Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (Penguin, $11). The first play I ever read. It inspired me from an early age to get involved in the theater. More specifically, it helped me to foster an appreciation for Miller that continues to this day.
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (Broadway, $14). Weisberger opened my eyes to an industry with which I was formerly, and now thankfully, unfamiliar. Although a “fictional” tale of the fashion world, this 2003 novel showed me that however jaded I get working in the theater industry, there are careers tougher and meaner than working on Broadway.
Act One: An Autobiography by Moss Hart (St. Martin’s, $17). The best theater autobiography ever written. Moss Hart captures all the joy and pain of working in this industry. It’s a book to which one can turn in moments of self-doubt; an affirmation of all that is glorious about the American theater.
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Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies by Ted Chapin (Knopf, $30). It’s difficult to put the Broadway experience into words. Now, I just point friends to Ted Chapin’s wonderfully objective account of his experience with James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim’s landmark 1971 musical Follies. Hands down, it’s the best recent book about what it is like to work on a Broadway musical.
The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh (Faber & Faber, $13). Theater is a world concern. Anyone seriously interested in the form needs to be exposed to work from outside America. Martin McDonagh’s blistering Pillowman is the best play by Europe’s finest young writer.
King Lear
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