I Got The Show Right Here

Book excerpt: Guys & Dolls...The Boyfriend...How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying...Can-Can... These are just a few of the many Broadway shows produced by the legendary Cy Feuer, who, in partnership with the late Ernest H. Martin, brought to life many of America's most enduring musicals. Cy Feuer was at the center of these creations, as well as the films based on two of Broadway's most exceptional musicals, Cabaret and A Chorus Line. He was the man in charge, the one responsible for putting everything together, and -- almost more important -- for holding it together. Now, at age ninety-two, as Cy Feuer looks back on the remarkable career he had on Broadway and in Hollywood, the stories he has to tell of the people he worked with are fabulously rich and entertaining. There's Bob Fosse, a perfectionist with whom Feuer did battle over the filming of the movie Cabaret. There's Frank Loesser, the brilliant and explosive composer of Guys & Dolls, Where's Charley?, and How to Succeed... There's Liza Minnelli, star of both the movie Cabaret and the Broadway musical The Act, whose offstage activities threatened to disrupt the show. There's the contentious George S. Kaufman, the librettist and director whose ego was almost as great as his talent. Add to the list such glamorous figures as Cole Porter, Julie Andrews, Abe Burrows, Gwen Verdon, John Steinbeck, Martin Scorsese, and George Balanchine, and you have a sense of the unbeatable cast of characters who populate this fabulous story of a young trumpet player from Brooklyn who became musical director for the Republic Pictures film studio, then feverishly tackled Broadway, back when "putting on a show" did not require the support of major corporations, and when dreams of overnight success really did have a chance of coming true. Funny, witty, and immensely entertaining, I Got the Show Right Here is a treat for anyone who loves show business, a story wonderfully told by one of Broadway's greatest and most talented producers.