Provides an inside look at how Broadway musicals are created, dissecting shows line-by-line from the opening numbers to their finales to show how they captivate audiences.

Picking up where he left off in "Finishing the Hat", Sondheim richly annotates his lyrics with personal and theatre history, discussions of his collaborations, and exacting, charming dissections of his work -- both the successes and the failures.

"The flames of memory always seem to glow a little brighter during the holidays. Perhaps that's why this time of year is so difficult for airline heiress Ivy Macintosh, as she faces thoughts of yet another festive season alone. Since the plane crash that claimed the lives of her husband and two children eight years ago, she's been submerged in grief. When eleven-year-old Holly Greenwood knocks on her door, lost and frightened after a forbidden visit...

"Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play. Their songs and dance numbers served to advance the drama and reveal character, a sharp break from the past and the template on which all future musicals would be built. [This is a portrait of that creative partnership]"--Amazon.com.

Offers a behind-the-scenes view of Hamilton the musical, detailing the many dramatic episodes in Alexander Hamilton's life.

After being cast as Romeo in the school play, Dean realizes he wants everyone to see him as he really is, a male, and not just play one on the stage, despite the risk of losing everything. Dean Foster has watched enough YouTube videos and done enough questioning to be sure he's a trans guy. But everyone at his high school thinks he's a lesbian-- including his girlfriend Zoe, and his theater director, who just cast him as a "nontraditional" Romeo....

"A joyful collaboration between old friends David Byrne and Maira Kalman, American Utopia offers readers an antidote to cynicism, bursting with pathos, humanism, and hope--featuring his words and lyrics brought to life with more than 150 of her colorful paintings. The text is drawn from David Byrne's American Utopia, which has become a hit Broadway show and is soon to be a documentary from Spike Lee. The four-color artwork, by Maira Kalman, which...

This diabolical and devilishly clever twist on Shakespeare's Richard III follows Rory, a scholarship kid teased for her weight, as she tells us exactly the lengths she'll go to secure the leading role in Bosworth Academy's senior musical.