The Untold Stories of Broadway, Volume 2

Book excerpt: Have you ever wanted to sneak behind the curtain of some of Broadway's greatest hits including Wicked, Rent, and A Chorus Line? Do you wonder what Patti LuPone revealed to Raul Esparza about Broadway dressing rooms or wish you were a fly on the wall during Audra McDonald's big break auditions? Are you dying to know why Laura Linney would watch Stockard Channing from the rafters each night? From opening nights to closing nights. From secret passageways to ghostly encounters. From Broadway debuts to landmark productions. Score a front row seat to read hundreds of stories about the most important stages in the world, seen through the eyes of the producers, actors, stagehands, writers, musicians, company managers, dressers, designers, directors, ushers, and door men who bring The Great White Way to life each night. You'll never look at Broadway the same way again. This is the second book in a multi-volume series that will tell the stories of all of the Broadway theaters. Volume 2 includes the Barrymore, the Circle in the Square, the Criterion Center Stage Right, the Gershwin, the Nederlander, the Palace, the Shubert, and the Vivian Beaumont: eight Broadway theaters that light up New York City. Volume 2 Interviewees: Deborah Abramson, Loni Ackerman, Lynn Ahrens, Rose M. Alaio, Mana Allen, Charlie Alterman, Michael Arden, Brittnye Batchelor, Bryan Batt, Hunter Bell, Marty Bell, Brig Berney, Michael Berresse, Ken Billington, Sandy Binion, Patricia Birch, Andre Bishop, Nick Blaemire, Corbin Bleu, Heidi Blickenstaff, Walter Bobbie, Anne Bobby, Chris Boneau, Beowulf Boritt, Christian Borle, Jeff Bowen, Jason Robert Brown, Jeb Brown, Laura Bell Bundy, Todd Buonopane, Jonathan Burkhart, Danny Burstein, Liz Callaway, Liz Caplan, Len Cariou, Craig Carnelia, Eileen Casey, Harrison Chad, Ted Chapin, Nancy Coyne, Gavin Creel, Charlotte d'Amboise, Ken Davenport, Penny Davis, Carmel Dean, Robin De Jesus, Ed Dixon, Christopher Durang, James Dybas, Jake Epstein, Raul Esparza, Ben Fankhauser, Tim Federle, Philip Feller, Bert Fink, Terry Finn, Stephen Flaherty, Merwin Foard, Shannon Ford, Hunter Foster, Fritz Frizsell, Larry Fuller, Artie Gaffin, Jack Gale, David Gallo, Irene Gandy, Chris Gattelli, Joanna Gleason, Annie Golden, Jason Graae, Todd Graff, Randy Graff, Ilene Graff, Amanda Green, Michael Greif, Harry Groener, Jonathan Groff, Julie Halston, Ann Harada, F. Michael Haynie, Diane Heatherington, Laura Heller, Tom Hewitt, John Hickok, Larry Hochman, Abe Jacob, Sally J. Jacobs, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Jeremy Jordan, Doug Katsaros, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Steve C. Kennedy, Chad Kimball, Eddie Korbich, Michael John LaChiusa, Liz Larsen, Baayork Lee, Telly Leung, Caissie Levy, Peter Link, Laura Linney, Jose Llana, William Ivey Long, David Loud, Anna Louizos, Hal Luftig, Arielle Tepper Madover, James Maloney, Richard Maltby Jr., Joe Mantello, Josh Marquette, Kathleen Marshall, Mel Marvin, Tony Massey, Michael Mayer, Neil Mazzella, Elizabeth McCann, Kevin McCollum, Donna McKechnie, John McMartin, Lindsay Mendez, Michael Mendez, Alan Menken, Joanna Merlin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jessica Molaskey, Eric William Morris, Randy Morrison, Robert Morse, Julia Murney, Austin Nathaniel, George Nestor, Casey Nicholaw, Jack O'Brien, Kelli O'Hara, Brynn O'Malley, Laura Osnes, Evan Pappas, Michon Peacock, Tim Pettolina, Hayley Podschun, Red Press, Lonny Price, Harold Prince, Ben Rappaport, Krysta Rodriguez, Steve Rosen, Daryl Roth, Michael Rupert, Alex Rybeck, Harvey Sabinson, Sarah Saltzberg, Don Scardino, Justin Scribner, Joan Shepard, David Shire, Rick Sordelet, Louis St. Louis, Michael Starobin, Don Stitt, David Stone, Charles Strouse, Julie Taymor, Bernie Telsey, Mary Testa, Joe Traina, Taylor Trensch, Mike VanPraagh, Donna Vivino, Frank Vlastnik, Jim Walton, Tony Walton, Robert E. Wankel, John Weidman, Ira Weitzman, George C. Wolfe, Amy Wolk, Greg Woolard, James Woolley, Nick Wyman, Maury Yeston, Brian Yorkey, Jerry"