The Street Where I Live [Paperback]

Alan Jay Lerner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 1994

This warm, loving, and often hilarious personal history of My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Gigi describes the cast of a great era in American musical theater: Moss Heart, Fritz Loewe, Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Cecil Beaton, Louis Jourdan, Maurice Chevalier, Leslie Caron, Vincente Minelli, Arthur Freed, and many others... How these people worked together to conceive, finance, write, produce, stage, and present these brilliant shows is detailed here, in one of the most delightful books ever written on the world of Broadway.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan Jay Lerner (1918–1986) wrote lyrics to Brigadoon, Love Life, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, Gigi, and Camelot, among others. He was the author of The Musical Theatre: A Celebration.

From AudioFile

A pure delight. Lerner, a librettist, and his partner, composer Fritz Loewe, were giants of the American musical theater. Together they were responsible for such Broadway hits as BRIGADOON, PAINT YOUR WAGON, MY FAIR LADY, GIGI and CAMELOT. David Case's reading captures Lerner's understated brilliance, wit and sophistication, and provides insight into how much hard work it took to make it all look easy. The listener is transported into a sadly bygone era of magic and grace when giants like Moss Hart, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison ruled the stage. These are cruder times, full of coarser fare, but this audio will leave you humming. "Oh, wouldn't it be lover-ly." M.D.B. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306806029
• ISBN-13: 978-0306806025
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,526,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a superior memoir, October 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Street Where I Live (Paperback)

This is a witty (if occasionally slaphappy), literate, and very readable (difficult to put down) account of the making of three musicals. I doubt, however, that persons not especially interested in the theatre will want to read this. Note also that this is not a conventional autobiography like, say, Richard Rodgers's "Musical Stages": it concerns the circumstances of the author's life only peripherally.

Also recommended: Craig Zadan's "Sondheim & Company" and, for musicians, Jeff Burns's "Pentatonic Scales for the Jazz Rock Keyboardist".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure magic!, April 8, 1998

By 

John Kenrick ([e-mail]) (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Street Where I Live (Paperback)

For anyone who loves Broadway or Hollywood musicals, this book is pure magic. Alan Jay Lerner tells how he came to create his finest works, infusing the text with his signature wit and fascinating insight into human nature. Some of the show business giants of the 50's and 60's make appearances here, and Lerner shares marvelous anecdotes about all of them. MY FAIR LADY, CAMELOT, GIGI -- so many stars, so many songs, so many wonderful stories to tell. The result is a delightfully entertaining read, one that is both funny and filled with the author's love of his life's work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The great lyricist also a master of prose (not a surprise!)., March 6, 2000

By 

Marsha Currie (Middletown, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Street Where I Live (Paperback)

Alan J. Lerner/and his collaborations with Fritz Lowe and Burton Lane are miracles of the 20th century. The circumstances of their coming together in an artistic and social mileux that called for--no yearned for that kind of musical theater--is a story in itself.

Mr. Lerner talks eloquently about these collaborators-and others (some not so succesful), and gives us complete and insightful discussions about the shows for which he has written the lyrics--"just" productions like "My Fair Lady," "Gigi," "Camelot," and others perhaps not as well known.

Mr. Lerner also discusses his own life with great candor--and even greater wit.

This book is an absolute must-have for those interested in The American Musical Theater! I have given it several times as a gift.