Tradition! by Barbara Isenberg (2014)

Subtitled: The Highly Improbably, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to-Hollywood Story of Fiddler on the Roof, the World's Most Beloved Musical.

 

Highly readable and light story of the making of Fiddler on the Roof, from conception to film to revivals all around the world. 

Filled with lots of little gems about the theater world, from personalities like Jerome Robbins and Zero Mostel (always fascinating) to the fact that Chaim Topol was only in his 30s when he filmed the movie, Isenberg even mentions Lin-Manuel Miranda's using Fiddler as inspiration not only for In the Heights, but for his wedding dance. 

Dishy and interesting, but still poignant and beautifully conveys the universality of the show.

Anything Goes by Ethan Mordden (2013)

Subtitled "A History of American Musical Theatre", this is a comprehensive and dense history of musical theater. It starts in 1728 and goes all the way up to fairly recent musicals. Mordden spends the majority of his time on the alleged (and Mordden scoffs at the term) "Golden Age" of musicals.

As someone who loves opera and operetta, it's fascinating to read the progression of musical theater over the years, from an offshoot of opera to its own entity.  I love Mordden's pointing out of the tropes of musical theater (the merry villagers intro, first and second couples), and the R&H Rules.

I also love that, above all, he is interested in what truly makes a musical integrated. Here's a quote that explains what, for me, makes a great musical (besides a great score, lyrics, etc.):

"This is what the American musical had been working up to for some one hundred years, and all its artistry dwells in the historian's key buzz term "integrated"; the union of story and score. Once a mere collection of songs and now a pride of fully developed numbers supported by incidental music, intros and development sections, and musical scenes mixed of speech and song, the score not only tells but probes the story, above all unveiling its characters."

YES.

Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle (2014)

In Tim Federle’s sequel to Better Nate Than Ever, theater geek Nate Foster begins rehearsals for E.T. the Musical…on Broadway! Nate struggles with finding his place in this new world (as Alien #7) with his usual quirky charm. 

The inside story of getting a show up and running is vividly depicted and includes tons of the same humor that made Federle’s first book such a treat.  Such as:

About Roscoe, the old stage manager: "(The other day, I overheard him saying he misses the old days, when the only children who appeared in musicals 'were in the background or dead by the second scene.')"  

And:

"'I need my sopranos down front and my altos just to the side of them.' Everything is 'my my my' on Broadway. There's a lot of territory disputes, like a junior high school cafeteria but with more glitter." 

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle (2013)

"Imagine: pretzels sold on the street!  It's as if anything is possible.  Do they also sell hopes on the street?  Do they sell hugs and dreams and height-boosting vitamins?  Or hot dogs?  I bet you they do."

Straight from the children's section, this is a hilarious novel about 13-year-old Nate who runs away to New York City to audition for E.T. the Musical, with the help of his devoted friend and fellow musical theater lover Libby.  

Utterly endearing characters, fascinating backstage look at the world of auditioning for musical theater, surprisingly complex relationships and characters, and OH, so much love for musical theater and for New York City.  Followed up by Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, just as endearing and hilarious.  A few more words from Nate:

"And by the way, this isn't one of those things where I tell you that, in life, we're each both a little good and a little bad, all just trying our hardest.  That's kid's an a-hole, and I'm not.  Sometimes people are just a-holes, and you have to decide, every day, which kind of kid you are.  (Not to get all preachy on you.)"

Strippers, Showgirls, and Sharks: A Very Opinionated History of the Broadway Musicals That Did Not Win the Tony Award by Peter Filichia (2013)

Absolutely delicious and opinionated book about (as the subtitle reads) the musicals that did not win the Tony.

Filichia discusses why or why not various musicals didn't win the Tony in chapters devoted to various reasons, from it being the wrong year, the wrong time, or just not quite good enough. 

I love how he sprinkles little allusions and musical comedy lyrics in his text (like saying something "just isn't a hummamumamummable melody") and I love the context that he provides on how many performances certain shows ran, the theaters that they transferred to, the reviews that they received, and so on. 

Very dishy and fun. I loved his analysis of shows like Passing Strange and Sister Act, and they were right on as to why I never wanted to see them. Quite good reading for the musical theater fan!

The Cranes Dance by Meg Howrey (2102)

Although the title sounds like a nature book, and as though it's missing an apostrophe, this is a fabulous novel about Kate, a New York City Ballet dancer, and her complicated relationship with her sister, a fellow dancer who has recently had a nervous breakdown and moved home.

The subject matter is serious, but narrator Kate is incredibly witty and deconstructs ballet hilariously. Her synopsis of Swan Lake is deliciously funny. In addition to being funny, it actually provides great insight into the mind and body of a ballet dancer and the art of dance. Not to mention the complex relationship of sisters, especially competitive sisters.

Snarky, hilarious, poignant--I really, really enjoyed this novel to the point that I'll be looking up other works by the author and even works by authors who blurbed this novel. Books like this are total diamonds in the rough; interesting, engaging novels hidden away in a flood of trade paperback original novels with enticing covers.

My Life: The Musical by Maryrose Wood (2008)

Emily Pearl is obsessed with a Broadway show and devoted to trying to find the mysterious author. Wood was a member of the original cast of Merrily We Roll Along, and vividly depicts theater life and Broadway fans.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (2001)

Not quite an adored author yet, I do really love Ann Patchett's writing.  Bel Canto is a lovely and complicated novel about a birthday party for a Japanese businessman in South America where guerillas crash the party and take all the partygoers hostage, including the opera singer scheduled to sing at the party.  What stays with me is Patchett's relationships and her beautiful writing on opera.  I also love Run, a marvelous, gripping novel about a white, Irish family who adopted young black boys and the family secrets and dramas that unfold after a woman pushes one of the boys out of the way of a car, and ends up in the hospital.

Broadway Babylon by Boze Hadleigh (2007)

More like a primer to Broadway than a trashy, babylonish collection. Interesting essays on all sort of Broadway luminaries, and fabulous quotes on Broadway in all its forms. Great fun reading, excellent for the theater enthusiast.  Perfect reading on the plane on the way home from NYC.

Making It On Broadway by David Wienir (2004)

Subtitled Actors' Tales of Climbing to the Top, this is a completely realistic look at the not-so-glamorous side of acting on Broadway—from dirty dressing rooms to audition nightmares to co-actor relations. Really interesting and sure to make any actor give his dreams of Broadway stardom at least a second thought.

Colored Lights by John Kander and Fred Ebb as told to Greg Lawrence (2003)

Subtitled Forty Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration, and All That Jazz, this is a series of conversations between Kander and Ebb about their work in musical theater, with small asides from Liza Minnelli and Hal Prince. Very insightful into the musical writing process, plus a little deliciously snarky about some performers.

The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen by Ethan Mordden (2004)

Subtitled The Last Twenty-Five Years of the Broadway Musical.  His latest in a series of historical overviews of musical theater is, like the rest, opinionated and witty, and delightful reading for the musical fan.