The Tony Awards are coming up on June 11, so this list is for the current and former theatre nerds out there, myself included. Explore the highs and lows of acting, the pursuit of the gesamtkunstwerk, and the power of theatre to transport and transform, with these fiction recommendations about show business.
This novel reads a lot like a John Hughes movie, from the 1980's nostalgia to the snappy dialogue and familiar yet timeless plot: Scrappy suburban teens with big dreams enjoy one last summer of shenanigans and self discovery. With a summer…
Following a haunting and wry exploration of toxic academia in "Bunny", Awad now turns her keen spotlight on the world of toxic Drama. While struggling through a doomed college production of "All's Well that Ends Well," three mysterious…
A story about survival by self-reinvention, familiar to fans of shows like "Chicago." In the Belle Epoque of 19th century France, one woman makes her way from humble midwestern beginnings to celebrated soprano of the Parisian opera.…
Actor and filmmaker Ethan Hawke captures the sensory and emotional thrills of live performance and the indignities of being a public figure. For a real treat listen to the audio edition so you can hear the author growl and whisper through…
The world ends in the middle of a production of King Lear, but the show must go on even after the apocalypse. This book is very much about the enduring importance of the arts as a source of community during times of isolation and darkness.…
In the year 412 B.C., a war rages between Athens and Sparta, Aristophanes wants to finally win the top prize at the Dionysia festival, and maybe even bring and end to the fighting... "A madcap tale reminiscent of the complex, riotous…
In 14th century England, a traveling troupe of actors encounters a young girl accused of murder and sentenced to death. To clear her name, they set out to investigate the crime and bring the truth to light on stage. — "The play's the thing…
Disgraced from his family over his disreputable London playhouse, Julian Belfry enters a marriage of convenience with his polar opposite in Emily, whose proper reputation might just help Julian draw in the higher class patronage needed to…
Cinnamon Jones wants to be an actor like her grandparents, but knows that the stage is no place for a girl who is 5'10" and 180 pounds. On top of that, her family is processing a recent tragedy and Cinnamon's only comfort is a book her…
The Phantom of the Opera had its final performance in April, after a 35 year Broadway run. This is a very Pratchett take on the Phantom story, full of all of the gentle poking and winking that Pratchett fans love, this time at backstage…
One for the techies and Sondheim fans. Demons invade a high school in the midst of Sweeney Todd rehearsals, and all the student tech director wants is to finish her designs for the infamous barber's chair. Instead she finds herself in a…
Under the stage floor, Cordelia, Lavinia, Juliet, Ophelia and others gather to share their stories from their own perspectives in this novel in verse. "Even those completely new to Shakespeare will have no trouble following the outline of…
For a novel written in 1997, this is a prescient look at the intersection of artificial intelligence and art. In a mining colony on another planet, an illusionist and puppeteer incorporates a found AI component into her new act. Meanwhile,…
