other, more unconventional, "first times," these essays examine what it takes to succeed, what it takes to write well, and other aspects of maintaining creativity and integrity while striving for a career in Hollywood. Richard LaGravanese (The Fisher King, The Horse Whisperer, Living Out Loud) confesses that his first paying writing job was crafting phone sex scripts. Nicholas Kazan (Reversal of Fortune, Mathilda) explains why, in Hollywood, a verbal "yes" often turns out to be a written "no." Peter Casey writes about the unparalleled pitch meeting for the award-winning NBC series Frasier. Virtually every big name writer in Hollywood has contributed to this collection; it is essential research material for anyone trying to make it in the entertainment industry, and a perfect read for movie buffs everywhere.
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The First 28 Years of Monty Python
by Kim Howard Johnson
Paperback
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Ghost Light: A Memoir
by Frank Rich
Paperback
Amazon.com: When Frank Rich was an anxious, unhappy kid marooned in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the fact his parents were divorced was discussed "only in the whisper that Grandma Ross used when talking about being Jewish or having cancer." Like so many others who feel painfully different, Frank found refuge in the theater, particularly the classic musicals of Broadway's golden age. After an enchanted trip to see Bells Are Ringing in 1956 when he was 7, Rich writes, "I was now destined to trace my childhood almost exclusively through an accelerating progression of plays, good and bad, that would captivate and kidnap me." What interests him most here is the theater's power to shape lives.
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The Godfather DVD Collection
Throughout his long, wandering, often distinguished career Francis Ford Coppola has made many films that are good and fine, many more that are flawed but undeniably interesting, and a handful of duds that are worth viewing if only because his personality is so flagrantly absent. Yet he is and always shall be known as the man who directed the Godfather films, a series that has dominated and defined their creator in a way perhaps no other director can understand. Coppola has never been able to leave them alone, whether returning after 15 years to make a trilogy of the diptych, or re-editing the first two films into chronological order for a separate video release as The Godfather Saga. The films are our very own Shakespearean cycle: they tell a tale of a vicious mobster and his extended personal and professional families (once the stuff of righteous moral comeuppance), and they dared to present themselves with an epic sweep and an unapologetically tragic tone. Murder, it turned out, was a serious business. --Bruce Reid
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Going to the Movies: A Personal Journey Through Four Decades of Modern Film
by Syd Field
Paperback
Watching a movie is easy. But it's hard to figure out how its structure, images, acting, camera work and scripts can make us respond so powerfully. Writing in a chatty, informal manner, the author of several popular screenplay-writing manuals (including Screenplay, which is used in numerous college courses) turns to autobiography to meditate on what makes a movie great. Whether he is addressing his friendship with the great French director Jean Renoir, whose masterpiece La Grande Illusion Field considers one of the foundations of modern cinema, or about his classes with the great feminist film director Dorothy Arzner, Field conveys an enormous amount of technical and practical knowledge.
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The Hugo Movie Companion: A Behind the Scenes Look at How a Beloved Book Became a Major Motion Picture
by Brian Selznick
Brian Selznick takes readers on an intimate tour of the movie-making process as his Caldecott Award-winning book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is turned into a 3-D major motion picture by Academy Award-winning director, Martin Scorsese, written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, John Logan. Lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs from the movie, and filled with fun, informative interviews of the cast and crew, comparisons of artwork from the book alongside people, props, costumes, and sets from the movie, and an essay on the birth of movies written by Martin Scorsese, "The Hugo Movie Companion" beautifully extends the experience of the book and the movie, and is a must-have for fans of all ages.
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How Good is David Mamet, Anyway?: Writings on Theater -- and Why It Matters
by John Heilpern
Hardcover
Salon: [Heilpern's]clear thinking, deceptively breezy prose and infectious, generous wit are consistently delightful...Heilpern's best writing offers many of the strange, almost religious delights of an evening at the theater...American playwrights and audiences owe Heilpern a great debt.
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How to Live a Sitcom Life
by Mark Bennett
Hardcover
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Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol
by Tom Mula
Paperback
Based on a one-man show written and performed by author Tom Mula, Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol offers a unique and entertaining new twist on the familiar holiday tale. Readers follow Marley as he works behind the scenes to save Scrooge's soul. Funny, irreverent, and moving, this beautifully illustrated gift book promises to become a holiday favorite.
