Facing the Music: a Broadway memoir

by David Loud

Musical Director and arranger David Loud, a legendary Broadway talent, recounts his wildly entertaining and deeply poignant trek through the wilderness of his childhood and the edge-of-your-seat drama of a career on, in, under, and around Broadway for decades. He reveals his struggle against the ravages of Parkinson's and triumphs repeatedly. This memoir is also a remarkable love letter to music. Loud is the 'Ted Lasso' of the theater business, ever the optimist. An inspiration to all!



“‘Music has consequences,’ a wise teacher once told a young David Loud; so does a story well-told and a life fully-lived. I lost count of how many times I laughed, cried, and laugh-cried reading this wonderful, wry, intimate, and inspiring book. David wields a pen like he wields a baton, with perfect timing, exquisite phrasing, and enormous heart.”
— David Hyde Pierce, actor, Frasier, Spamalot, Curtains

“Beautifully written, filled with vivid details, braided with love and loss and wit and the perspective of someone with an utterly unique story to tell."
-- Lynn Ahrens, lyricist, Ragtime, Once on This Island, Anastasia

“Luminous and surprising, an extremely honest memoir of a life lived in the world of Broadway musicals, by one of the theatre’s most gifted conductors. I can’t think of another book quite like it.”
-- John Kander, composer, Cabaret, Chicago, New York, New York

Unforgettably entertaining and emotionally revealing, Loud is pitch-perfect as he describes his path to the podium, from a stage-struck kid growing up at a school devoted to organic farming and mountain climbing, to the searing formative challenges he faces during adolescence, to the remarkable behind-the-scenes stories of his Broadway trials and triumphs. Skilled at masking his fears, Loud achieves his dream until one fateful opening night, when in the midst of a merry, dressing room celebration, he can no longer deny reality and must suddenly, truly, face the music.

Genres: Theatre, Memoir

288 pages, Hardcover

Published March 22, 2022

Reviews

[Caleb Hoyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I've worked with David Loud on a few occasions. But I swear that even if I didn't know him the tiny bit that I do professionally, I would have been blown away by this memoir. Anyone would come away from it feeling like they know him and finding themselves admiring him. The formative experiences of his life are related here with such humor, intelligence, and honesty. He captures so many facets of a life in the arts with vivid accuracy, from what it's like to be at the vortex of three interacting groups while conducting a Broadway show to the thrill of creating something new in a room with like-minded and supportive artists to the joy of what it means to play the piano and the struggle of how to balance work that is also a life's passion with actual life itself. Only by expressing fully the value of the artistic life he's led does his battle and acceptance with a disease that inevitably spells a drastic change in how that life is lived carry its full dramatic weight. I think even those who don't work in the theater will find much to relate to, learn about, and enjoy in this touching and brave memoir.

[Franca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this memoir. The writing is humble and entertaining - with just enough detail. I was impressed with how well Mr. Loud could use words to convey musical ideas. I’ve had just enough exposure to Broadway musicals, and music in general, to follow his descriptions around the make up of the scores and songs. Thanks to the internet, I also had the option to find particular pieces he was describing. Same goes for the actors and other people he mentioned along the way.

This memoir is about living a life buoyed by passion. Everyone must endure what life throws at you but it seems that Mr. Loud’s passion for music and musical theatre carried him through and past many hardships and disappointments. I’m glad he wrote this book and that I was able to read it. Thank you, David.

[Chase Hackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and moving memoir from boarding school to Broadway. I loved this.

[Ava Hayslip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I DID IT! I FINALLY FINISHED IT!
So so fabulous. Def recommend ESPECIALLY if you’re a theatre nerd like me.

[PB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, love this book!

