What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, so why is Audrey weakening day by day? It's been a tough year for Audrey's family. Her husband Geoff, a pastor, lost his job after a scandal rocked their congregation. Audrey hasn't lost faith. She's held her family together. Their attempt to resurrect a failing bakery is an effort to heal the family wounds and restore their place in the community. Late to the bakery one dim, foggy morning, Audrey turns into the intersection in front of the shop and strikes a vehicle that she can't see even after the collision settles. Emerging from her car into the fog, she discovers she's hit a motor scooter. There's no rider in sight. There's blood, though, so much that she slips in it, injuring her wrists. The absence of the scooter driver is a mystery, especially to Sergeant Jack Mansfield, the detective and church member who drove Geoff from his pulpit. The scooter belongs to Jack's wife, Julie, a teacher at the local high school. She has vanished like morning fog. Though there is no evidence to support Jack's growing suspicion that Audrey and Geoff were involved in Julie's disappearance, the detective is convinced of their guilt. Jack's ability to reason slips as the leads on his wife dry up. When Jack takes the tiny bakery and its patrons hostage, Audrey must find Julie and unravel the secret of her own mysterious suffering before Jack comes undone.

As the composer/lyricist for Godspell, Pippin, Wicked, and other musicals, Stephen Schwartz has enjoyed one of the mostsignificant careers in American musical theater for more than four decades. Schwartz has also achieved success on the big screen, contributing to such films as Enchanted, The Prince of Egypt, and Pocahontas. For his work, he has received six Tony nominations, three Grammys, and three Academy Awards. The Musical Theater of Stephen Schwartz: From Godspell to Wicked and Beyond is a detailed examination of Schwartz’s various projects throughout his career. Musicologist Paul R. Laird discusses at length Schwartz’s major shows and also considers his other ventures, such as the music and lyrics for animated features from Disney and Dreamworks. The book focuses on two major aspects of Schwartz’s creations: the process of collaboration resulting in a project’s completion and a descriptive analysis of his music and lyrics. Laird also describes each show’s critical reception and its place in the larger history of musical theater. Based on extensive interviews with Schwartz and a number of his major collaborators, this book provides a rare look into the creation of the composer and lyricist’s shows and films. The Musical Theater of Stephen Schwartz is intended for fans as well as students and professional researchers in music, theater, and the musical theater.

Popular Tales from the Norse by Asbjørnsen, Moe, and Dasent: This collection of enchanting Norse folktales brings readers into the world of mythical creatures, daring heroes, and magical adventures. Asbjørnsen, Moe, and Dasent, eminent folklore collectors, have compiled these captivating tales that continue to resonate with readers of all ages. Key Aspects of the Book "Popular Tales from the Norse": Norse Folklore: The book offers a treasure trove of authentic Norse folklore, providing insight into the cultural heritage of the region. Mythical Creatures and Heroes: Readers will encounter a diverse array of mythical beings and heroic figures, each with their own compelling stories. Timeless Appeal: These timeless tales have transcended generations, captivating readers with their enduring charm and universal themes. Asbjørnsen, Moe, and Dasent were renowned Norwegian folklorists and writers who played a significant role in preserving and sharing the rich tradition of Norse folklore. Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, both born in Norway in the early 19th century, collaborated on collecting and retelling traditional Norwegian folktales. Sir George Webbe Dasent, a British translator and historian, played a crucial role in making these tales accessible to a broader international audience. Their collective efforts have immortalized the captivating stories of Norse mythology.

(Vocal Selections). Into the Woods blends various familiar fairy tales with an original story of a childless baker and his wife, who catalyze the action of the story by attempting to reverse a curse on their family in order to have a child. Newly edited, with new music engravings, added songs, articles and photos. Includes piano/vocal arrangements of: Agony * Any Moment * Children Will Listen * Giants in the Sky * I Know Things Now * Into the Woods * It Takes Two * No More * No One Is Alone * On the Steps of the Palace * Stay with Me.

From the film critics of The New York Times come these uncut, original reviews of the most popular and influential movies ever made -- from the Talkies to blockbuster megahits like Chicago and The Wizard of Oz; from timeless classics like Casablanca and Notorious, to beloved foreign films by Truffaut and Kurosawa, Fellini and Almodovar. The reviews, eloquent, incisive, and intuitive, reflect Hollywood history at its best -- must-have reading for movie lovers or Students. In addition, this essential volume includes: * Full cast and production credits for every movie * The ''10 Best" lists for every year from 1931 to the present * An index of films by genre, and an index of foreign films by country of origin. This edition is thoroughly updated to include all the important movies of the past several years, as well as a new introduction by A Times film critic, A. O. Scott.

The celebrated Norwegian novelist’s magnum opus, shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, published in one volume for the first time. What makes us who we are? And why do we lead one life and not another? Asle, an ageing painter and widower who lives alone on the southwest coast of Norway, is reminiscing about his life. His only friends are his neighbour, Åsleik, a traditional fisherman-farmer, and Beyer, a gallerist who lives in the city. There, in Bjørgvin, lives another Asle, also a painter but lonely and consumed by alcohol. Asle and Asle are doppelgängers – two versions of the same person, two versions of the same life, both grappling with existential questions about death, love, light and shadow, faith and hopelessness. Jon Fosse’s Septology is a transcendent exploration of the human condition, and a radically other reading experience – incantatory, hypnotic and utterly unique. ‘Jon Fosse is a major European writer.’ – Karl Ove Knausgaard ‘The Beckett of the twenty-first century.’ – Le Monde ‘An extraordinary seven-novel sequence about an old man’s recursive reckoning with the braided realities of God, art, identity, family life and human life itself…the culminating project of an already major career.’ – Randy Boyagoda, New York Times ‘A major work of Scandinavian fiction …Fosse has written a strange mystical moebius strip of a novel, in which an artist struggles with faith and loneliness, and watches himself, or versions of himself, fall away into the lower depths.’ – Hari Kunzru ‘I hesitate to compare the experience of reading these works to the act of meditation. But that is the closest I can come to describing how something in the critical self is shed in the process of reading Fosse, only to be replaced by something more primal. A mood. An atmosphere. The sound of words moving on a page.’ – Ruth Margalit, The New York Review of Books

A Study Guide for "Into the Woods" (lit-to-film), excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Drama for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Drama for Students for all of your research needs.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was one of the most admired astronomers who ever lived and a key figure in the scientific revolution. A defender of Copernicus ́s sun-centred universe, he famously discovered that planets move in ellipses, and defined the three laws of planetary motion. Perhaps less well known is that in 1615, when Kepler was at the height of his career, his widowed mother Katharina was accused of witchcraft. The proceedings led to a criminal trial that lasted six years, with Kepler conducting his mother's defence. In The Astronomer and the Witch, Ulinka Rublack pieces together the tale of this extraordinary episode in Kepler's life, one which takes us to the heart of his changing world. First and foremost an intense family drama, the story brings to life the world of a small Lutheran community in the centre of Europe at a time of deep religious and political turmoil - a century after the Reformation, and on the threshold of the Thirty Years' War. Kepler's defence of his mother also offers us a fascinating glimpse into the great astronomer's world view, on the cusp between Reformation and scientific revolution. While advancing rational explanations for the phenomena which his mother's accusers attributed to witchcraft, Kepler nevertheless did not call into question the existence of magic and witches. On the contrary, he clearly believed in them. And, as the story unfolds, it appears that there were moments when even Katharina's children wondered whether their mother really did have nothing to hide...