From The Phantom of the Opera and The Sound of Music to Les Misérables, Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story brings the world's best-loved productions to life. The complete history of the musical is covered, from its earliest origins in dance halls and vaudeville, to the record-breaking West End musicals and spectacular Broadway shows of today. Discover the history, plots and stars of musical theatre and movie musicals, go backstage to find...

Offers an alphabetical survey of the most popular film musicals in history, with commentaries, synopses, behind-the-scenes information, and lists of songs and cast members for each film.

Shira Gordon is painfully shy. She rarely speaks and blushes at everything. And yet, when she's alone in her room, she'll sing and dance, dreaming she were different. So when her best friend forces her to audition for their school's production of The Music Man, she's mostly hoping the play will get canceled . . . but a tiny part of her hopes she'll get in. And she does. As a member of the barbershop quartet. Playing a dude with a mustache is not exactly...

When Kyle writes a play about a full moon, his best friend Katie decides she will write one about a star, but they realize it is always more fun to do things together, and combine both plays to make a new one.

A collection of short one-person plays featuring characters, between ten and fifteen years old, who live in or near a thirteenth-century English manor.

"Luci LaBang is a star: for decades this drag artist has cast a spell over screen and stage. Now she's the leading lady in a smash hit musical. But as time takes its toll, Luci fears her star is beginning to dim. When Luci's co-star meets with a mysterious accident, a new ingenue shimmers onto the scene: Luda, whose fantastical beauty and sinister charm infatuate Luci immediately ... and who bears a striking resemblance to herself at a much younger...

Sixth grade is not going well for Calliope Meadow Anderson. Callie's hair is frizzy, her best friend, Ellen, is acting weird, and to top things off, she has to get glasses. And her new specs aren't even cute, trendy glasses--more like hideously large and geeky. But Callie soon discovers that her glasses have a special, magical perk...

"Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical? In [this book], Jack Viertel takes them apart, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he invites us to fall in love all over again by showing us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate...