Showstopper (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Abigail Pogrebin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"The good news is, you're all in the show." These words, uttered by famed theatrical director Hal Prince, changed Abigail Pogrebin's life. At the tender age of 16, along with a then 21-year old Jason Alexander, she was cast in the Stephen Sondheim production, Merrily We Roll Along--notable as the only flop in the legendary composer’s otherwise beloved repertoire, which includes the award-winning musicals Into the Woods, Follies, Sweeney Todd, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The theories as to why this particular project didn't roll merrily along are addressed in Pogrebin’s introspective Kindle Single, but more than that, it examines the complex relationship between the practical and the passionate self, the realist and the dreamer, and the importance of those moments in life that make you feel "airborne." Forgive me for the pun, but this Single is a true 'Showstopper.' --Erin Kodicek

Product Description

Showstopper is journalist and book author Abigail Pogrebin's account of being cast, at the young age of 16 (along with a then 21-year old Jason Alexander), in Stephen Sondheim's muscial "Merrily We Roll Along," the only flop in Sondheim's storied career. It's a still a mystery, and a much debated topic, among theater enthusiasts as to why "Merrily We Roll Along" flopped, especially since Sondheim's other productions, which include "Into the Woods," "Follies," "Sweeney Todd," and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," have been so endearing and extraordinarily successful. In this Kindle Single, Pogrebin muses on why the show didn't get off the ground at the same time that she takes the reader on passionate, introspective journey, examining the importance of this very special moment in her life.

Abigail Pogrebin is the author of Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish (Broadway Books 2007), and One And The Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I've Learned About Everyone's Struggle to Be Singular (Doubleday 2009). Pogrebin has written for many national publications, and has produced for Mike Wallace at "60 Minutes." She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 212 KB
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0053TD1CM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,245 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #25 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Arts & Entertainment > Theater > Acting & Auditioning

More About the Author

Abigail Pogrebin, is the author of Stars of David (Broadway 2005) and One and the Same (Doubleday 2009). She was a producer for Fred Friendly, Charlie Rose, and Bill Moyers at PBS, then for Ed Bradley and Mike Wallace at 60 Minutes. She has written for many publications, including New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, Harper's Bazaar, Salon, Good Housekeeping, Huffington Post, Parents, Radar, Brill's Content, and Talk Magazine. She is the moderator of an interview series at The JCC in Manhattan called "What Everyone's Talking About."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep An Eye On Your Dreams..., June 3, 2011

By 

David Cady (NYC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Showstopper (Kindle Single) (Kindle Edition)

As an original cast member, I can attest to the fact that everything here is true. Being in the show was a formative experience, to say the least: thrilling and heartbreaking in equal measure. With clarity, eloquence and tremendous insight, Abby has captured what the "Merrily" adventure was like, and how it's impacted all of us who were lucky enough to have been there. For those who were not, this is absolutely, positively the next best thing. Thanks, Abby, it's a great read.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Me and you, kid, me and you", June 5, 2011

By 

Rett01 - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Showstopper (Kindle Single) (Kindle Edition)

"Merrily We Roll Along," the Stephen Sondheim / Harold Prince musical more talked and written about than performed or listened to, opened Nov. 16, 1981 and closed just 15 performances later.

Abigail Pogrebin was one of the 28 original cast members. Although the past, to Pogrebin, "feels very much like it's passed," the 30th anniversary of the production later this year is reason enough to reminisce and reflect on how Sondheim's show about aiming high and falling hard has informed her life.

Pogrebin takes us backstage during the musical's genesis, as it progressed from "promising to plagued." There were too many characters to keep straight, the cast had teenagers portraying wizened, world-weary adults. As she says, the "pathos wasn't registering." There were song and cast changes, costume overhauls, the choreographer was let go. More and more, rehearsals became "less jubilant and more sober." After opening night, the critics and particularly Frank Rich in the "New York Times, dealt a mortal blow, Rich calling the cast "dead wood."

Today the musical has become a cult favorite but is still most often remembered in the mainstream for the standard "Not a Day Goes By." In 1981 Pogrebin was a 16-year-old. Auditioning, getting a part - in the ensemble - rehearsing she became part of a team that became a family of troopers who remained in contact and assembled again in 2002 for a one-night special reunion concert.

Pogrebin, now in her 40s, went on to become a successful journalist. Her experience with "Merrily" remains one of the defining moments of her life. The show's last song, "Our Time," has the line "Years from now, we'll remember and we'll come back."

Looking back now, she remembers her part in the show as a moment in her life when she "felt airborne." Her heartfelt memoir, more than anything, succeeds in capturing a special time in her life and a singular moment in musical theater history.

[4.5 stars]

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT!, June 3, 2011

By 

F.S. Fitzgerald "Book Fan" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Showstopper (Kindle Single) (Kindle Edition)

This book is a rare gem, a well-written inside look at what it's like to live the dream: being in a Sondheim show on Broadway. But this exceptional book is also so much more: a thought-provoking exploration on the loss of innocence. I devoured it! A must read.