By Judy Samelson
03 Oct 2009

Page through Playbill.com's monthly look at theatre-related books for theatre lovers.

Geniuses of the American Musical Theatre: The Composers and Lyricists
By Herbert Keyser
Published by: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books
Publication Date: October 2009
List price: $29.99 hardcover; 304 pages; illustrated
If you're humming a show tune in your head at this moment, chances are it was written by one of the composers and lyricists about whom musical theatre lover and author Herbert Keyser is passionate. As Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization president and executive director Ted Chapin writes in the Foreword of Keyser's handsome coffee table book, "I have often felt that many of these writers became better than they might have been because the world in which they were operating was filled with contemporaries who were their equals or better. Keyser calls them 'geniuses,' and while the artists themselves might object to that moniker, Keyser makes a good case for his use of his chosen word." The genius-laden table of contents lists chapters on Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Hoagy Carmichael, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Howard Dietz, Edward "Duke" Ellington, Dorothy Fields, George Gershwin, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Jerry Herman, John Kander and Fred Ebb, Jerome Kern, Alan Jay Lerner, Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Stephen Sondheim, Charles Strouse, Jule Styne, Thomas "Fats" Waller, Harry Warren, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kurt Weill, Meredith Willson and Vincent Youmans. Whew! Though taste in musical theatre, as in most areas of life, is subjective, it would be difficult to argue with that list. Each chapter is an informally written yet detailed biography of the musical greats that have moved the author in his lifetime of theatregoing, delving "below the surface," notes the publisher, "to see what made them tick and to uncover the secrets of their success — as well as the personal foibles that sometimes led to their downfall." Illustrating these varied stores are publicity photos, candid shots of the artists at work, album jackets and sheet music.

Ira Gershwin: Selected Lyrics
Edited by Robert Kimball
Published by: The Library of America
Publication Date: October 2009
List price: $20 hardcover; 189 pages
While the aforementioned coffee table tome is perhaps not something you'd want to tote around on your daily travels, Robert Kimball's "Ira Gershwin: Selected Lyrics" is likewise chock full of genius yet compact enough to slip in a pocket or slide into your backpack (think how stylish and sophisticated you'll look when you pull it out to peruse on the R train). American musical theatre historian Kimball's previous, more exhaustive studies include "The Gershwins" (with Alfred Simon) and "Reading Lyrics" (with Robert Gottlieb) as well as volumes devoted to the complete lyrics of Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Frank Loesser. But "Ira Gershwin: Selected Lyrics" is exactly that. Lyrics and nothing but lyrics — save for an entertaining Introduction in which Kimball reprints Gershwin's brief, tongue-in-cheek, never-before-published account of "how the lyrics [of a show or film] are written." The collaboration of Ira Gershwin and his brother George produced some of the theatre and American popular music's most fascinating rhythms. The wit, eloquence and, above all, romance of a Gershwin lyric are on full display in this slim volume that includes "I Got Rhythm," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "'S Wonderful," "I've Got a Crush on You," "Nice Work If You Can Get It," and "They Can't Take That Away from Me," among dozens of others. As the publisher notes so appropriately inquire: "Who could ask for anything more?"

The Play That Changed My Life: America's Foremost Playwrights on the Plays That Influenced Them
Edited by Ben Hodges
Published by: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books
Publication Date: Oct. 15, 2009
List price: $18.99 softcover; 224 pages
The American Theatre Wing, perhaps most famous as the creator of the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards (bestowed annually in partnership with The Broadway League), presents this collection of essays written by some of America's most distinguished playwrights. Edited by Ben Hodges ("Theatre World"), the essayists focus on how they were inspired, enlightened and influenced by what they saw on stage. As the Wing's executive director Howard Sherman notes, "Eighteen years ago, I read a film book with a similar title to ours and was disappointed because the essays weren't by filmmakers, but rather by essayists recalling their youth through films. I decided back then that if I ever had the opportunity, I would see to it that theatre got its own book with this theme — but one that would tell us about playwrights' formative influences in their own words." Among the contributors are Edward Albee, who writes of a 1935 visit to NYC's Hippodrome Theatre to see Jimmy Durante (and elephant) in Rodgers and Hart's Jumbo, Diana Son's account of her 12th-grade trip to see Diane Venora play Hamlet at The Public Theater in 1983, David Henry Hwang's tale of his encounter with a production of Peter Shaffer's Equus in San Francisco and Beth Henley, whose young eyes were opened after seeing her mother in a "Green Bean Man costume." The other playwrights who offered revealing, personal stories are Jon Robin Baitz, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Horton Foote, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, John Patrick Shanley, David Auburn, Charles Fuller, A.R. Gurney, Tina Howe, David Ives, Donald Margulies, Sarah Ruhl, Regina Taylor and Doug Wright. With an Introduction by playwright Paula Vogel, this book is filled with memories and insight from some of our most provocative storytellers.

I've Slept With Everybody: A Memoir
By Sondra Lee
Published by: BearManor Media
Publication Date: August 2009
List price: $19.95 softcover; 194 pages, illustrated
The mildly racy, attention-grabbing title of this book is a bit misleading, though it is not without some intriguing tales of marriages and romantic flings, notably with a young and beautiful Marlon Brando. But mostly this memoir by actress, dancer, director, teacher Sondra Lee is a plain-spoken, breezy run-through of her nearly 50-year career on stage (High Button Shoes, Peter Pan and Hello, Dolly!, among others) and in films ("La Dolce Vita"). In her Introduction, Ms. Lee writes about taking her cue for her memoir from a cardboard box filled to overflowing with letters, photos and clippings, each recording a different stage of her life and career. Indeed, reading her stories is akin to slowly turning the pages of a well-worn scrapbook. The short chapters — vignettes, really — contain brief word pictures and anecdotes about what it was like to work with the likes of Jerome Robbins, Ben Hecht, Mary Martin, Cyril Ritchard, Carol Channing, Stella Adler, Jane Fonda, Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Carmen de Lavallade and Fellini, among others. "I truly understand," she writes in one chapter, "that I belong to the active part of the theatre that produced the last of the great legends — Ethel Merman, Gertrude Lawrence, Mary Martin, Yul Brynner — these were great Broadway stars, musical theatre stars. . . . They didn't have TV where you're on one night and the by the next morning everyone knows you. They became more than Broadway stars, for audiences all over the United States saw them perform live and loved them. Yes, it was a different time. The passion, the determination, the bravery. You rarely see it anymore in the same way." Evident in every word is Lee's own passion for the theatre and an appreciation — and not a little nostalgia — for her formative years in it. Continued...

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