Charles Isherwood's Top Book Recommendations

Charles IsherwoodI consult this book often, for work reasons, and find myself getting lost in it. It still has the immediacy of daily journalism. You get a real sense of Rich’s excitement at doing his job. It used to be common for theatre critics’ work to be anthologised, but since Rich stopped writing in 1993 the blogosphere and newspapers’ troubles devalued the voice of the critic. The Rich era was a fabled one... (Source)

Charles IsherwoodIt’s such a juicy read. He divides the flops by theme, and defines flop very specifically. If you’re talking about shows that fail to make their money back, most shows are flops. But Ken draws the line at 250 performances, which may sound like a lot but in the post-war era very few musicals can make any money in that time. (Source)

Charles IsherwoodStephen Sondheim’s appeal cuts across cultural hierarchies – he elevated the art form. He has never been immensely popular. A lot of his shows haven’t been very successful, financially. But he is the living master of American musical theatre. (Source)

Charles IsherwoodThis book is an exhaustively researched assessment of a single Broadway season in 1967-68. He interviewed pretty much everyone involved with every show. The book is useful even today, because it analyses every production that opened that season and uses each to illustrate a different point about Broadway, the various forms of theatre, and the economics of putting on a show. He also shows how... (Source)

Charles IsherwoodAct One may be the greatest show-business autobiography ever written. It’s certainly one of the greatest. The book is a compendium of backstage stories and anecdotes about all the fabulous people Moss Hart knew intimately – and he knew them all. Hart co-wrote some of the most successful comedies in Broadway history with George S Kaufmann. You Can’t Take It With You and The Man Who Came to Dinner... (Source)