Present at the Creation, Leaping in the Dark, and Going Against the Grain: 1776, Pippin, M. Butterfly, La Bete, & Other Broadway Adventures

by Stuart Ostrow

"Producer Stuart Ostrow's manifesto of how intelligent life might be restored to the theatre is also a unique personal memoir of the producer - creator relationship and an evaluation of the essentials that can make a show fly, or remain earthbound." He riffs about the heroes and heels he's met along the way and that great cast includes Frank Loesser, Meredith Willson, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, Bob Fosse, David Geffen, Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Henry Hwang, John Kander, Fred Ebb, and many more.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books about the creation of musicals are some of my favorite, so I feel a little biased in how interesting I found this work. Ostrow touches on many moments throughout his career, with the result that often I found myself wanting to know more about each show that was discussed.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ostrogoths makes some great points and spills some good tea and proposes interesting solutions if his ideas are not always clearly laid out.