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A Jesuit Off-Broadway
by James Martin
Hardcover
Martin, an author and Jesuit priest, lifts the curtain on theater life in this account of his experiences as theological adviser to an off-Broadway play, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. It was the role of a lifetime for Martin, who had access to all the players involved in the production from the first readings to the play's five-week run in 2005. Although the play, which deals with the fate of the disciple who betrayed Christ, is compelling in and of itself, the way Martin combines the story line with historical detail and conversations with the actors, playwright and director is utterly captivating. Martin takes readers inside the play and into the minds of the key players, showing everything from glimpses into their spiritual lives to their reactions to the mixed reviews the play received.
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Kenneth Tynan: Letters
by Kenneth Tynan, Kathleen Tynan
Hardcover
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Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live
by Tom Shales, James Andrew Miller
Hardcover
This oral history of NBC's Saturday Night Live is the juiciest treasure trove of backstage gossip, sex and drugs since The Andy Warhol Diaries. With almost three decades' worth of memories from cast members, celebrity hosts, writers, crew and network execs, readers get first-hand reports (often contradictory) on the volatile, competitive, grueling and often drug-fueled process of creating a weekly, 90-minute, live comedy show.
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Or browse Amazon's selection of Saturday Night Live DVDs

Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany
by Stephen Sondheim
Hardcover
Picking up where he left off in "Finishing the Hat," Stephen Sondheim gives us all the lyrics, along with excluded songs and early drafts, of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Sunday in the Park with George," "Into the Woods," "Assassins" and "Passion." Here, too, is an in-depth look at the evolution of "Wise Guys," which subsequently was transformed into "Bounce" and eventually became "Road Show." As he did in the previous volume, Sondheim richly annotates his lyrics with invaluable advice on songwriting, discussions of theater history and the state of the industry today, and exacting dissections of his work, both the successes and the failures. Filled with even more behind-the-scenes photographs and illustrations from Sondheim's original manuscripts, "Look, I Made a Hat" is fascinating, devourable and essential reading for any fan of the theater or this great man's work."
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See also "Finishing the Hat"
Or browse Amazon's selection of Sondheim CDs and DVDs

Making Musicals: An Informal Introduction to the World of Musical Theatre
by Tom Jones
Paperback
By the librettist and lyricist of "The Fantasticks"
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Masterpiece Theatre: A Celebration of 25 Years of Outstanding Television
by Terrence O'Flaherty, Karen Sharpe (Editors)
Paperback
In the quarter-century that it has been broadcast in America, Masterpiece Theatre has raised its audience's awareness of TV's true potential as a stage for serious dramatic arts. The book includes interviews with artists and directors, covering a wide range of topics, including the challenges of adapting a work of classic literature to a contemporary teleplay. 150 photos, 75 in color.
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Or browse Amazon's selection of Masterpiece Theatre DVDs

Monster: Living Off the Big Screen
by John Gregory Dunne
Paperback
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Moon Over Broadway (DVD)
In 1995, Carol Burnett returned to Broadway after an absence of three decades to costar in Ken Ludwig's comedy, Moon Over Buffalo. Legendary documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker and his wife, Chris Hegedus, enjoyed extraordinary access to capture the nuts and bolts of mounting a Broadway play in this video equivalent of a backstage pass. It is more entertaining than the strained farce we glimpse onstage. The play's director, Tom Moore, certainly has his hands full. Ludwig (who hit it big with the play Lend Me a Tenor) bemoans what the actors are doing to his words. "It's like a pact with the devil, having to cast stars," he complains. He must massage the actors' egos (the play's ingenue dislikes the picture of herself displayed outside the theater) and assuage their insecurities. Observe how he deftly and delicately reins in Burnett, who initially falls back on shtick to get a laugh. In one tense moment, Philip Bosco, Burnett's esteemed costar, becomes flustered when he believes his input is not appreciated. "Don't you want the benefit of our years of experience, of our sense of comedy?" he demands of Moore. Moon Over Broadway is just the ticket for theater buffs.
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Must You Go?: My Life With Harold Pinter
By Lady Antonia Fraser
Paperback
A moving and exquisite testament to one of the literary world's most celebrated marriages: that of the greatest playwright of our age, Harold Pinter, and the beautiful and famous prize-winning biographer Antonia Fraser. Based on Fraser's recollections and the diaries she has kept since October 1968, "Must You Go?" is the story of a 30-year marriage, beginning with their initial meeting when Fraser was the wife of a member of Parliament and Pinter was married to a distinguished actress, and ending with Harold's tragic death after battling illness for many years. Courageous, powerful, and extraordinarily compelling, "Must You Go?" is a love story and a marvelously insightful account of the pleasures of married love. "A stirring celebration of what Fraser, reflecting near the end of Pinter's life, observed as a union 'to the infinite degree happy beyond all possible expectations.'" --The New Yorker
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My Movie Business: A Memoir
by John Irving
Hardcover
Amazon.com: This slender memoir offers a perceptive, if hardly objective, critique of the inherent differences between novels and screenplays, with the writer sharing his own experiences creating both. Irving focuses principally on his crusade to bring The Cider House Rules to the screen, tracing its gestation through four successive directors; with Irving himself attached as scriptwriter, we see the novelist struggling to reconcile the demands of concision against his paternal instincts toward the original book.
