eBook - ePub
How to Survive a Killer Musical
Agony and Ecstasy on the Road to Broadway
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
When the young composer-lyricist Douglas Cohen first secured the musical rights to the novel No Way to Treat a Lady by William Goldmanâthe acclaimed author of The Princess Bride and Marathon Manâhe hoped it would be his big break, the first step on a gilt path to artistic triumph and commercial success in the form of a hit Broadway musical.
What happened after that, while memorable, was anything but.
How to Survive a Killer Musical chronicles Cohen's decade-long quest to bring that musical to the stageâwriting, re-writing, and shepherding it across the US and Europe amidst all manner of adversity and plain rotten luck. It's a fascinating portrait of passion, persistence, and resilienceâa coming-of-age story populated with famous mentors and formidable adversaries, told with refreshing honesty and humor.
On Cohen's journey, we meet an unforgettable, vividly rendered cast of characters, including: an Oscar-winning screenwriter who invites Cohen to his personal screening room for a marathon midnight writing session; a Tony Award-winning director making his comeback after a horrific accident renders him a quadriplegic; and a celebrated, volatile British director who inspires a fruitful collaboration in London, only to later leave carnage in his wake. Catastrophes abound, including the near-fatal stabbing of a female lead in rehearsal and an onstage accident incapacitating another leading ladyâleaving only the author to go on in her place!
Whether you're a fan of musicals or just someone who's trying to bring a passion project into the world, this tale of fortitude in the face of obstacles, personalities, and egos will make for an eye-opening and frequently hilarious journey.
What happened after that, while memorable, was anything but.
How to Survive a Killer Musical chronicles Cohen's decade-long quest to bring that musical to the stageâwriting, re-writing, and shepherding it across the US and Europe amidst all manner of adversity and plain rotten luck. It's a fascinating portrait of passion, persistence, and resilienceâa coming-of-age story populated with famous mentors and formidable adversaries, told with refreshing honesty and humor.
On Cohen's journey, we meet an unforgettable, vividly rendered cast of characters, including: an Oscar-winning screenwriter who invites Cohen to his personal screening room for a marathon midnight writing session; a Tony Award-winning director making his comeback after a horrific accident renders him a quadriplegic; and a celebrated, volatile British director who inspires a fruitful collaboration in London, only to later leave carnage in his wake. Catastrophes abound, including the near-fatal stabbing of a female lead in rehearsal and an onstage accident incapacitating another leading ladyâleaving only the author to go on in her place!
Whether you're a fan of musicals or just someone who's trying to bring a passion project into the world, this tale of fortitude in the face of obstacles, personalities, and egos will make for an eye-opening and frequently hilarious journey.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, weâve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere â even offline. Perfect for commutes or when youâre on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access How to Survive a Killer Musical by Douglas J. Cohen in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Theatre. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Authorâs Note
- Prologue
- 1 âYour Friend, William Goldmanâ
- 2 So Far, So Good
- 3 Jack
- 4 âDid Dolly Levi Die in the End?â
- 5 Master Class
- 6 âYou Can Control the Effort, Not the Resultâ
- 7 A Close Call
- 8 A Man Named Vivian
- 9 âAmateurs!â
- 10 âYeshiva Studentâ in Chiswick Church
- 11 âForget It, Jake. Itâs Leatherhead.â
- 12 Michael Corleone Attempts Drag
- 13 I Need a Life
- 14 Big Time in the Bunker
- 15 (Middle) Ground Rules
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Appendix: Listing of Notable Productions