People rarely say they hate books, or television, or films. But they often say they hate musicals. Moreover everyone seems to have a fixed idea of exactly what a musical is; what it sounds like, looks like, or is about. Why is the collision and integration of music, song and storytelling so polarising and why have we allowed a form so full of possibility to become so repetitive and restrictive? Through a series of essays Breaking Into Song asks what audiences can do to stay open minded and what creatives can do to make new musicals better. Examining both sides of the divide, Adam Lenson asks how those who both love and hate musicals can further expand the possibilities of this widely misunderstood medium.

One morning, as I was writing, I suddenly understood that as a species, through incredible stubbornness, we were able to write love into our genetic makeup, and that this is enough to redeem us all. We were given mouths to bite with, and with deep intelligence and beauty, we learned to kiss each other. Part performance lecture, part auto-fictional memoir, Divine Invention is Sergio Blanco's attempt to say something new about love. To do so, he recalls his own experiences of love, true and invented, and explores the history of love in art, literature, music, and science. The result is a life-affirming new play. Written by acclaimed Franco-Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco (Thebes Land, The Rage of Narcissus, When You Pass Over My Tomb) and translated by his long-time collaborator Daniel Goldman, Divine Invention is 'collaboration to savour by two masters of the form' (Lyn Gardner). This edition was published to coincide with the English language world premiere at Edinburgh Fringe Festival's Summerhall in August 2024.

"Stew brings us the story of a young bohemian who charts a course for 'the real' through sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll."--Page 4 of cover.

(Vocal Selections). Jason Robert Brown, the creator of Parade and Songs for a New World , has written a distinctive new Off-Broadway musical. The Last Five Years tells the story of a failed marriage of 20-somethings: he a successful novelist, she a struggling actress. Her story is told in reverse, his conventionally moving forward. They meet in the middle at the point of their wedding. Brown's strong writing has found a solid following among musical theatre fans. Our songbook features piano/vocal arrangements of 12 songs: Goodbye Until Tomorrow * I Can Do Better Than That * If I Didn't Believe in You * Moving Too Fast * The Next Ten Minutes * Nobody Needs to Know * A Part of That * The Schmuel Song * Shiksa Goddess * Still Hurting * A Summer in Ohio * When You Come Home to Me. "Short, bittersweet and nearly perfect, Brown has come up with a winning combination of music and book." Variety

A timely and gutsy YA novel based on the Tony and Grammy Award winning musical from Alanis Morissette, Diablo Cody, and Glen Ballard! Swallow it down—what a jagged little pill . . . Jagged Little Pill: The Novel follows the intertwining lives of five teens whose world is changed forever after the events at a party. Adopted Frankie struggles to see eye-to-eye with her mother—who would rather ignore a problem and preserve their “perfect” life than stand up for what’s right. Jo just wants her mom to accept her queer identity—and is totally crushed when Frankie, the only person who really gets her, finds herself infatuated with someone new. Phoenix tries to find his place at the new school and balance wanting to spend time with Frankie but knowing he also has to help out with his sick sister at home. Bella wants to enjoy the end of high school and just head off to college without a hitch. Everyone expects Frankie's brother Nick to be the golden boy, but even though he just got into his dream school, he’s not even sure he's a good person. Each of their stories intersects when Bella is sexually assaulted at a party, and it looks like the perpetrator might get away with it. Moving, heartfelt, and raw, Jagged Little Pill: The Novel draws on the musical’s story and gives readers deeper glimpses of the characters. It’s a story about the power of voicing your pain, standing up for what’s right, and finding healing and connection.

Told in their separate voices, sixteen-year-old Prince Oliver, who wants to break free of his fairy-tale existence, and fifteen-year-old Delilah, a loner obsessed with Prince Oliver and the book in which he exists, work together to seek his freedom.

Nightclub, theatre, creative hub, party place, and one of the most important venues in Scotland, Britain and Europe: for almost 25 years, The Arches was the beating heart of Glasgow. In 1991, former punk-turned-theatre director Andy Arnold walked into the disused red brick Victorian railway arches underneath Glasgow's Central Station and immediately saw the potential of the space. Not even he could have imagined its future, as simultaneously one of the biggest and most famous nightclubs in the world and a major player on the European theatre scene. Until its closure following a drug-related death in 2015, The Arches carved its own, indefinable path, playing a vital role in the lives of many Scottish artists along the way. Some of those stars of the future began their careers taking tickets, hanging coats and serving drinks there. For the first time, the people who made the venue get to tell their story. Piecing together accounts from directors, DJs, performers, clubbers, artists, bar tenders, actors, audiences and staff, Brickwork writes the biography of a space that was always more than its bricks and mortar.

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of an award-winning musical! Here is the official, fascinating, behind-the scenes journey of the new musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, from its inception, to Off-Off Broadway, to Off-Broadway, to its premiere at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway. The musical is based on a dramatic 70-page slice of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. Profusely illustrated, the book also includes an annotated script and a special CD with three songs from the Off-Broadway production and two all-new recordings for the Broadway production featuring Josh Groban with a 25-piece orchestra.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the iconic musical Sunday in the Park with George Putting It Together chronicles the two-year odyssey of creating the iconic Broadway musical Sunday in the Park with George. In 1982, James Lapine, at the beginning of his career as a playwright and director, met Stephen Sondheim, nineteen years his senior and already a legendary Broadway composer and lyricist. Shortly thereafter, the two decided to write a musical inspired by Georges Seurat’s nineteenth-century painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Through conversations between Lapine and Sondheim, as well as most of the production team, and with a treasure trove of personal photographs, sketches, script notes, and sheet music, the two Broadway icons lift the curtain on their beloved musical. Putting It Together is a deeply personal remembrance of their collaboration and friend - ship and the highs and lows of that journey, one that resulted in the beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning classic.

A deeply moving memoir of how one theatre company, Slung Low, fed their local community during the Covid pandemic of 2020. This is the vivid story of the cost of trying to do good in a divided world.