Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway
- Downloads：6506
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-17 14:52:23
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Michael Riedel
- ISBN：1501166638
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A definitive and extraordinary account of recent Broadway history—spanning from the debut of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Sunset Boulevard to Disney’s The Lion King—told by Broadway’s most respected （and feared） commentator Michael Riedel。
Singular Sensation portrays the people， money， and power that created the blockbuster shows and aesthetic spectacle that has dominated not only a couple of acres of real estate in the heart of Manhattan but has also captured the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world。
From the legendary jousting scene in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard to the ascendance of an unlikely musical by an unknown savant named Jonathan Larsen， who reimagined La Bohème as Rent and from standing room only crowds who stormed to see The Producers to The Lion King， Michael Riedel tracks it all so you can experience your favorite show from a whole new angle。 Told with verve and passion and drawing upon more than 150 insider interviews， Riedel walks us through the Broadway we know and love today: an industry awash in big hits and bigger money， while also being an industry split between its adherence to old artforms and the allure of popular culture。
Singular Sensation portrays the people， money， and power that created the blockbuster shows and aesthetic spectacle that has dominated not only a couple of acres of real estate in the heart of Manhattan but has also captured the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world。
From the legendary jousting scene in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard to the ascendance of an unlikely musical by an unknown savant named Jonathan Larsen， who reimagined La Bohème as Rent and from standing room only crowds who stormed to see The Producers to The Lion King， Michael Riedel tracks it all so you can experience your favorite show from a whole new angle。 Told with verve and passion and drawing upon more than 150 insider interviews， Riedel walks us through the Broadway we know and love today: an industry awash in big hits and bigger money， while also being an industry split between its adherence to old artforms and the allure of popular culture。
Reviews
Robert LoBiondo
，
Possibly enjoyable more if you weren't "there at the time"。。。I can't put my finger on why I didn't like this more than the previous Riedel book。 Possibly enjoyable more if you weren't "there at the time"。。。I can't put my finger on why I didn't like this more than the previous Riedel book。 。。。more
Lauren
，
I listened to the audiobook of this while driving 28 hours cross-country from Arizona to Ohio and this was the PERFECT road trip audiobook for me， a theater kid who grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s。 If you were really into Broadway during this time a lot of this will probably be familiar but it was still an excellent nostalgia trip （Rent！ Please don't question my teenage taste lol。 Phantom！ We went to Toronto to see it at the Pantages when I was a kid in Detroit。 Ragtime and The Producers！ W I listened to the audiobook of this while driving 28 hours cross-country from Arizona to Ohio and this was the PERFECT road trip audiobook for me， a theater kid who grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s。 If you were really into Broadway during this time a lot of this will probably be familiar but it was still an excellent nostalgia trip （Rent！ Please don't question my teenage taste lol。 Phantom！ We went to Toronto to see it at the Pantages when I was a kid in Detroit。 Ragtime and The Producers！ Wore out my copies of the cast albums）。 As a musical fiend， it was also nice to hear some about the plays happening at the same time of which I was mostly unaware。 There is a little bit too much of the financial maneuvers going on in the background to hold my interest but I understand why it was included。 A really fun listen overall！ 。。。more
Dusty
，
I heard an interview with the author of this book on NPR， and I thought， what the hell？ Why not catch up on Broadway gossip while walking the dog？ But lo， I loved it。 I mean， I really loved it。 Michael Riedel transported me back to the 90s， the decade I encountered Broadway soundtracks （and eventually Broadway itself） for the first time。 A longtime theater critic， Riedel is able to highlight the shows that really pushed US American theater forward， delivering just praise to plays like Rent and T I heard an interview with the author of this book on NPR， and I thought， what the hell？ Why not catch up on Broadway gossip while walking the dog？ But lo， I loved it。 I mean， I really loved it。 Michael Riedel transported me back to the 90s， the decade I encountered Broadway soundtracks （and eventually Broadway itself） for the first time。 A longtime theater critic， Riedel is able to highlight the shows that really pushed US American theater forward， delivering just praise to plays like Rent and The Lion King but without simplifying or overstating their influence。 If you have any interest in Broadway， I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Amy
