This is an extraordinary book. It is written by an author with a first class mind and genuine curiosity about his subject. Whilst one may not agree with all of it, the writing is a delight and he does not shirk dealing with controversial issues such as the influence of homosexuality on the stage and the corrupt financial practices in relation to theatre tickets, etc. Even though it was written for the 1967-1968 season, it still resonates and viewed in retrospect, it provides crucial evidence relative to the aetiology of the culture wars.

William Goldman's groundbreaking book The Season is all it's cracked up to be and more. Though a number of the people he deals with are no longer with us, many of the shows have been forgotten, and the ticket prices are quite a bit higher, it's astonishing how much the Broadway of the late 1960s resembles the Broadway of today. The same problems, the same headaches, the same disappointments, and the same triumphs are all still a part of the Great White Way. No Broadway enthusiast should be without this book; The Season is a stunning history--and current events--lesson on Broadway theatre.

Having lived in New York for so long it's scary how accurate "The Season" is, although written over 30 years ago.

Broadway has become a tourist trap with very little to offer serious theatergoers anymore except spectacle shows.

Each chapter in this book shows how Broadway was crippled with each passing season...and it makes sense that this is what it's come to.

But the book is very funny (especially the chapter on critics where he launches an all-out assault on then-New York Times reporter Clive Barnes) and explains everything you'll ever need to know about how plays and musicals are put together.

Oh, yes: there's plenty of dirt, gossip, anecdotes and name-dropping...Neil Simon, Carl Reiner, Tennessee Williams, David Merrick and NBC Reporter Edwin Newman drop in for cameos.

i miss frank rich's reviews so much. they were brilliant and insightful and funny. i loved re-reading them in this book. i love you frank!

What better way to view 10+ years on Broadway than through the eyes of a theatre critic? The so-called "Butcher of Broadway" has collected a large number of his reviews in this volume, and it is a must-read for anyone who remembers the theatre of the 1980s, or wants to experience it for the first time. Rich's reviews are insightful, well-written, and succeed very often at drawing you into the shows, and making you feel like you are part of the audience. The addition of editorial comments, from a modern day perspective, helps put some of the events his reviews and articles detail into an even greater context. Whether you agree with everything Mr. Rich says or not, there are few better windows into the twelve or so years of New York theatre while he was the theatre critic for The New York Times.

This is one of the best purchases I've made in a long while. I sat up way past my bedtime pouring over this wonderful book. Frank Rich became the NY Times Theatre Critic shortly after I began making annual pilgrimages to NYC and staying abreast of what was happening both on and off-Broadway. Consequently, almost every show I've seen over the years is reviewed somewhere in this book. And how wonderful it is to re-visit some of those cherished experiences through his eye! Reading Rich's reviews of "Dreamgirls", "Amadeus", and "Angels in America" again gave me chills. His reviews of "Moose Murders" and "Carrie" had me laughing out loud. And his review of the 3,389th performance of "A Chorus Line" left me in tears. But more than just these isolated moments, the book as a whole provides a rich, varied overview of the commercial theatre during the last decade and a half, obviously written by a man who loved his job and knew what he was talking about. It's a must!

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.

Buy this book. It's very very cheap. If you stop and visit online book sellers as Alibris or even Abe books, you'll find out that the average price for Hirschfeld's books is 200 dollars. They are all out of print now (except for Hirschfeld Online) and one day, this one will be too. So do yourself a favor: if not because the guy is a genius and the illustrations are all spectacular, buy this book because you are a smart investor.

When my son was seven, he used to eagerly check the arts and leisure section of the Sunday New York Times each weekend to see if there was a new drawing by the "Nina Man". If there was, there would follow an intense exploration of the drawing, usually followed by a crow of delight, "I found the Ninas!" The "Nina Man" is, of course, Al Hirschfeld, still merrily among us at 99, and Nina is the name of is daughter, ingeniously hidden among the pen strokes of whichever person he was caricaturing. Hirschfeld is, purely and simply, a genius; a simple drawing brings out not only a person but a persona. The drawings in the book represent some of the best of his work, which spans six decades; and although the caricatures are named at the foot of the pages, the reader will have a lot of fun not only recognizing who the people are without the help of the captions, but also -- yes -- in searching for and finding the Ninas.

Our family has the fortune of having Frank Finale as a teacher to both our children.

He has done a wonderful job capturing the Jersey Shore for all of its charms and the many artists who live here.