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New York Theatre Walks: Seven Historical Tours from Times Square to Greenwich Village and Beyond
by Howard Kissel
Paperback
Howard Kissel provides a series of seven self-guided walking tours not just of the theatre district but of the East and West Village, the Lower East Side, and the Upper West Side - neighborhoods uptown and downtown that illuminate the theatre's intimate relationship with the city. The book abounds in Broadway anecdotes, but it also gives the walker a sense of the city's own complex, rich history. All Around the Town, New York Theatre Walks provides enjoyment and instruction not just for visitors eager to get off the beaten path but for the native who wants to find the theatrical past lying behind the sights one passes on a regular basis.
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Next to Normal [Cast Recording]
Next to Normal has been described as a contemporary musical that explores how one suburban household copes with crisis. With provocative lyrics and an electrifying score of more than 30 original songs, Next to Normal shows how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their family's world intact.
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Original Cast Album -- Company (A Documentary)
While a proposed series of original cast recording sessions for documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker (Don't Look Back) never materialized, Original Cast Album: Company survives as the first and only entry, and it was fortuitous that its subject was the 1970 musical Company. Groundbreaking in its use of a series of vignettes rather than a conventional plot, it was also one of the earliest major works for composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, the most important figure in musical theater over the last quarter-century. Unlike films, theater productions rarely have a permanent record, so a musical is preserved for posterity by the cast recording. This puts all the pressure on the recording session, as cast member Susan Browning explains during the recording of "You Could Drive a Person Crazy": a live performance can be imperfect, but "this is different. This is the definitive, it's the end-all and the be-all of this song, and... God, that could drive a person crazy!"
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Buy the script of "Company": Further info or to order
Or buy the Original 1970 Broadway Cast Recording: Further info or to order
Or buy the DVD of the 2007 revival: Further info or to order
Or watch the 2007 revival now via Amazon Instant Video. Rent: Further info or to order or Download: Further info or to order

The Oxford Companion to the Theatre
by Phyllis Hartnoll (Editor) 4th Edition
Hardcover
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Passing Strange [Cast Recording]
Following in the footsteps of Duncan Sheik and Spring Awakening, L.A.'s Stew (who's released albums both solo and with his band, The Negro Problem) made the transition from the pop-rock scene to Broadway in 2008. The show for which he wrote the book and score, Passing Strange, was not as commercially successful as Spring Awakening, but from a musical point of view, it's an even better, very funny, wildly inventive gem about shaping your identity. Backed by a rocking quartet that includes co-composer Heidi Rodewald on bass, Stew himself acts/sings the narrator, leading us through the coming of age of his hero, Youth (Daniel Breaker), from Southern California to Amsterdam to Berlin and back. Recorded live, this album captures the score’s energy and depth. The songs can be hard-hitting ("Merci Beaucoup, M. Godard," "Berlin: A Black Hole with Taxis"), but Stew writes particularly lovely ballads, like the heartbreaking "Arlington Hill," "Keys," "Come Down Now" and "Work the Wound," which gains power as it builds up to an angry climax. This is a great score that deserves to be heard. -- Elisabeth Vincentelli
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The Play Goes On: A Memoir
by Neil Simon
Paperback
The follow-up to Simon's bestselling memoir, "Rewrites."
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See also "Rewrites"

Playwrights at Work: The Paris Review
by George Plimpton (Editor)
Paperback
The most famous feature of George Plimpton's Paris Review is the interview with an author that graces nearly every issue. The latest collection of these colloquies showcases 16 dramatists' remarks about their art and their practice of it. In the opening interview, Thornton Wilder makes an observation that resonates in his successors' comments: "On the stage it is always now." A play is written out of the belief that what happens is more interesting than describing or analyzing what happens. For Samuel Beckett, of course, it was what failed to happen that was interesting, as he attests not directly -- he declined to be interviewed -- but through Lawrence Shainberg's superb memoir of him at work. Besides the Beckett piece, the Eugene Ionesco interview is the most intellectually intriguing. Arthur Miller proves the most concerned with historic dramatic form, Neil Simon the most absorbed in stagecraft (save for Beckett), and Tennessee Williams the most gossipy. Some other subjects in this treasure trove for theater lovers are Edward Albee, John Guare, David Mamet, August Wilson, and Wendy Wasserstein.
