A question for all DRs, although I look forward to BK's answer in particular:
What non-fiction book about the theater or film have you most enjoyed, and/or would you most recommend to someone?
Good morning, all! I have to work quite hard today to finish the chart for the session on Monday. I've promied the conductor the copyists will have it tomorrow, and I've got about 23 pages of scoring to do, once I finish the arranging.
DRSWW, my all-time favorite theatre books are these:
A THEATRE DIVIDED by Martin Gottfried
THE SEASON by William Goldman
Musical Theatre:
ORCHESTRATION FOR THE THEATRE by Francis Collinson
BETTER FOOT FORWARD by Ethan Mordden before he crowned himself
NOT SINCE CARRIE by Ken Mandelbaum
SONDHEIM AND CO. by Craig Zadan
Biography
ACT ONE by Moss Hart
GYPSY by Gypsy Rose Lee
DANCE TO THE PIPER by Agnes DeMille
Of film books, I've read little in recent times. I liked the book on the making of the film "Nashville," but I found the last book on "All About Eve" marred because the author may know about movies but he knew next to nothing about the New York commercial theatre of the late 40s and early 50s, much less "grand" acting like that of Katherine Cornell, Gertrude Lawrence and others. I liked David Skal's book on horror films and his book on Dracula from original novel to present. I laughed myself silly at Dennis Hensley's SCREENING PARTY and its caistic look at some sacred and not-so-sacred cows.
And so, to work.