，
Probably this would be a 4 for non-theatre folks。 It is well-written， interesting and really fun to read。 But Riedel writes about my world and I was actually working in the business during much of the time period he writes about and know who all the players are， so it especially heightened my enjoyment and made it a 5-star read for me。 I do hope he writes one more about the last 2 decades！
Jacob
，
After reading Razzle Dazzle I was excited to read this follow up book。 Since the last book ended in the beginning of the 1990s so I was excited to have the same care and story telling aspect of Razzle Dazzle in this book。 Though this book only covers the 90s and early 2000s which was a slight disappointment。 Though because it only focuses on a few shows and situations Riedel does go farther in depth。
Michael
，
Fun trip down memory lane。 Being that I really discovered and fell in love with Bway in the 90s， this was a perfect nostalgic look at some of my favorite shows。 I learned a bit， I enjoyed the anecdotes， and felt like I was sitting at Joe Allen’s hearing some stories from the time when “i wish more than anything I was there”。 If you’re a bway buff you’ll thoroughly enjoy。
Scott
，
A breezy read。 But a lot of errors in the book which should have been caught by an editor or fact checker。
Ashley Lambert-Maberly
，
Immensely readable， bit of a page-turner if you like the subject。 I knew quite a lot already， but still learned plenty that was new。 It could have been twice the size and I'd still have found it riveting （I wish it were longer， actually—if only he could have gone into as much detail on shows merely mentioned， e。g。 The Book of Mormon， as he did on shows warranting their own chapter（s）， e。g。 Ragtime）。（Note: 5 stars = amazing， wonderful， 4 = very good book， 3 = decent read， 2 = disappointing， 1 = a Immensely readable， bit of a page-turner if you like the subject。 I knew quite a lot already， but still learned plenty that was new。 It could have been twice the size and I'd still have found it riveting （I wish it were longer， actually—if only he could have gone into as much detail on shows merely mentioned， e。g。 The Book of Mormon， as he did on shows warranting their own chapter（s）， e。g。 Ragtime）。（Note: 5 stars = amazing， wonderful， 4 = very good book， 3 = decent read， 2 = disappointing， 1 = awful， just awful。 I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s）。 I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5， but I grade on a curve！ 。。。more
Rachel Rogers
，
I found this much more readable than the previous one。 Maybe it's due to the timing and when I started to pay attention to Broadway as a place and started to see shows。 Really interesting history， chock full of anecdotes about various shows， all the way through the process。 It got bogged down a little with detailed descriptions of the machinations in Toronto leading down to Broadway， and the many， many SOBs who inhabit the theater at the high levels。 It ends in the early 2000s， after 9/11 but we I found this much more readable than the previous one。 Maybe it's due to the timing and when I started to pay attention to Broadway as a place and started to see shows。 Really interesting history， chock full of anecdotes about various shows， all the way through the process。 It got bogged down a little with detailed descriptions of the machinations in Toronto leading down to Broadway， and the many， many SOBs who inhabit the theater at the high levels。 It ends in the early 2000s， after 9/11 but well before the phenomena of Hamilton。 He talks about how they struggled to bring Broadway back after the terrorist attacks closed theaters for 2 days。 Now we are a year of closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the thought of bringing it back after this is boggling。 。。。more
Maureen Quinlan
，
Such a well-written book！ As a Broadway lover， I learned a lot of new facts and deepened my appreciation。 I liked the pacing and balance of juicy details with information。
Mam
，
I'm not， as many of my fellow theater volunteers are， 'into' everything theater。 I enjoy the shows immensely， but don't eagerly await the outcome of the Tony Awards each year。 That said， I enjoyed this nostalgic journey through the Broadway of the 90s - some of it hilarious， some heart-wrenching。 I'm not， as many of my fellow theater volunteers are， 'into' everything theater。 I enjoy the shows immensely， but don't eagerly await the outcome of the Tony Awards each year。 That said， I enjoyed this nostalgic journey through the Broadway of the 90s - some of it hilarious， some heart-wrenching。 。。。more
Caleb Hoyer
，