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Profiles
by Kenneth Tynan
Paperback
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Reading Chekhov
by Janet Malcolm
Hardcover
Longtime New Yorker magazine writer Malcolm (The Crime of Sheila McGough; The Silent Woman; etc.) is known for her fearlessly opinionated takes on controversial subjects, from psychoanalysis to murder cases. This short meditation in 13 untitled chapters is a reflection on her reading of a favorite author, famed 19th-century playwright and short story writer Anton Chekhov, in the context of a recent tourist trip she took through contemporary Russia. She agrees with all biographers that Chekhov was an admirably humane man, writing prolifically to earn a living because he charged his peasant patients nothing for medical care. The anecdotes may be the more compelling stuff here, however, as when Malcolm squabbles with a curator of a Moscow Chekhov Museum, who does not wish to inform the inquiring American journalist how she manages to earn a living. Fans of Russian lit may squabble with some of the heavier moralizing, but will appreciate this real example of a fan's notes.
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Rewrites: A Memoir
by Neil Simon
Paperback
Amazon.com Expert Editor's Recommended Book: Broadway's perennial hitmaster Neil Simon, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Lost in Yonkers, follows the funny/poignant style of his recent autobiographical plays. This memoir takes him from childhood into his years as a comedy writer for Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows," through his early Odd Couple-era stage hits and up to the death of his first wife in 1973. Not a traditional autobiography, Rewrites is a story rich with laughter and emotion, and filled with memories of a sweet--sometimes bittersweet--story.
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See also "The Play Goes On: A Memoir"

Rough Magic
by Mike Daisey
Paperback
This is the first volume of work by Mike Daisey, a solo performer who has distilled his own particular blend of monologue, delivering hilarious and heartbreaking pieces that connect the fearlessly autobiographical with the historical and political. Includes "The Last Cargo Cult," about his journey to a remote South Pacific island where people worship America and its cargo; "Monopoly!," in which he weaves together the secret history of the board game with the conflict between Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart; "How Theater Failed America," his controversial backstage tour of the state of the American theater; and "If You See Something Say Something," in which he divulges the surprising history of the Department of Homeland Security. "Gripping and vital . . . Mike Daisey has proven himself that rare theatrical creature: An entertaining performer with something valuable to say." --Variety
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Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
by Blake Snyder
Hardcover
As news of screenwriters getting seven-figure deals leaks to the masses, it's no wonder hundreds of aspiring screenwriters come to Hollywood each day for a chance at easy money and glory. However, the reality is that writing and selling a screenplay is far easier said than done and requires that the author not only write a cohesive and complete script (and not just have an idea for a movie), but that he also have the knowledge of the filmmaking process and industry necessary to market and sell the screenplay. Real Screenwriting: Strategies and Stories from the Trenches provides the real deal on the art, craft, business and everyday life of a screenwriter.
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"Save the Cat Story Structure Software": Further info or to order

Save the Cat! Strikes Back: More Trouble for Screenwriters to Get into ... and Out of
by Blake Snyder
Paperback
Blake Snyder, author of "Save the Cat!" and "Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies," is back with the book countless readers and students have clamored for. Inspired by questions from his workshops, lectures, and emails, Blake listened and provides new tips, tactics, and techniques to solve your writing problems and create stories that resonate. "'Save the Cat! Strikes Back' is Blake's best yet. It expands on his principles of storytelling in a breezy, colloquial style and gives us a deeper personal insight to the relentlessly positive mindset that powered his great success and his generous spirit. Blake's life was far, far too short, but his work and his inspiring legacy will remain timeless." --Rick Drew, movieScope Magazine
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Screenwriting four Geniuses
by William D. Wolff
Paperback
"Screenwriting four Geniuses" is a parody of self-help books, purporting to teach its readers how to make millions of dollars, effortlessly writing blockbuster screenplays for Hollywood. The title is a humorous take-off of the "for Dummies" series. But more than being merely a collection of jokes and gags, "Screenwriting four Geniuses" is a barbed, satirical and highly literate commentary on the greed- and fear-based mentality prevalent in the world of Hollywood filmmaking.
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Screenwriters: America's Storytellers in Portrait
by Helena Lumme, Mika Manninen
Hardcover
Even if you don't agree with the editors that screenwriting is the toughest and riskiest profession in the movie business, this lovely book holds tremendous appeal. Screenwriters offers unique visual and verbal portraits of each of the 47 writers covered. The striking photographs presented here were exhibited at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The book also offers brief comments from the screenwriters on the art of writing, particularly for the silver screen.
