Overview
What's it like to work in the biggest hit Broadway has seen in years? In this delightful book based on his almost daily notes, Jeffry Denman tells the story of a year in one performer's life, from his job in the final days of cats (now and forever, but finally closed) to a small but promising part in the Mel Brooks smash. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, Susan Stroman, Gary Beach, and Roger Bart are all here in Jeffry Denman's story. We follow The Producers from its first casting call to the Chicago tryouts; we watch numbers cut and roles reassigned; we are there at the record-breaking New York opening, and then at the Tony awards (where the show won more categories than any show in Tony history). What makes this book special is that we watch through Jeffry Denman's eyes - not the star's perspective but the view from the chorus. Denman takes on several small roles in the show - the Blind Musician; the Little Wooden Boy; FDR; a little old lady dancing with a walker; and Scott, resident choreographer to famed bad director Roger DeBris. We get to see director Susan Stroman coaching and Mel Brooks laughing (or not) at Denman's comic turns. What works? What doesn't? How does all that energy and talent translate into the show you still can't get tickets for? A Year with The Producers takes us up to Jeffry Denman's big break, when he goes on for Matthew Broderick in the role of Leo Bloom, the nerdy accountant who dreams of being a producer. It's a moment every young actor will read with terror and delight. A behind-the-scenes story with more than a touch of theatrical magic about it, A Year with The Producers is a book for actors and theater fans everywhere.
Full Product Details
Author: Jeffry Denman ,
Matthew Broderick
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Inc
Imprint: Routledge
Dimensions:
Width: 13.80cm
, Height: 1.00cm
, Length: 21.60cm
Weight: 0.226kg
ISBN: 9780878301546
ISBN 10: 0878301542
Pages: 204
Publication Date: 22 February 2002
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
General
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Here, Denman offers a candid one-year diary of his experiences as singer, dancer and understudy in the production. His style is breezy and refreshingly honest, charting each step from audition to opening night. Denman's emotional narrative maintains suspense and sufficiently informs, making this a textbook for anyone seeking a theatrical career and yearning [t]o change, alter, enhance, deepen, and magnify the hearts of people who sit there watching. Even those lacking in showbiz aspirations will enjoy this book; it has a strong inspirational angle. That, along with the show's blockbuster success, guarantees an instant hit. -Publishers Weekly. From the closing night of one smash, Cats, to the opening night of another, The Producers, Jeffrey Denman takes us on a delightful and insightful backstage tour of the Great White Way. His portraits of Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman are gems and add much to our understanding of how these towering creative talents work. How lucky for us that Mr. Denman is as fine a writer as he is a performer. Michael Riedel, The New York Post.
Here, Denman offers a candid one-year diary of his experiences as singer, dancer and understudy in the production. His style is breezy and refreshingly honest, charting each step from audition to opening night. Denman's emotional narrative maintains suspense and sufficiently informs, making this a textbook for anyone seeking a theatrical career and yearning [t]o change, alter, enhance, deepen, and magnify the hearts of people who sit there watching. Even those lacking in showbiz aspirations will enjoy this book; it has a strong inspirational angle. That, along with the show's blockbuster success, guarantees an instant hit. -Publishers Weekly. <br> From the closing night of one smash, Cats, to the opening night of another, The Producers, Jeffrey Denman takes us on a delightful and insightful backstage tour of the Great White Way. His portraits of Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman are gems and add much to our understanding of how these towering creative talents work. How lucky for us that Mr. Denman is as fine a writer as he is a performer. Michael Riedel, The New York Post. <br>
Author Information
Buffalo-born Jeffry Denman, currently in The Producers, has also appeared in the Broadway revival of How toSucceed, the Johnny Mercer musical Dream, as Munkustrap in Cats, and on PBS's Great Performances My FavoriteBroadway. He has also choreographed Naked Boys Singing! and is developing his own show, Dancing in the Dark, for New York.
