(Applause Books). In New York Theatre Walks , Howard Kissel provides a series of seven self-guided walking tours not just of the theatre district but of the East and West Village, the Lower East Side, and the Upper West Side neighborhoods uptown and downtown that illuminate the theatre's intimate relationship with the city. On one tour, we follow the career of Irving Berlin from the sites of his theatrical triumphs to the ultra-posh corner where this Lower East Side boy eventually made his home. There's also "Adolph Green's Daily 'Commute,'" a route on which he went to meet and work with his musical theatre writing partner Betty Comden, and on a culinary tour we see the way Times Square eateries contributed to theatre history. The book abounds in Broadway anecdotes, but it also gives the walker a sense of the city's own complex, rich history. East Side, West Side, All Around the Town, New York Theatre Walks provides enjoyment and instruction not just for visitors eager to get off the beaten path but for the native who wants to find the theatrical past lying behind the sights one passes on a regular basis.

A locals' treasure map to the secret spots favored by true New Yorkers. The "must-visit, must-see" travel list given to you by the New Yorker friend you wish you had. Vibrantly illustrated throughout, this practical guide transports readers to discover an insider's view of the Big Apple. The vivid watercolors illustrate destinations of the architectural marvels, cultural hubs, food and drink spots, and music venues that make New York so exciting. Cultural musings, accessible histories, anecdotes, and informative details accompany the illustrations throughout, making this volume as practical as it is beautiful. The book features eleven curated neighborhood destination walks--guiding the reader through the energetic New York streets, passing restaurants and coffee shops, historical sights, museums and galleries, parks, and the kind of authentic and timeless sites that one hopes to find when imagining the city. Interwoven throughout are insider guides on how to eat like a New Yorker; explore the city's most beautiful parks and gardens; navigate transit via ferry, subway, and bike; visit some of NYC's most iconic TV and film locations.

The Fantasticks tells an age-old tale. Its ingredients are simple: a boy, a girl, two fathers, and a wall. Its scenery, a tattered cardboard moon, hovers over an empty wooden platform. With these bare essentials, Jones and Schmdt launched a theatrical phenomenon unmatched the world over.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, a vibrant theatrical culture took shape on New York City's Lower East Side. Original dramas, comedies, musicals, and vaudeville, along with sophisticated productions of Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Chekhov, were innovatively staged for crowds that rivaled the audiences on Broadway. Though these productions were in Yiddish and catered to Eastern European, Jewish audiences (the largest immigrant group in the city at the time), their artistic innovations, energetic style, and engagement with politics and the world around them came to influence all facets of the American stage. Vividly illustrated and with essays from leading historians and critics, this book recounts the heyday of "Yiddish Broadway" and its vital contribution to American Jewish life and crossover to the broader American culture. These performances grappled with Jewish nationalism, labor relations, women's rights, religious observance, acculturation, and assimilation. They reflected a range of genres, from tear-jerkers to experimental theater. The artists who came of age in this world include Stella Adler, Eddie Cantor, Jerry Lewis, Sophie Tucker, Mel Brooks, and Joan Rivers. The story of New York's Yiddish theater is a tale of creativity and legacy and of immigrants who, in the process of becoming Americans, had an enormous impact on the country's cultural and artistic development.

Length: 2 acts.