Getting to Broadway

Everybody knows The Lion King, the story of a little cub that grows up to become the king of the Pride Lands. Few, however, know the story of how The Lion King came to be the king of all musicals. It is the highest-grossing show on Broadway, earning over 1.3 billion dollars at the box office. This book takes you on the journey that began with the modest idea of an animated movie about lions and hyenas. You'll see for yourself why this musical has played on every continent except Antarctica to more than ninety million people.

In 1996, tickets to see the Broadway musical Rent were selling like hotcakes. The show was so popular that many folks saw it multiple times and even dressed up like their favorite characters. Some "Rent heads" even slept overnight on the sidewalk in order to be sure of getting a ticket for the next performance. Everything about the show was new and exciting. This book not only tells the story of Rent's journey to Broadway, it will also help readers understand why the show was so successful and why it remains both a cultural milestone and an experience well worth having today.

Annie is a landmark play that has made many contributions to musical theater, including the song "Tomorrow." The original play was staged more than two thousand times on Broadway, and it has been presented continuously around the world by touring companies and local theater groups. It has been made into big-screen and television movies and has gone through several revivals. Its greatest achievement was to restore the musical to prominence, opening the way for the staging of the greatest blockbusters ever performed. This book describes the path the play took from concept to the stage, its Broadway run, its influence, and the people who made the show a success.

The musical Wicked opened on Broadway in October 2003. Based on the best-selling novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire, the show retells the story of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the point of view of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, a misfit who, through the events of the play, discovers her inner strength and power. The show has run for nearly six thousand performances as of 2017 and is the second highest grossing Broadway musical of all time, having earned over 1 billion dollars to date. This book describes the path the play took from concept to the stage, its Broadway run, and its influence.

In July 2008, playwright and performer Lin-Manuel Miranda bought a book to read on vacation. Little did he know that his random choice would eventually help him change the face of Broadway. The book was Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton, an original Founding Father of the United States. Seven years later, Miranda's revolutionary hip-hop musical opened to tremendous reviews, sold-out performances, and record-breaking awards. What inspired Miranda to tell Hamilton's story using twenty-first-century music and casting? How did his vision transform from hip-hop mixtape to Broadway musical? This engaging book shares this fascinating story.

In theater, some shows succeed and some fail. Cats, which opened in London on May 11, 1981, and in New York City on October 7, 1982, was a success that changed history. The Hamilton of its time, and a winner even now, Cats has become one of the great landmark musicals of British and American theater. Treat your readers to the real story of the show. Covering the show's roots in the comic poetry of T. S. Eliot through to the musical's modern revivals, this book traces the history of an iconic Broadway hit.