Performing Arts - Books - Page 3

Subcategories:

Page 3 of 200 - Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 14

War and Peace

List Price: ~~$26.95~~
By: Nick Hern Books
Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $14.71

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Performing Arts -> Theater -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Performing Arts -> Theater -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> Russia

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 287 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An amazing novel 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Leo Tolstoy combines philosophy and history for one of the best fictional stories about a historical event that I have read. The plot is captivating from the beginning. A glimpse at the high society of Russia in the early 1800's followed by the story of the lives of the families at that gathering. The story of the Rostov's captures all the human emotions. The excitement of Nikolay at his first battle, only to be overcome by cowardice. The maturing of Nikolay into a courageous soldier. To see the same cycle beginning in his brother Petya. The life and death experiences of Prince Andrey and Pierre that shed light into the character of men. But throughout this story, Tolstoy inserts his cynical view of historians and government. Tolstoy does not love Napolean or think of him as a great commander, nor does Tolstoy give him credit for leading the French army to victories. Additionally, he criticizes the actions of government officials and military leaders for their brutality to their citizens and soldiers. I can only begin to describe the plot and the multiple story lines in War and Peace, but I assure you this novel will captivate you. The brilliance of Tolstoy is demonstrated in this novel and I highly recommend it.

Editorial Review:

Few would dispute the claim of "War and Peace" to be regarded as the greatest novel in any language. This massive chronicle, to which Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) devoted five whole years shortly after his marriage, portrays Russian family life during and after the Napoleonic war. Tolstoy's faith in life and his piercing insight lend universality to a work which holds the mirror up to nature as truly as those of Shakespeare or Homer.

A Raisin in the Sun

Lorraine Hansberry

By: Demco Media
Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $7.73

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Performing Arts -> Theater -> Playwriting
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Drama -> United States
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Drama -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 139 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

What Happens To A Dream Deferred? 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Produced in 1959, A RAISIN IN THE SUN was the first Broadway play written by a black woman: Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), a memorable author who based the central story on an incident that occurred in her own family and which eventually evolved into a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1940 as Hansberry v. Lee.

The play presents us with three generations of the Younger family: the widowed matriarch Lena; her son Walter Lee and daughter Beaneatha; and Walter's wife Ruth and their son Travis. The family resides in a semi-slum apartment building on the south side of Chicago in the 1950s, where each tries to rise above the difficulties of their enviroment and the many social limitations imposed upon African-Americans at that time. But there is hope on the horizon: Lena is about to receive insurance money from her husband's death.

Unfortunately, instead of pulling the family together, the money actually drives them apart. Each member lays claim to it in some form or fashion. Lena dreams of owning her own home; daughter Bea is attending medical school and needs money to finish her degree; and most especially Walter Lee dreams of owning a liquior store. Bit by bit the pressure chips away at the family, already strained by years of frustration, and explodes at the play's climax--although not precisely in a way that one might foresee. When the explosion arrives it does not shatter the family; it unexpectedly reaffirms it.

When I review a play, I like point out that plays are not really intended to be read. They are intended to be seen on stage, where performing artists and designers breathe life into the lines and bring force to the story and its themes. This is true of every play. It may be especially true of A Raisin In The Sun, which on paper feels somewhat dry and slightly preachy. But I have seen the play performed--and let me assure that you that it brings the audience to hysterical laughter, painful tears, a sense of deep outrage, and an affection for its characters that few other modern plays can match. It is indeed a brilliant work and a great classic of 20th century American theatre.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Macbeth (Folger Shakespeare Library)

William Shakespeare

Amazon Price: $5.99
List Price: ~~$5.99~~
Usually ships in 24 hours
By: Washington Square Press
Amazon Marketplace: 134 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Folger is a good series 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

It would be ridiculous for someone to come on here and give Bill a bad review. When a person writes a review on a Shakespeare play, Shakespeare is not on trial, the reviewer is. So, I have no comments on the play, just the series. This is the second Shakespeare work I have read out of the Folger Library series. The running commentary and essay at the end of the play are well done and beneficial. If you enjoy reading Shakespeare, but find the archaic language hard to grasp at times, this is a good series for you.

Editorial Review:

Each edition includes:
• Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
• Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
• Scene-by-scene plot summaries
• A key to famous lines and phrases
• An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
• An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
• Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
Essay by Susan Snyder
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit www.folger.edu.

Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library)

William Shakespeare

Amazon Price: $5.99
List Price: ~~$5.99~~
Usually ships in 24 hours
By: Washington Square Press
Amazon Marketplace: 126 new & used starting at $1.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Can Love Conquer All? 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Innocent love is the most pure... and the sight of those who are in that beautiful whirlwind of its hypnotic clutches is a sight to behold.

Is it true? "Is youth wasted on the young."

Sometimes, sometimes not.

Romeo and Juliet is the most known western love story of all time.

Why?

