Nymph Errant


Book Description

This famous "lost" musical, a hit in London in the thirties and later a triumph for Gertrude Lawrence and Elizabeth Welch, was recently restaged to bravos in London. Its whimsical story follows innocent Evangeline Edwards as she bids farewell to a Swiss finishing school and sets off across Europe and looking for love and adventure. She gets into one scrape after another and is rescued by a series of unsuitable men (a French producer, Russian musician, Austrian nudist, Italian count, Greek magnate, Turkish Pasha and a eunuch all played by the same actor).




The Complete Lyrics Of Cole Porter


Book Description

From "Begin the Beguine" to "It's Delovely" to "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" and "I Get a Kick Out of You", here are the complete lyrics to the much-loved songs of Cole Porter--800 songs meant to be hummed, sung, danced to, and remembered. "A record of (Porter's) artistic development and of the time in which he flourished".--Rhoda Koenig, New York Magazine.




Down But Not Quite Out in Hollow-weird


Book Description

Eric Knight, the internationally known film reviewer of the 1930s and author of Lassie-Come-Home tells his story in his own words, with the help of Geoff Gehman.




The Mermaid Stair


Book Description

A scrap of parchment with a mysterious sigil... A message in a forgotten language... A mermaid paradise of waterfalls and dreams... And Ben Harper's life is about to get complicated-again. 1593 Scarred by fires inside and out, barred by his heritage from any kind of grace, half-fae Silence Carew longs for the comfort of a human soul. His life is one of unending anger and despair, until the day the voices in his head offer a monstrous solution. If he can find the nerve, and the Mermaid Stair, the reward he seeks can be bought with the blood of his mother's people, the nymphs and mermaids of England. 2013 When the ageless lord of the River Thames is jolted out of retirement by news of horrific death among his nymphs, he calls on the king of Faerie for aid. Already alerted by disturbing visions, Oberon's principal gentlemen, Ben Harper and acerbic, shape-changing Raven, find themselves once again in service-this time on the trail of a monster. With only Ben's gift of finding and faerie music as a guide, vague clues lead them on a terrible chase through London's many-layered history to a mythic confrontation on the banks of a vanished river. Only the gods know what will come of it all! TRUST THE WATER




Uncle Mame


Book Description

Under his pseudonyms of Patrick Dennis and Virginia Rowans, Edward Everett (Pat) Tanner III was the author of sixteen novels—most of them best sellers—including the now-classic Little Me and Auntie Mame. Tanner made millions, became the toast of Manhattan society, and had his works adapted into wildly successful plays, musicals, TV shows, and films. But he also spent every cent he made, worked incognito as a butler to the wealthy, and constructed a persona so elaborate that not even his wife and children ever quite knew the real Pat. Based on extensive interviews with coworkers, friends, and relatives, Uncle Mame is a revealing, intimate portrait of the man who brought camp to the American mainstream and even in his lowest moments personified—even in his lowest moments— the glamour and wit he captured on the page.




Pick a Pocket Or Two


Book Description

"Anecdotal and evincing a strong point of view, [this] book covers not only the shows and their authors but the personalities as well--W.S. Gilbert trying out his stagings on a toy theatre, Ivor Novello going to jail for abusing wartime gas rationing during World War II, fabled producer C.B. Cochran coming to a most shocking demise for a man whose very name meant 'classy, carefree entertainment.' ... Mordden is the preeminent historian of the form, and his book will be required reading for readers of all walks, from the most casual of musical theater goers to musical theater buffs to students and scholars of the form"--




A Book of Myths


Book Description

"A Book of Myths" deals in a most entertaining manner with the mythology of Greece and Rome and many other noted lands. Added to the pleasure of the story there is the lure of the legend and the spell of old ways and customs. Not only many of the most celebrated are retold, but also many of the less well-known tales. The aim of the author, it is stated, has been to simplify for those who are not erudite scholars the stories of mythology, to which constant reference is made not only in classic, but in modern poetry, and to direct the attention of readers to poems which are not already known to them. Included are tales of Prometheus, Pygmalion, Orpheus, Perseus, King Midas, Pan, the Lorelei, Baldur and many more.




Sing for Your Supper


Book Description

In the 1930s, Broadway's lights still burned brightly. Ethan Mordden completes his history of the Broadway musical by taking a look at this forgotten era. Shows like Anything Goes brought the glitter of Cole Porter and Merman's brass to the public. Innovations in dance were pioneered by Balanchine and others. Scenic advancements made Astaire's The Band Wagon move across the stage in novel ways. Gershwin's revolutionary Porgy and Bess entered the canon of American Classics. And The Cradle Will Rock and Johnny Johnson took the American political temperature. With his trademark wit and style, Ethan Mordden shines the spotlight on Broadway's forgotten decade.




The Complete Entertainment Discography, from the Mid-1890s to 1942


Book Description

"The first book to trace the recording careers of the great entertainers: singers, comics, actors and actresses, vocal groups, show-business personalities."--Book jacket.