I know Michael Riedel's reputation within the theater community， so I'm not sure how reliable all of the behind-the-scenes drama in this book really is。 The tone of much of this book felt like a dishy gossip column。 But damn if it wasn't readable！ I had so much fun reading this， it was wildly entertaining， and while I took much of the dish with a grain of salt， it was very informative as well。 Plus， the author's passion and enthusiasm for theater and theatermakers was evident from start to finis I know Michael Riedel's reputation within the theater community， so I'm not sure how reliable all of the behind-the-scenes drama in this book really is。 The tone of much of this book felt like a dishy gossip column。 But damn if it wasn't readable！ I had so much fun reading this， it was wildly entertaining， and while I took much of the dish with a grain of salt， it was very informative as well。 Plus， the author's passion and enthusiasm for theater and theatermakers was evident from start to finish。 I had a hoot reading it！ 。。。more
Lucas Foster
，
my mom gifted this to me as a birthday supplement late last year with ironic detachment in her eyes。 although her little boy who loved all musical theater grew up to be a diminutive man with an enduring interest in the art-form， by my teens the aperture had narrowed to pretty much nothing after pippin， and my mom isn't neglectful， so she knew about that， my evolution。 this book is confined to broadway of the early 90s through the 9/11 recovery， i。e。 lion king， rent， producers， so i figured it wo my mom gifted this to me as a birthday supplement late last year with ironic detachment in her eyes。 although her little boy who loved all musical theater grew up to be a diminutive man with an enduring interest in the art-form， by my teens the aperture had narrowed to pretty much nothing after pippin， and my mom isn't neglectful， so she knew about that， my evolution。 this book is confined to broadway of the early 90s through the 9/11 recovery， i。e。 lion king， rent， producers， so i figured it would be a total dud。 au contraire！ i turned to it for lightest of the light bedtime reading， a new york post correspondent droning on about the sam mendes cabaret revival， could there be anything of less consequence， but what the hell do u know， absolutely fantastic nightlight book。 behind the curtain shenanigans， business magnates， canny impresarios， patti lupone blowing a fuse， just irresistible。 the rent chapter of all things， it's not exactly nick tosches but u know what， it's entrancing all the same， the young man who developed it。 disney gentrification chronicle definitely worth ur time。 mayor giuliani on his y2k boss tweed ish in service of getting butts in seat， how could u refuse。 sprinkling of the gay cancer。 twilight years ed albee。 gaudiness， glitz。。。 ah yes， it's the triumph of broadway。 flops， bombs （non-terroristic）， disasters （very terroristic） 。。。more
Dan Trefethen
，
For fans of Broadway musicals from the 1990s （Rent， The Lion King， The Producers， etc。）， this book is a delightful wallow in insider stories about making these shows。 It chronicles the period where the 'British invasion' by Andrew Lloyd Webber and others was winding down with the success-yet-failure of his last big Broadway show， 'Sunset Boulevard'。 Times Square was a bit of a pit in those days， and although the 'Disneyfying' of Broadway was reviled by some New Yorkers， it nevertheless was succe For fans of Broadway musicals from the 1990s （Rent， The Lion King， The Producers， etc。）， this book is a delightful wallow in insider stories about making these shows。 It chronicles the period where the 'British invasion' by Andrew Lloyd Webber and others was winding down with the success-yet-failure of his last big Broadway show， 'Sunset Boulevard'。 Times Square was a bit of a pit in those days， and although the 'Disneyfying' of Broadway was reviled by some New Yorkers， it nevertheless was successful in bringing new audiences。 （This was the first decade where the majority of attendees flipped from New Yorkers to outside tourists。）The author covers the 90s and through the early 2000s， describing the recovery from 9/11。 He stops short of talking about the most recent decade of shows – subject for another book， perhaps。The author was a theater critic with a local paper for many years， and had access to many Broadway personalities， both stars and producers。 He gets some great anecdotes that had me laughing out loud。 Did those people really say those things， or did they make them up in hindsight？ Who knows and who cares， it's showbiz， and if you can't enjoy a good story without worrying about the truth of it – well， you're on the wrong street， buddy。Highly recommended for any fan of Broadway musicals。 The success of non-musical plays is also described， but the heart of Broadway （and of the author） is the musical， especially those made in America。 。。。more
Denise Morse
，
