Let's Put on a Musical: How to Choose the Right Show for your Theater, Revised Expanded Edition

A Backstage favorite, now revised and updated to include the latest shows and the freshest ideas. So you want to do Rent... at a senior-citizen home. So you want to do Wicked... with your kindergarten class. So you want to do Cats... for an audience of allergy sufferers. Those ideas won't work. Let's Put on a Musical gives you what will work, no matter how big the group, no matter how small, no matter how specialized the requirements. Limited budget? Way-too-huge stage? Leading man who can’t sing? Audience that can’t shut up? Renowned theater critic Peter Filicia looks at more than 200 famous and little-known shows, all cleverly categorized and described in terms of story, best-known songs, musical requirements (including instrumentation), chorus and dance numbers, and staging, including sets, costumes, and props needed. Readers will also find fun nuggets about original Broadway productions and great tips on casting and publicity. Let's Put on a Musical is the entertaining, indispensable resource that helps every theater group find the show that's just right for them.

Peter Filichia is the theater critic for the Newark Star-Ledger and its television station, News 12 New Jersey. He has served four terms as president of the Drama Desk, the New York Association of Drama Critics. A frequent contributor to theater publications and the writer of many cast-album CD liner notes, he lives in New Jersey.