This glorious book is not only visually stunning, but thoroughly researched and extremely well written. The author offers not only a true portrait of the artist and the man, but also a comprehensive look at American theater and scene design in the 20th Century. Amazingly, it is also a good read. Any potential subject of a biography can only wish for a book this good. For anyone interested in the theater, this book is truly a must-have.

Mary Henderson has given us an invaluable insight in the world of Jo Mielziner. So often the names of creative people who ensure that a production "works" are never known or easily forgotten by the viewing audience. The set and lighting designs of Mielziner for plays and shows like A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, South Pacific, etc. were considered brilliant and groundbreaking by the theatre world of his time. Mielziner also greatly influenced modern stage design (the East Room stage in the White House and the Denver Center Theatre, for example) and with his art and creative insight put his unique stamp on the world of modern theatre until this day. An overview of his work was long overdue. But Mary Henderson has given us far more than that. She has given us Jo Mielziner, the person, by providing fascination facts and photographs of Jo's private life. The many colorful prints of his designs and the enjoyable flow of the text make this book a "must have" and a wonderful gift for anyone interested in the history of 20th century theatre.

Wow!!! Ms. Henderson has written an amazing book. Not only does it have the most beautiful color reproductions of Mielziner's work I've ever seen and in profusion, but she has also written a rich and detailed biography of Jo Mielziner.

I had been waiting for this book, but it exceeded all expectations. It is a invaluable history of modern American Stage Design, covering all the important personalities in fascinating detail, tracing the artistic progression and growth of American theater.

Anyone with an interest in American Theater in the 20th Century will benefit and be informed by this book. Her breadth of knowledge is astonishing and her digressions into side alleys are always informative and fascinating. She uses facts and figures to illuminate the shifting perspectives of the "business" of Broadway. And her analysis of design trends are intelligent and enlightening. (I would only quibble with her overly positive view of Mielziner's Architectural consulting.)

As a picture book it's great! As a biography it is marvelous! As a history of 20th Century Broadway Theater it is a must have.

This is the most beautiful book I own. I had been to the New Amsterdam in its most painful days. At this time I saw Mondo Cane and would not sit down it was such a flea bag theatre. It was a historical sight...Ziegfeld Folies et al. I really felt sad as I stood there feeling the greatness that had passed; at the time I felt... forever. Disney has brought the theatre and the feeling back. I witnessed this with my viewing of LION KING. What I felt had been lost forever can be seen in this wonderful book. The pictures before and after make one feel that nothing is impossible. The beauty that had decayed and looked irreversable has been accomplished and this book, and this theatre stand as testaments to what can be accomplished. Anyone who has walked into a theatre and felt the past rekindle will love to read this inspiring book. This book shows the cycle of a wonderful theatre and all that it was and lost and then saved. It symbolizes the rise and fall of 42nd Street as well as one beautiful theatre. This book will for once and for all show what a thetare can be and fall to and rise above. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in Theatres anywhere and what they should symbolize to all of us.

This book offers an excellent overview of the New Amsterdam Theater from the beginning through the recent renovation with discussions of the architecture of the building, the decorative artwork and of course a history of shows that have played at the theater from the beginning.

Do you know a theater buff who deserves the perfect gift this holiday season? Disney's Hyperion has just released the ideal book for anyone who loves the theater: The New Amsterdam: The Biography of a Broadway Theatre.

The book is as striking as New York's famed and recently refurbished New Amsterdam Theatre. Opening from the center to reveal the main stage framed by delicate murals and art nouveau decorations, the book is brimming with pictures. It begins with decades old photographs and sketches that depict the grace and splendor of the theater when it opened in 1903 and concludes with before-and-after pictures demonstrating the care and effort that went into the building's restoration.

This book does not simply tell the story of the rise, fall, and rebirth of the Broadway landmark, it recounts the history of American theater as it passed over the stage of the New Amsterdam. From the Ziegfeld Follies to Fred Astaire to Jack Benny to Disney's recent staging of King David, the New Amsterdam welcomed America's most famous and talented performers. The New Amsterdam: The Biography of a Broadway Theatre makes this history come alive with photos of movie posters, actors, sets, and costumes.

Disney is to be commended for committing their resources to the painstaking and comprehensive restoration project that has saved the New Amsterdam from its undeserved fate as a forgotten and abandoned relic from Broadway's' glamourous past. They can also be congratulated for offering this remarkable book that preserves and shares 94 years of America's artistic heritage.

This is an excellent textbook. The explanations are very clear. I plan to use it this fall in some tech math courses I am teaching.

There are all kinds of theatre history books out there, and then...there is Theater In America: 250 Years of Plays, Players, and Productions, by Dr. Mary C. Henderson. This book is awesome. And definitely a must for ANYone dedicated to or in love with theatre...especially the history of American Theatre history. Our theatre expresses everything we are. Just in the short amount of time we have been a country, we have generated a wealth of theatre history, to be found within the pages of this lavish book. It is HUGE...352 pages of wonderful photographs and very interesting text. Dr. Henderson doesn't just take us from the early days of our country's theatre history to the present in one swoop...no, the wealth of material is divided up into sections, each focusing on an important aspect of theatre history. The first section is devoted to Producers, followed by Playwrights, Directors and Choreographers, Actors, Designers-a section devoted to Scenery, Costumes, and Lighting, then Architects, and Beyond Broadway-which looks at Off-Broadway and theatre companies across America. The final section is a concise Chronology that takes us from 1750 to 1990, listing well-known producers, playwrights, designers, actors, and architects. The amount of research that had to go into this is incredible. What I have enjoyed most are all the amusing anecdotes about the colorful people who make up our theatre history...and do we ever have some colorful people in American Theatre history! I strongly recommend this fine book, not only for theatre lovers or history lovers, but for lovers of lavish coffee table books too...Theater In America delivers.