Singular Sensation is the second book by Michael Riedel and covers the period up to 9/11 and Broadways response。 It was an interesting look at the inner workings of how a show is conceived， produced， shopped around for a theater and eventually is either a hit or a flop。 The book pays extra close attention to shows like Rent and The Producers - 2 shows I have been lucky to see in the touring company。 And the book also spends time talking about plays， which is something that I think most people do Singular Sensation is the second book by Michael Riedel and covers the period up to 9/11 and Broadways response。 It was an interesting look at the inner workings of how a show is conceived， produced， shopped around for a theater and eventually is either a hit or a flop。 The book pays extra close attention to shows like Rent and The Producers - 2 shows I have been lucky to see in the touring company。 And the book also spends time talking about plays， which is something that I think most people do not tend to equate Broadway with as much anymore。 I learned a lot about how the system works， and would love a follow-up post 2001。 。。。more
Megan
，
It's been nearly a year since Broadway went dark and I found myself craving some theatre gossip， so I picked up this book。 There were lots of parts I enjoyed， particularly the beginning as well as the last few chapters。 The chapters focused on the creation of the plays and musicals were very interesting。 There was， however， a long chunk in the middle which told of spats and rivalries between producers and performance companies， and this part really dragged。 It turns out I'm not that interested i It's been nearly a year since Broadway went dark and I found myself craving some theatre gossip， so I picked up this book。 There were lots of parts I enjoyed， particularly the beginning as well as the last few chapters。 The chapters focused on the creation of the plays and musicals were very interesting。 There was， however， a long chunk in the middle which told of spats and rivalries between producers and performance companies， and this part really dragged。 It turns out I'm not that interested in the economics behind a Broadway play。 Still， the end of this book is great。 I hope he'll follow up with a book focused on the 2000s because， as Riedel himself says at the end of this book， Broadway has entered a new golden age。 Here's hoping we can all see the light at the end of the Covid tunnel and that the light is a theatre marquee。 。。。more
Myrna Gottlieb
，
An engaging follow up to "Razzle Dazzle" This book covers Broadway from the 90s thru 2001 and the effect of the World Trade Center bombing on Broadway and the city of NY。 Some of the shows covered: Rent， The Lion King， the Producers。 Would you have guessed that Matthew Broderick was almost fired fro The Producers before the tryout in Chicago; if he hadn't been so popular in that city because of the film "Ferris Buehler's Day Off，" he might never have made it to the opening on Broadway。 And even An engaging follow up to "Razzle Dazzle" This book covers Broadway from the 90s thru 2001 and the effect of the World Trade Center bombing on Broadway and the city of NY。 Some of the shows covered: Rent， The Lion King， the Producers。 Would you have guessed that Matthew Broderick was almost fired fro The Producers before the tryout in Chicago; if he hadn't been so popular in that city because of the film "Ferris Buehler's Day Off，" he might never have made it to the opening on Broadway。 And even then， Hal Price no less， congratulated Mel Brooks- you have a hit; but you should replace Broderick。 Then there was the well-meaning advice given to Gower Champion when the show "Hello Dolly" with Carol Channing was in tryouts out of town: - move or lose that corny opening number: -referring to the show stopping blockbuster: "Hello Dolly。"Also I read the hardcover （a Christmas gift） not the ebook。 。。。more
Liz B
，
Definitely interesting， even though I didn't finish it in time for the book club meeting。 For the most part， each section is more or less self-contained， so if you wanted to just read about the shows you've seen， you could。 Definitely interesting， even though I didn't finish it in time for the book club meeting。 For the most part， each section is more or less self-contained， so if you wanted to just read about the shows you've seen， you could。 。。。more
Tad
，
Entertaining but slight and overly anecdotal。 Just one mildly interesting story after another。 Nowhere near as good as Riedel's excellent Razzle Dazzle。 Entertaining but slight and overly anecdotal。 Just one mildly interesting story after another。 Nowhere near as good as Riedel's excellent Razzle Dazzle。 。。。more
Lynn Stegner
，
Fascinatingly detailed backstory of Broadway productions in the 1990s from the perspective of many of the players: authors， designers， choreographers， producers， directors， （a little light on the actors and composers）。 Broadway definition is stretched in that it also covers detail of one company based in Toronto and the most amazingly Trump-like producer Drabinsky （down to the "creative" accounting and truth aversion）。 Lots of "in" knowledge from a long-time theater critic who clearly loves live Fascinatingly detailed backstory of Broadway productions in the 1990s from the perspective of many of the players: authors， designers， choreographers， producers， directors， （a little light on the actors and composers）。 Broadway definition is stretched in that it also covers detail of one company based in Toronto and the most amazingly Trump-like producer Drabinsky （down to the "creative" accounting and truth aversion）。 Lots of "in" knowledge from a long-time theater critic who clearly loves live theater。 I particularly liked the in-depth on Taymor， who is the real director/designer vision behind Lion King。 。。。more