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Script Magazine (12 month subscription)
Each issue of Script delivers informative articles on writing, developing and marketing screenplays and TV scripts. Many articles are written by working writers. Development executives, agents, managers and entertainment attorneys contribute regularly. Our editorial is for writers, by writers.
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Spring Awakening [Cast Recording]
Who would have thought that Duncan Sheik would succeed where Paul Simon and Randy Newman failed, successfully transitioning from the pop-rock world to the Broadway stage? With Spring Awakening, Sheik and book writer/lyricist Steven Slater (who had already worked on Sheik's 2001 album Phantom Moon) have created a thoroughly exciting show that incorporates a contemporary art-indie idiom (including a small rock band instead of an orchestra) into a dramatic musical-theater context. The unlikely setting is that of a Frank Wedekind adaptation, but as it turns out, teenage angst is perennial, whether it's in contemporary America or in a 1891 German boarding school.
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The Stephen Sondheim Collection DVD (Into the Woods / Sunday in the Park with George / Follies in Concert / Passion / Sweeney Todd in Concert / A Celebration at Carnegie Hall)
Celebrate the brilliance of Stephen Sondheim, one of musical theater's most acclaimed and popular talents, with this special six-disc collection. Includes A Celebration at Carnegie Hall: This star-studded salute to Sondheim's most enduring melodies features Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Liza Minnelli, Madeleine Kahn, Victor Garber, Glenn Close, Betty Buckley and many more!
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Or browse Amazon's selection of Sondheim CDs and DVDs

Stop the Show! A History of Insane Incidents and Absurd Accidents in the Theater
by Brad Schreiber
Paperback
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Story: A Guide to Screenwriting
by Robert McKee
Audio Cassette
Don't have time to read the book? Then listen to the audio cassette! Mind you, if you don't have time to read the book, we're not sure how you'll have time to write a screenplay, but hey, maybe you can dance to it.
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Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama
by David Mamet
Hardcover
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The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook, Updated and Expanded Edition: An Actor's Reference to Over 1,000 Scenes and Monologues from More than 300 contemporary Plays
by Ed Hooks
Paperback
An invaluable guide to finding just the right piece for every audition. The unique format of the book is ideal for acting teachers who want their students to understand each monologue in context. This remarkable book describes the characters, action, and mood for more than 1,000 scenes in over 300 plays. Using these guidelines, the actor can quickly pinpoint the perfect monologue, then find the text in the Samuel French or Dramatist Play Service edition of the play. Newly revised and expanded, the book includes the author's own assessment of each monologue.
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Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade
by William Goldman
Hardcover
Amazon.com: Fans of the two-time Oscar-winning writer (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men) have anxiously waited for this follow-up since his career serpentined into a variety of big hits and critical bombs in the '80s and '90s. Here Goldman scoops on The Princess Bride (his own favorite), Misery, Maverick, Absolute Power, and others. Goldman's conversational style makes him easy to read for the film novice but meaty enough for the detail-oriented pro. Like most sequels, Which Lie follows the structure of the original. Both Goldman books have three parts: stories about his movies, a deconstruction of Hollywood (here the focus is on great movie scenes), and a workshop for screenwriters. With its juicy facts and valuable sidebars on what makes good screenwriting, this is another entertaining must-read from the man who coined what has to be the most-quoted adage about movie-business success: "Nobody knows anything."
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Why We Write: Personal Statements and Photographic Portraits of 25 Top Screenwriters
by Lorian Tamara Elbert (Editor)
Paperback
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The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
by Christopher Vogler
Paperback
Many screenwriters have used Vogler's volume to understand why certain scenarios sell, and to discover a blueprint for creating mythic stories of their own. Now in its second edition, The Writer's Journey sets forth archetypes common in what Vogler calls "the hero's journey," the mythic structure that he claims all stories follow. In the book's first section, he lists the different kinds of typological characters who appear in stories. In the second, he discusses the stages of the journey through which the hero generally passes. The final, supplementary portion of the book explains in detail how films like Titanic and The Full Monty follow the patterns he has outlined. --Raphael Shargel
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The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre (Vol. 1): Europe
by Don Rubin (Editor)
Hardcover
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The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre (Vol. 2): Americas
by Don Rubin (Editor)
Hardcover
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Young Playwrights 101: A Practical Guide for Young Playwrights and Those Who Teach Them
by Jonathan Dorf
Paperback
A complete handbook for young playwrights and those who teach them, and for anyone who wants practical advice about the craft and business of playwriting.
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