Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“To know how it ends, and still begin to sing it again as if it might turn out this time”

Working On A Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown by Anais Mitchell

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BINGO – Flora Anais Mitchell has been very, very busy over the last ten years. Her journey began with writing a folk opera album based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice while touring with Bon Iver. The culmination of this journey is Broadway production Hadestown that garnered 14 Tony Award nominations and 8 wins including one for Mitchel for Best Original Score. Getting to that point was not easy or quick. In Working On A Song Mitchell walks through the various stages of each song […]

Song and Dance, Man

The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built by Jack Viertel

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Let me preface this review by saying that I think Broadway is cool, but I’m not a Broadway fanatic. The musicals that I’ve seen include: Mean Girls, Hamilton, Wicked, Les Mis (London), Legally Blonde, and I think Beauty and the Beast. Very touristy choices, I know. However, I was so legitimately impressed by all of them. The creativity in the sound, staging, and lighting in particular are unlike anything in music or movies. So I’m a respectful barbarian when it comes to Broadway. Viertel’s Secret […]

It Just Wasn’t Enough

Too Much is Not Enough by Andrew Rannells

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Andrew Rannells’ memoir walks you through his young life starting out in the Omaha theater scene, up through his move to New York for college, his subsequent drop out and struggle with finding himself and his place in show business and all of the lessons he learned along the way. It stops just short of his rise as a Broadway star in his most known role of Elder Price in Book of Mormon. You go through a few heartbreaks, and then you realize that maybe […]

Not too many “secrets” but enjoyable nonetheless.

The Secret Life of the American Musical by Jack Viertel

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#CBR11Bingo – I love this! Recently I’ve been enjoying a podcast dedicated to musical theatre and reliving my theatre kid days. So this audiobook seemed a good fit for my “I Love This!” category, as I do indeed love Broadway musicals. Jack Viertel has been involved in over 50 Broadway productions in various capacities, but mostly as a dramaturg and consultant on the writing end.  He teaches a course at NYU about the construction of the American musical, and that is what this book is […]

The Hamiltome.

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This is an excellent book that all fans of Hamilton should read. Reading it gave me a fuller experience of the musical, it was fun to see behind the scenes stories, and Lin’s notes were always interesting. I cried while reading it (the same part I cry at while listening), and spent about a week listening to nothing but the soundtrack on a loop. So why no five stars? Like Aaron Burr, I want more. I’m never going to see the musical in person, or […]

Hamilton Makes a Dent in Modern History

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Please spare me your lack of surprise that I’ve finished Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter’s book chronicling the gestation of the eponymous musical, before having finished the book said musical was based on, Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton. They are both big thick tomes spanning years (arguable decades), but while Chernow’s prose is delightful and accessible, his book does not consist of rap lyrics, easily digestible footnotes, and beautiful photos. Like Cannonballer ellesfena, I bought the book because I am an obsessive Midwestern […]



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