Philip
，
Much like Michael Riedel’s previous Broadway history book Razzle Dazzle， Singular Sensation is at times fairly overstuffed。 Riedel has a tendency to reach way too far back to retrieve the history behind certain key Broadway players and events - as a result the book often loses momentum。Regardless， I give it a soft 4 because when it clicks， it really clicks - loved the segments on Rent， The Lion King， The Producers because they focused on the pursuit of the artistic vision rather than the busines Much like Michael Riedel’s previous Broadway history book Razzle Dazzle， Singular Sensation is at times fairly overstuffed。 Riedel has a tendency to reach way too far back to retrieve the history behind certain key Broadway players and events - as a result the book often loses momentum。Regardless， I give it a soft 4 because when it clicks， it really clicks - loved the segments on Rent， The Lion King， The Producers because they focused on the pursuit of the artistic vision rather than the business side of it。Also appreciated the inclusion of how Canadian theatre， particularly the Toronto theatre scene helped shape the history of Broadway in the nineties。 Oh the scandal！！ I still remember leafing through The Toronto Star （my parents subscribed on the weekends） seeing page-long ads for musicals no one was really interested in seeing lol。 。。。more
Toni
，
Clever and informational， inside stories of Broadway during the 1990's。 If you love Broadway， there's no way you won't like this book， it's fun and entertaining。 Clever and informational， inside stories of Broadway during the 1990's。 If you love Broadway， there's no way you won't like this book， it's fun and entertaining。 。。。more
Jason
，
A joyous romp through an amazingly creative and complicated decade of Broadway productions and those who create。 Filled with amazing insight， hysterical quotes and facts galore， the reader will fly through this and wish for an encore or two。 Maybe Mr。 Riedel should publish a book for each decade since Broadway's inception-I'd line up for each new book！ A joyous romp through an amazingly creative and complicated decade of Broadway productions and those who create。 Filled with amazing insight， hysterical quotes and facts galore， the reader will fly through this and wish for an encore or two。 Maybe Mr。 Riedel should publish a book for each decade since Broadway's inception-I'd line up for each new book！ 。。。more
Christopher Geraghty
，
I really enjoyed this sequel to Razzle Dazzle。 I am familiar with the theater industry and many of the people， plays and events the author writes about。
Sylvia
，
3。5。 Not nearly as good as Razzle Dazzle。
Martin Kilkenny
，
Excellent book about Broadway of the 1990's and early 2000's Excellent book about Broadway of the 1990's and early 2000's 。。。more
Caitlin
，
I enjoyed its predecessor - Razzle Dazzle - much more。 This one didn’t feel as in depth。 Also because it covers more recent years much of the content covered I already knew。 Not a bad read but I would recommend Razzle Dazzle over this for anyone interested in broadway history。
Alexis
，
I really， really loved listening to this。 Learning about the creation of any show is thrilling for me， but the shows in this book are very special （Rent and Ragtime are two of my all-time favorites）。 It's interesting to learn about transitions in theatre， and Riedel's writing style is far from dry。 I also found another book to read through this， so I am fairly happy。 I would have loved an even deeper delve into some of the shows， and I felt like the timeline jumped around a bit much， but after b I really， really loved listening to this。 Learning about the creation of any show is thrilling for me， but the shows in this book are very special （Rent and Ragtime are two of my all-time favorites）。 It's interesting to learn about transitions in theatre， and Riedel's writing style is far from dry。 I also found another book to read through this， so I am fairly happy。 I would have loved an even deeper delve into some of the shows， and I felt like the timeline jumped around a bit much， but after being away from live theatre for so long， this book made me extremely emotional。 。。。more
Susan Keappock
，
I know this is an insider-y book， but as someone who has been furloughed from Broadway for almost a year， this was a lovely way to spend the day！ Anyone interested in the "behind-the-scenes" workings of Broadway， this is about as solid as it comes！ I know this is an insider-y book， but as someone who has been furloughed from Broadway for almost a year， this was a lovely way to spend the day！ Anyone interested in the "behind-the-scenes" workings of Broadway， this is about as solid as it comes！ 。。。more
Sherrie Howey
，