'The Book of Broadway: The Definitive Plays and Musicals' by Eric Grode makes a bold statement with it's title, but with 150 profiles of musicals and plays, I think it's valid.

The book only deals with theater that has made it to Broadway. It presents the picks in A to Z format. Initially, I wished it had been done chronologically, but I ended up agreeing with this arrangement. So from Abie's Irish Rose to Ziegfeld Follies of 1919, they are presented. There is writing about the plays including why they might have been picked. Every show picked includes original run dates, notable revivals (including tv and movies) and some of the original stars.

As a theater goer, I really enjoyed poring over this book with it's 300+ pictures. I recognized shows I've been to and put some shows on my "to see" list, although I think I've missed my chance to see Irving Berlin in Yip Yip Yaphank. The alphabetical presentation showed side by side how theater has changed, and how it hasn't. I had a great time reading this book.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - Voyageur Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

I’m a huge Broadway fan. The theater was pretty much the biggest thing in my life as a teen and young adult. I still love it, although definitely not as much, and I enjoy reading about it. If you’re looking for a great guide to the influential plays and musicals that have premiered and impacted the theater world since the birth of The Great White Way than this book would be a great choice. While it is extensive it does not include every show and the Broadway obsessive may notice an omission here and there. Don’t expect to see details about classical plays that were shown in revival either. If you are sending a budding theater artist to college this fall, The Broadway Book would make a great graduation gift. They will end up with giant tomes of some of the same plays over and over, but having a quick reference, that is superior to Google quality, would be a great thing for a young artist to have on hand. Or if you’d simply like to have a great reference in your home library that covers Oklahoma and Death of a Salesman through Hamilton– this book is for you.

A beautifully illustrated book with short descriptions of 150 Broadway Plays. Like any list some of your favorites will be missing and others will have you wondering why they are included but just enjoy the plays that are here. I really enjoyed reading about the plays that have been long forgotten and the historical photographs. Anyone with an interest in the theater will enjoy this book.

A fun, quickfire look at some of Broadway's most famous (and infamous) productions. I found it particularly interesting for the crossovers between film and stage during Hollywood's Golden Age, and for the big names that showed up in productions.

I was unable to review book due to format. Sent message to publisher to let them know and have asked for a different format. If this is possible, I would be more than happy to review the book.

The Book of Broadway is definitely a bizarre book. And when I say bizarre, I mean that it can’t be read in the way most books can. Or at least, I couldn’t read it like that. I couldn’t just sit down with a cup of coffee and read this book. That’s what I ended up doing, but I believe this was the reason why I didn’t enjoy it as much. I believe this is a book that should just sit on your bookshelf until you feel like reading a little Broadway gossip, or if you want to find a new musical to watch or listen to. So, if you want to read it, here’s my advice: this book is not fiction and should not be read as such.

That been said, it was a fairly interesting book. It included many of Broadway’s most important and popular plays, some bits of background history and backstage gossip to keep things light and interesting, and a little synopsis as well as the original cast and creators. I did skip some plays that didn’t particularly interest me, but the plays I read, I enjoyed. Whether I was already familiar with them or not, whether I had listened to the recordings or not, I could always find something that’d keep me interested; but, with only 2 pages being dedicated to each play, that wasn’t a difficult task to begin with. Another thing I enjoyed were the pictures that’d accompany each play, offering a glimpse into the glamorous world of Broadway.

**An ARC was provided via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review**

This was great! I am new to the Broadway world and it was fun to read about all the musicals I've missed out on and having the synopsis, other versions and pictures.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this novel.

If you are you a regular theater-goer, a self-proclaimed theater aficionado Or even you've never been to a performance in your entire life you still need this Broadway Encyclopedia to broaden your horizons or keep track of your favorite productions.

In alphabetical order, you will discover some of the most important plays and musicals in an eye-catching presentation full of amazing photos, gorgeous graphics, a small info box and a short piece reviewing the production as a whole.

The Book of Broadway is a very well-done compilation that works perfectly as a reference tool and at the same time as an impeccable coffee table book for theater lovers. Maybe you won't agree with all of the 150 choices of the author but that's the beauty of such books.

