Making It on Broadway: Actors' Tales of Climbing to the Top (Paperback)

by David Wienir (Author), Jodie Langel (Author) "A love for performing can start at an early age, and often does..." (more)
Key Phrases: closing notice, national tour, New York, Martin Guerre, Miss Saigon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Countering the misperceptions about Broadway performers leading glamorous lives, the words of more than 150 Broadway stars provide unprecedented insight into their struggle for stardom. With an introduction by Jason Alexander and candid interviews with today's most celebrated Broadway stars, this book offers stories to entertain and astonish theater lovers, as well as serve as a sobering reality check for those considering careers on the stage. This book shares firsthand accounts of professional actors' difficult yet fulfilling journeys to Broadway: moving to New York, finding survival jobs, auditioning, landing roles, avoiding pitfalls, forging a family life, and much more.

From the Publisher
MAKING IT ON BROADWAY (Allworth Press) goes beyond the glitz and the glamour to show what really happens both on a Broadway stage and in the personal lives of Broadway actors. In their own words, Jason Alexander, Terrence Mann, Donna Murphy, Lea Salonga, and more than 150 of today’s Broadway performers—including fifty-five Tony Award® winners and nominees—talk candidly about living and working in the new era of the mega-musical.

From first stepping foot in New York City with only a suitcase and a dream, to stepping up to the podium and accepting a Tony Award®, the actors in this book discuss all aspects of their lives and careers. No matter how personal or controversial the topic, they tell it like it is, how it was, and how it’s possibly going to be. Whether it’s paying the rent, maintaining a family, performing eight times a week, or dealing with the "Disneyfication" of Broadway, the contributors to this book handle it all in the same way: with frankness and humor.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press; 1st edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581153465
• ISBN-13: 978-1581153460
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,678 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute must read, April 27, 2004

By	Bryan Jarrett (Houston, TX soon to be NYC) - See all my reviews

For everyone who is in school or training for a career in musical theatre, this book is the priceless information you will receive that a lot of times is not told to you at your school or studio. From the moment I started reading the book I couldnt stop reading. It takes you on an ubelievable journery from the beginning of their lives in this business to where they are now. It is so beautifully crafted. The book is literally story after story, but the way they were streamlined together makes it like one person reciting an autobiography. If there was ever a time that all of the tears of joy and pain from trying to "make it" were combined, it is in this book. It will inspire you to work even harder, not to be a broadway star, but to just work and do what we love. The only reason I put the book down was to run on stage for an entrance, seriously!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, July 21, 2004

By	Morgan Phillips (Savannah, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This is a must-have for anyone who wants to work in the musical theater business on Broadway. At it's best it is uplifting and dreamlike, and it's worst is suicidally depressing. But if you want to get onto the Great White Way, you can't allow yourself to be brought down by fear or depression. This book gives you that knowledge straight from the horse's mouth.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond the Great White Way, July 21, 2004

By	D. Clancy (Portland, Or USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For theatre people or anyone interested in acting this book is a MUST!! It actually is more about making "it" on Broadway. The Great White Way is strewn with many funny, sad stories. These are actors who make a living at their craft. Most of them are not household names but they work primarily in Broadway musicals. This book painfully tells of their youth, their dreams and their struggles. All in their own words.
Some of it is very funny and some is very sad. They express anger at what Broadway has become and tell of the hard work and discipline that is required of them. There are some very amusing anecdotes about things that go horribly awry during a production.
Dave Clemmons tells a very touching and sad story of a little girl who came to see him in "Les Miserables" in Salt Lake City. It has a happy ending but really tugs at your heart strings.
The theatres are old and dirty, and most of the time the pay is not that great. But they do it because they love the theatre. The are all Broadway Babys. Read it, you won't regret one word.