Broadway Book List: 12 Great Titles for the Theater Lover in Your Life This Holiday Season
Looking for a great new book to get the theater geek in your life this holiday season? We've got some suggestions for you. Check these out below and see what piques your interest.
I. Broadway Companion Books
Jagged Little Pill
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Alanis Morissette's album, as well as the Tony nominated Broadway musical by Diablo Cody, this coffee table book takes you behind the scenes at the show's creation and contains a full annotated script. Purchase here.
American Utopia
Artist Maira Kalman brings the lyrics of former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne to live in this new book, which is inspired by the curtain drawings Kalman created for the Broadway production. Purchase here.
Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown
Tony winner Anaïs Mitchell takes readers through the creation journey of Hadestown, providing stories and looks at early and cut lyrics, plus annotations for the show's full set of lyrics. Purchase here.
On The Roof: A Look Inside Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish
Cast member Samantha Hahn provides a highly detailed look at life backstage at the recent Yiddish-language revival of Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Joel Grey. Purchase here.
II. Novels and Memoirs
Homeland Elegies
Pulitzer-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar (Disgraced) personal new work blends fact and fiction to tell the story of a father, a son, and a post-9/11 United States. Purchase here.
Lot Six
Playwright David Adjmi (3C, Stunning) explores growing up as a Syrian Jew in 1970s Brooklyn, and how he made the decision to reinvent himself, cutting off his family in the process. Purchase here.
I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend cocreator and star Rachel Bloom pens this new collection of essays and poems about fame, insecurity, anxiety, her love of Disney, and more. Purchase here.
The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad
Mike Birbiglia adapts his Broadway show and shares his excitement and fears about becoming a father for the first time. Purchase here.
III. Theater History
From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theater
Author Carey Purcell explores the evolution of the feminist voice onstage through the works of artists ranging from Aphra Behn to Young Jean Lee, while questioning the idea of what makes a theatrical work feminist. Purchase here.
Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway
Gossip columnist Michael Riedel recounts the origin stories of shows like Sunset Boulevard, Rent, and Angels in America in this new book about evolution of Broadway in the 1990s, and how the industry came together to save itself after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Purchase here.
Macbeth in Harlem: Black Theater in America from the Beginning to Raisin in the Sun
Historian Clifford Mason chronicles the Black experience on stage and the ways African-American performers fought to carve out a space for their voice at a time when dramas usually relied on stereotypes. Purchase here.
Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder's Our Town in the 21st Century (to be published January 28)
Howard Sherman compiles a series of oral histories of various recent productions of this Thornton Wilder classic, providing backstage glimpses at the David Cromer staging, the Paul Newman Broadway revival, and a Grover's Corners created inside Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Preorder here.
