Here is the equivalent of a full library on theatrical production, all between the covers of a single volume. Clearly and concisely, but with the rich understanding and enthusiasm that come from long association with the theatre, it covers every step in the mounting of a play, from the time the director selects a script to the moment the curtain goes up on opening night.

The Complete Play Production Handbook makes an ideal introduction to the world of the theatre; teachers especially, from elementary school to college, will find it helpful in staging plays of every sort. At the same time, the handbook's thorough treatment, broad coverage, and extensive appendixes (including a guide to suppliers of theatrical equipment and a glossary of technical terms) make this an invaluable reference work for almost anyone involved in any capacity-director, actor, or stagecrew member-in the hundreds of thousands of dramatic productions that are put on each year by little theatres, community theatres, and summerstock companies.

This book provides specific, detailed answers to the many questions that trouble any group seeking to bring a play to life. It tells how to read a play and understand the playwright's intentions; how the director and actors can invigorate the play through their handling of dialogue, movement, and business; and how the arts of scene design, lighting design, costuming, and makeup can be meshed to enhance the production. It also tells how to avoid the alltoo-common pitfalls of amateur productions: a play that is badly chosen, either for the performers or for the audience; a play that is misinterpreted, or not interpreted at all; a play that is so obviously miscast that the dramatic values are distorted; a play that is so badly staged that the action cannot be followed; a play that is ruined by poor scenery, lighting, or costumes, or one that fails because the different members of the theatrical team have not agreed on a common goal.

Here are the fundamentals of directing and acting lucidly explained, with line drawings and photographs of actual productions to illustrate key concepts and techniques, from the composition of the stage picture by the director to the proper handling by the actor of. crosses and turns. Here, too, is a wealth of detailed information on building and painting sets; on properties and special effects; on costumes and makeup; and on house management, promotion, and ticket sales. The proper protocol for the conduct of casting sessions and rehearsals; formulas for mixing stage paints; the making of ground plans, light plots, and prop plots; the necessary contents of a makeup kit and their application; poster design, ticket printing, and box-office procedures-these are only a few of the many topics covered. The Complete Play Production Handbook gives specific "how to" answers to all the many questions that the members of any theatrical group must solve if their audiences-and if they themselvesare to find their productions rewarding. It is essential reading for every member of the theatrical team.

The Great Merlini tackles locked rooms and murderers who are themselves already dead in this Golden Age mystery featuring an ex-magician who runs a shop selling illusions to others while explaining other's illusions that hide murder. Best enjoyed if you let yourself be taken along on the ride.

"Death From a Top Hat" has been called a great first novel. For fans of locked-room mysteries, author Clayton Rawson does indeed offer a feast. The book features two locked-room murders and pays homage to the master of the impossible crime, John Dickson Carr, by containing a discussion of the sort found in Carr's "The Three Coffins."

The book, one of the "Golden Age" mysteries, features the Great Merlini as the man who solves the crimes. Merlini is a magician and Rawson's frequent protagonist. When a magician is found dead inside his locked and thoroughly sealed apartment, police call in Merlini to help explain the impossible. The suspects, however, are all magicians, and any one of them probably could have come up with several ways of achieving the effect. Before all is said and done, Rawson gives a fascinating look at the world of magic and misdirection. Fans of contemporary mysteries might not be happy with the lack of character development, of which there is almost none. But for those who like their mysteries to be baffling conundrums, this book is a must-read.

Rawson -- now pretty much forgotten -- was a magician and wrote 4 locked room mystery novels. The writing is par for the course with such things but the ingenuity matches John Dickson Carr's (OK, nothing matches Carr's story the House in Goblin Woood. But these come close).

Written in the florid style of its time, this book is fun to read if you don't take it too seriously. A good introduction to the Great Merlini, who is featured in three other mysteries, the best of which is No Coffin for the Corpse.

and the only reason I do not give it five stars is that the ending should have been different (it was not who it should have been!!!). The characters were well drawn, with the protagonist, Merlini the Magician, the best of all. The tale takes place at a roving circus and there are plenty of potential suspects and very interesting characters. Most of them have motives and the plot moves very smoothly. In addition, the author obviously knows plenty about the circus as the story is filled with inside lingo and terms which are explained in footnotes that actually add to the story. A bit of humor (bumbling cops), and a few red herrings make this a page turner. However, the ending, while certainly plausible - and backed up with notations relating to previous pages in the narrative - somewhat came from left field. I would say more but it would ruin the end. Anyway, great characters, a great setting, lots of fun, this is a good read for any mystery lover....

If I recall correctly, this was the second of Clayton Rawson's four detective novels featuring The Great Merlini, a famous magician, as a crime-solver, and it has many of the same persons as the first one, Death from a Top Hat. Rawson's great idea was that the locked-room mysteries were a sort of magic tricks, so what would be more natural than having a magician as a detective?

I found this novel very funny, fast-moving and enjoyable to read, as long as you didn't take it very seriously (as the name implies, murderer seems to have left footprints in the ceiling!). What was disappointing, was the actual solutions to several mysteries the book had to offer. They all seemed either too far-fetched or too simple.

However, I would recommend this and other Rawson's books (especially to already-mentioned Death from a Top Hat) to all the fans of humoristic locked-room mysteries in the style of John Dickson Carr/Carter Dickson (whose great admirer and friend Rawson was).