At This Theatre [Hardcover]

Louis Botto (Author), Robert Viagas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

This is the ultimate backstage tour of Broadway! AT THIS THEATRE tells the complete history of Broadway in the 20th century, theatre by theatre. This gorgeous book is now updated, revised and with a larger format, covering 1900 to 2001. PLAYBILL's columnist, Louis Botto, along with Robert Viagas, opens the doors and lets readers explore the 40 active Broadway theatres in New York. From the conception and design of the buildings, to their original creators, and on to the theatres' transformation, often under duress, from legitimate houses to vaudeville and Burlesque, to movie houses and then back to their original purpose, this book captures the magical world of Broadway. It is a complete and authoritative history that only Botto, the curator of PLAYBILL's incomparable 116-year-old archives, can tell. Expanded from his popular column in PLAYBILL magazine, AT THIS THEATRE is the biography of those living, breathing buildings we call theatres. In this substantially updated version, Botto includes the histories of all the theatres rescued from the wrecker in the last ten years, including the American Airlines Theatre, Disney's New Amsterdam, and the Lyric and the Apollo, now combined into the Ford Center. AT THIS THEATRE is filled with great stories featuring a cast of characters including Ethel Merman, David Merrick, Katharine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy. And it's also a theatrical spectacle boasting lavish illustrations of posters, programs, and photographs throughout. This is the gift book for every theatre lover on your list, including yourself!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 372 pages
• Publisher: Applause Books; Revised edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557835667
• ISBN-13: 978-1557835666
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #970,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...Worth Every Penny, October 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: At This Theatre (Hardcover)

Author Louis Botto is a master at telling stories of theatre past, present and the future. He's been going to the theatre for the past 65 years and has enough stories to fill the main reading room at the New York Public Library.

The book is full of images of old playbill covers, production photographs and souvenir programs from the shows he discuss. and it is not only great as a reference for what show played which theatre, who starred in the production or how long it lasted; but it's a very interesting read and worth every penny you spend.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Lullaby to Broadway, January 16, 2003

By 

Robert S (New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At This Theatre (Hardcover)

For any theatre fan or history buff, Louis Botto's At This Theatre is an enjoyable and informative collection of colorfully-illustrated chapters chronicling the many productions and personalities playing at the existing theatres which together constitute "Broadway" today, this revised edition covering all current Tony-eligible houses with a history of legitimate productions (plus a few more theatrical venues in New York City), and including a useful index -- something missing from the first edition. One wishes, though, that this hefty volume could be even thicker, but for the many Broadway theatres now gone. However, of those legitimate stages which remain or which have been returned (or are returning) to theatrical glory, this book is an affectionate tribute to a century of plays and musicals on the Broadway stage and the many theatres which house them, some of which have become like a second home to some of us theatregoers. And at a time when corporations and other commercial producers have made it easy for a wary public to be cynical about the crass commercialism which has taken over so much of mainstream culture (including the renaming of some refurbished or rebuilt Broadway theatres), Brian Stokes Mitchell's thoughtful preface reminds us that there is a very human history and a living tradition at these theatres worth knowing and keeping in spite of it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most beautiful theatre book, September 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: At This Theatre (Hardcover)

I bought this book at the BCEFA fair in Shubert Alley and Mr. Botto signed it for me! It's simply the most beautiful theatre book I've ever seen. It really brings back memories. I only wish there was space for me to write in my own stories! And I have plenty!