[Gretchen Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this masterpiece because I have the honor to have the author as my teacher at school. Learning about his wonderful life and brilliant experiences was a lovely way to get to know more about my teacher's life. With humor sprinkled in throughout, this book is a wonderful tale of Broadway business and the up and downs that come along with it. You really get an inside look into the life of a performer and creator in the business and shows both the glitz and the glamor as well as the rough patches that come along with it. It also dives into the personal challenges that come with balancing life and show biz. For anyone with aspiring hopes of being a performer, this book is a must about someone who knows everyone and has truly overcome some of the steepest mountains and come out stronger on the other side.

[Kc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, my favorite book of the last year. Because I've served my own time in the theater, David Loud's memoir brought back many memories for me. It's wonderfully written - funny and moving and wise. And his descriptions of audition rooms, rehearsal halls, and stages - and the various folk who inhabit them during a show's run - are delightful and spot on. One of my favorite lines is his description of the view from the conductor's podium, "listening, leading, following." Thank you, Mr. Loud, for this lovely, loving gift.

[Tim Pinckney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's a valentine to the theatre and the magic of collaboration and everything it makes possible. It's also a story of incredible strength, honesty, courage and love. Reading this is like talking with David, which is is always a slice of heaven. He's so smart and so funny and really knows how to spin a yarn!

Get it. Read it.

[madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book 6 out of 5 stars if I could. Maestro Loud is my teacher at school, and you could call me biased, but this book was seriously superb. It was funny, moving, intriguing, and incredibly inspiring to me. I cried all over the pages- start to finish! A beautiful love letter to musical theatre and a inspiring portrait of courage and perseverance❤️

[Peter Adamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great companion piece to David Loud’s memoir, though more personal and less bitchy.

Less Sondheim than Loud but more Kander & Ebb.

Curious that he spends very little time on RAGTIME other than to tell us how awful Garth Drabinsky was/is, which is hardly revelatory.

“I’m on the SHOWBOAT, sailor!” will be a line I use until the end of my time on Earth.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir was written in a conversational style that’s easy to follow. While not lyrical, poetic, or daring, it is moving at times and illuminates the ups and downs of trying to make it on Broadway (and succeeding, which can still be bittersweet). Probably need to be pretty interested in theater to really enjoy this book; I am, and had seen a number of shows he worked on.

[James Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fantastic memoir

My friend, David Loud, has written the story of his Broadway life. David and his brilliant gifts as one of Broadway’s premier musical directors, is told with a sense of gratitude and love for this business we call “show.” It’s a MUST READ!🎶
,

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Broadway memoir up there with the great ones: Moss Hart, Ted Chapin. David Loud is not just a brilliant musical director; he is also a great writer. I laughed out loud and teared up a few times reading Facing the Music. It would make a great audiobook.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read; not too dense. I enjoyed the parts about how the musical theatre sausage is made more than the personal memoir stuff, with the exception of the author’s journey with Parkinson’s, which he wrote about movingly. Highlight was the story of how And the World Goes ‘Round was put together.

[Gary Seigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this memoir.

[Judy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best memoirs I have EVER read. Thank you, David Loud! What a life! I laughed, I cried, a lot!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super interesting read, especially for those who love the Broadway Musical.

[V. Briceland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pitch-perfect memoir of a lifetime's musical artistry in the theater. No notes.

(Well, one note. I did find it curious how very little Loud was willing to share about his experiences in the pit either with Ragtime or the revival of Porgy & Bess.)

[Reed Grubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful memoir. The narration is easy to follow, filled with humor, tugging of heartstrings, etc. I highly recommend!

[Mazie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really lovely well-written memoir from a Broadway conductor, music director, arranger, etc. As a fellow music director I loved the book and wanted more and more stories of music directing and working on different projects with different actors/artistic teams. I really enjoyed reading it.

[Amy Gingrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a lover of Broadway musicals, you will enjoy and appreciate this story and all of the people mentioned in it. David Loud is a gifted musician whose name may not be on the tip of every Broadway audience member but if you know what goes on in rehearsal, development, and the orchestral pit, you know how important his work is and has been to the Broadway stage.