Theatre Director

On March 17, 2005, Spamalot debuted on Broadway to rapturous reviews for its star-studded creative team, including creators Eric Idle and John Du Prez, director Mike Nichols, and stars Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez, Tim Curry, and more. But long before the show was the toast of Broadway and the winner of three Tony Awards, it was an idea threatening to fizzle before it could find its way into existence. Now, Eric Idle shares original journal entries and raw email exchanges, revealing the sometimes bumpy, always entertaining, path to the show’s unforgettable run.

Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway. But moving to the big city is never easy—especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis—and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre.

This book charts the personal and professional journey of Greg Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, from 2012 until 2022. My Shakespeare uniquely captures the excitement, energy, surprises, joys and agonies of working on the greatest of plays; sheds new light on these plays through Doran’s own research and discoveries made in the rehearsal room; and gives unprecedented access into the craft, life and loves of this exceptional director.

Why Shakespeare? What explains our continued fascination with his poems and plays? In Living with Shakespeare, Susannah Carson invites 40 actors, directors, scholars, and writers to reflect on why his work is still such a vital part of our culture.

This ghost story is set on the wild Atlantic coast of North Devon and is told through the eyes of Jenny, a girl of nearly 19, whose recently deceased grandmother Mary has bequeathed her Windover, the cottage where she is staying with her father and his girlfriend during summer vacation. Before long, Jenny is troubled by visions of two teenage girls and learns from a photograph taken in 1934 that these girls are her grandmother Mary and Mary's friend Cathy. As the days go by, Jenny finds herself drawn into tragic events that occurred nearly 80 years earlier.

A timeless classic by George Bernard Shaw, Arms and the Man is a comedy about love, ideals, and romance. A young woman from a wealthy Bulgarian family is visited in her room by an enemy captain in his flight to evade capture, and this chance encounter threatens her engagement and her high-minded idealism.