I absolutely recommend this book as you already understand from my previous statements, but I have a tiny complaint; I wanted an extensive photographic index in the end, but that's just me loving photography, I don't think that it is a real problem for most readers. All in all, this is a great book.


THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK

- Many trivia, I love this.
- Historical accuracy.
- I want the hardcover edition for my collection.
- The info box entails, Dates, Synopsis, Awards, Noted Revivals and Adaptations, Original Stars.
- A few of the titles:
Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Chicago, Death of a Salesman, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, The Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Six Degrees of Separation, The Sound of Music, A Streetcar Named Desire, West Side Story...

I really need to get this as a coffee table book. The pictures are fabulous, the stories of the shows were succinct, with just enough detail, and the quick facts were good for those you could pass by quicker.

One notable show missing? Aida! Not sure how it didn't make the list. I'm also not sure on the alphabetical format...I almost would have preferred by original premier date.

Either way...it's Broadway, baby. I'm sooo on board.

The Book of Broadway is a great read for any theatregoer. With lovely colour photographs, info, and opinions, it highlights some of the key musicals and plays to grace a Broadway stage. Naturally, there will be shows that readers wish Grode had included. On the whole, I liked his picks, which covered many of my personal favourites and several plays new to me; however, I do wish he'd mentioned Next to Normal, which I believe is an important work from the last ten years. Other than that tiny gripe, this is a great coffee table read that is sure to please any theatre fan.

Eric Grode’s ‘The Book of Broadway. The Definitive Plays and Musicals’ was originally published in 2015, with the subtitle ‘The 150 Definitive Plays and Musicals’. Entries are alphabetical, from ‘Abie’s Irish Rose’ to the ‘Ziegfeld Follies of 1919’. There are now more than 150 profiles of plays and musicals as there are new entries for ‘The Cradle Will Rock’, ‘Hamilton’, ‘Journey’s End’, ‘The Threepenny Opera’ and ‘Topdog/Underdog’.

As well as providing the key facts about each production (opening date; number of performances; synopsis; awards; revivals and adaptations; and original stars) there’s a brief but illuminating and anecdote-packed mini-essay placing each play or musical in context. The whole package comes lavishly illustrated in both black and white and colour.

So what’s not to like?

In the Introduction Grode sets out his criteria for inclusion. Some, such as “inherent quality” he rightly admits are highly subjective. Otherwise the most obviously arbitrary criterion is his decision to ignore all works dating from the pre-Broadway era. Thus Ibsen (for ‘A Doll’s House’), Shaw (for ‘Mrs Warren’s Profession’ and “Pygmalion’) and Wilde (for ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’) are all in but the likes of Sophocles, Shakespeare and Chekov are out (Shaw even gets a third bite of the cherry if you count ‘My Fair Lady’).

This means, for example, that Richard Burton’s towering Tony award-winning performance as ‘Hamlet’, which at 137 performances set the record for the longest run of the play in Broadway history, is excluded. Burton generally fares poorly in ‘The Book of Broadway’, for although there are name checks in passing in the entries on Coward’s ‘Private Lives’ and Albee’s ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ his ‘Camelot’ (which in its original production notched up 873 performances and 2 previews) is a notable omission.

It almost seems as if there's some bias on Grode’s part against Port Talbot! Thus although Peter Shaffer’s ‘Amadeus’ appears, his ‘Equus’, in which Anthony Hopkins played Dysart and which actually notched up more Broadway performances than ‘Amadeus’, is omitted.

It is, however, the missing musicals which are most likely to raise eyebrows, as in addition to ‘Camelot’ they include ‘Oliver!’, ‘Funny Girl’, ‘Half a Sixpence’, Oh, What a Lovely War!’, ‘Sweet Charity’, ‘Starlight Express’, ‘Spamalot ‘, ‘Mary Poppins’, ‘Hairspray’, ‘Miss Saigon’, ‘Mamma Mia!’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

Mind you, one of the beauties of ‘The Book of Broadway’ is precisely the fact that it can give rise to endless debate about what should and what should not have been included. The only answer, and one devoutly to be wished for, is for yet another and substantially expanded edition.

Good interesting book on broadway shows. It will probably be very interesting to someone really into broadway. I was thinking there would be more on more recent show.