First, the editors of To the Shore Once should be congratulated. They chose 101 drawings, etchings,and paintings from local New Jersey and some national artists. These works of Art complement Mr. Frank Finale's writing in essays, prose and poetry. You, turn the page and you feel like you are at the beach in Spring Lake, Belmar or Manasquan. Even the carrousel of 1950s Asbury Park is represented. As I think of Frank O'Hara's book on Jackson Pollock, To The Shore Once More will become a classic coffee table book for years to come. Art and prose and poetry, what a nice mix. We have Mr. Frank Finale to thank for such a beautiful book this Summer

This book is the libretto for the musical "Falsettos" which is sung entirely, so unless you have the music, the book is incomplete. But for "Falsettos" lovers this is a must have. The music is a bit confusing with a lot of subtext. The book allows you to analyze each character to find the deeper meaning (and believe me, there is a lot of underlined meaning). The best part of the book is that it includes one version of "In Trousers" (which is vertually unavailable in a sound recording). "In Trousers" was the first of the three one-acts written and tells of Marvin's struggle with his sexuality when he was in high school. There are three versions of "In Trousers": the original, the revision, and a combination of both. This version is the combination. Perhaps "In Trousers" is the most insightful of all three shows, although it is the hardest to understand. If you like to analyze scripts, this one is a welcomed challenge. All three deal with the idea of homosexuality and family life. It is a funny, heart warming, heart wrenching story as you follow Marvin's struggle to accept his homosexuality and still maintain a relationship with his young son and (ex)wife. It has good family values and some beautiful ballads. One of my all time favorite musicals. A definite for any musical library.

What has happened to freedom of speech in America? Why are we not publicly and openly debating the self-serving and undeomocratic policies of the Bush administration? Didion, in another fine essay on American life, asks these questions and tries to answer them. This is a fine book for anyone who worries about our nation proceeding out of control in its war for oil and corporate interests. Didion is clear in her concerns about why we have lost our powers of free speech and citizenship. A must read for anyone who cares about this nation.

You will not find wit like this in many books. Besides the great humor it keeps you going. Rich writes a great detective story via the "1940s" attitude in a cynical future. Rich's characters portray a hedonistic society well.

With his first published novel, Rich gives us his mercenary view of the future. Darkly creative. Imaginative and round characters. Effective plot. Booze. Rich's now almost-standard slinky seductress with a bullet size conscious. Magnesium heart. A Bad for you woman and imminently desireable. Plot suitably dynamic. Character driven. The action, based no doubt on Rich's stint as a US Army Ranger and veteran of that hellbroth, Grenada, bursts across the pages like tracer fire into a pitiless darkness. Overall, a seething work of force that will force you to ponder the future relationship between man and machine . . . and slinky femmes fatales wielding hearts of heavy metal.

Marlowe on amphetamines. The entire series is consistantly good and quite addictive. The action never lets up and the flippant repartee is a pleasure to read. Buy one and you'll buy them all. One rarely sees this combination of gunplay and intelligence.

During his reviewing days at The New York Times, Frank Rich's love of the theatre was evident and contagious. Now we learn why: How could he not love an institution that had given him so much solace, excitement and escape when he was growing up? His remembrance of his 1950s childhood and the theatre (mainly musicals) that paralleled that troubled boyhood is special. It has much in common with Moss Hart's "Act One," another autobiography that traces redemption and lifelong devotion to the theatre. Rich's book will resonate most with people who recall musicals that thrilled and with grown-ups who began life in "broken homes" before divorce was as ordinary as an Andrew Lloyd Weber score.

Fifty years ago, legendary playwright and director Moss Hart published an authobiography entitled Act One that instantly became a classic and held its place among the greatest theatrical memoirs ever written. This month, former New York Times Chief Drama Critic Frank Rich published his own story, full of passion, literacy, and wonder, that at once pays homage to Act One and transcends it. Rich has crafted the definitive stagestruck story, and there is no more significant book on growing up in the theatre. Rich's boyhood becomes a spellbinding play, a story that is joyous, crushing, funny, moving, and indelible. Anyone who cares for the American theatre, who has ever been shaken by the pulse of an orchestra begining an overture, who can find in himself even a glimmer of the passion bursting from Rich on every page, must read this book.

I heard this book on audio tape in my car and found myself longing to go to work or do an errand so that I could get to the next chapter of Frank Rich's fabulous memoir.He remembered so many details of his life and presented them in such a candid way, that he endeared himelf to me. We listen to his feelings intenetly because he doesn't hide a thing. His joys and fears are all there and we experience them with him. I felt like I really got to watch him grow up, and I could feel his passion for the theatre grow along the way. I greatly identified with Mr. Rich because I also came from a divorced family with a very difficult stepfather. My only regret with this book is that it ended! I can't wait for the sequel.