This is not an easy question to answer, however, personally, I would never go back to those extremes of pure love; that game playing, jealousy, love-making so innocent,(wonderful) and the relationship inevitably ending in tragedy.

What makes this 500 year old love story one of a kind is its "truth", that we are essentially envious beings, and pure love is something we all either unconsciously or consciously yearn for...and attempt to destroy.

Shakespeare was a clever fellow: with the sacrifice of these two lover's, at last, the feuding families ended their years of fighting... the Montague's & Capulet's. Peace fell upon Verona.

Does true love always end in tragedy?

A good question.

Shakespeares' classic is considered a "love story"; but the Bard revealed pure love's true irony...young love so pure, so intense, so true, the god's become envious and tragedy is pure love's ultimate end.

Very sad, but very true.

As the cliche' goes:

"Nothing ventured nothing gained."

Re-read this beautiful story and reflect that true love just might conquer all.

Editorial Review:

Each edition includes:

Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
Scene-by-scene plot summaries
A key to famous lines and phrases
An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language
An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit www.folger.edu.

The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography

Sidney Poitier

By: Harper San Francisco
Amazon Marketplace: 74 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Performing Arts -> General AAS
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Entertainers

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 257 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Simply brilliant novel! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Brilliantly written novel! But than nothing less could be expected from Sidney Poitier. Also for all of you that are learning English as a second language it is an example of modern American English at its best. This is as good as it gets!

A GREAT SPIRITUAL READ 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I read this book and I loved it. It is a moving story about Poitiers early life in the Bahamas, how poor people lived, racism, his bout with prostate cancer, friends,family, and film career. It is a well written book and I absolute love Sidney Poitier as an actor and a man. I loved his movies Lillies of the Field, Heat of the Night, Patch of Blue, Blackboard Jungle, and To Sir with Love which are some of the ones I enjoyed watching on tv. He is such a versatile actor and writer and handsome too. My 81 year old Mother loves him too. I cant wait to pick up the book that he wrote about his grand grandaughter (MESSAGES). For those of you who love Sidney Poitier, or a great biographical read. GET THIS BOOK. Wonderfully written and moving.

Enjoyable read, focusing on life - not Hollywood 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I very much enjoyed this book. This book focuses on his life, and his decision-making, and what he has learned through the journey. It is a good way to get some biographical information about him, and to see him as a real person - a normal person, not an actor. If you are looking for a lot of tidbits about his acting career, you might want to try another book. This book touches on those things, but it is not the focus. Very good read.

Anna Karenina

Helen Edmundson

Amazon Price: $18.95
List Price: ~~$18.95~~
Usually ships in 24 hours
By: Nick Hern Books
Amazon Marketplace: 15 new & used starting at $11.37

Buy at Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 238 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Please enter a title for your review 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Half the content is elaborate banal detail used to establish context, but in it's more consequential moments this novel is the final word on the disingenuous nature of institutionalized aspects of social behaviour. It's a theme I've pondered and seen touched on in a few other books, but I was blown away by how comprehensively Tolstoy articulates and extrapolates my own thoughts.
This novel is primarily a work of philosophy, using the characters to illustrate social observations at the expense of a fully cohesive narrative.
It's difficult to understand how fans of classic fiction, who generally consider "reading" a neccessity for respectable people, don't take offense to this book as it seems to be constantly critcizing that kind of cultural pretense.
Another interesting thing I got from the book is how culture 100+ years ago doesn't seem as formal and conservative as I had previously been led to believe. Parents were already complaining about tradition falling out of favor among the younger generation and governmental red-tape was already something criticized as getting in the way of practical goals. On the other hand the doctors of the era are presented as having no medical knowledge whatsoever.
my fave quote:
"The word talent, which they understood to mean an innate and almost physical capacity, independent of mind and heart, and which was their term for everything an artist lives through, occurred very often in their conversation, since they required it as a name for something which they did not at all understand, but about which they wanted to talk."

Editorial Review:

Translated by Constance Garnett, Introduction by Leonard J. Kent and Nina Berberova

Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic

Mark Wilson, Walter Brown Gibson

List Price: ~~$19.98~~
By: Running Press Book Publishers
Amazon Marketplace: 119 new & used starting at $0.91

Buy at Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 52 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

All praise for this is justified 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Many times applauded, this classic for teaching magic is practically unequaled. If you want to learn magic from scratch, this book is what you need.

Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is wonderful for anyone wanting to learn magic tricks. This book explains how each trick will appear to the audience and then gives very detailed instructions with drawings showing each step. I used the information in the book to teach rope tricks to a bunch of third grade cubscouts. The parents were so impressed with the tricks that they wanted to learn them too.

A magic for someone who wish to LEARN magic 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I've always fascinated by magic. And for those guys who like to entertain the women, will find an absolute importance of magic in their routine. The tricks in this book are ranging in difficulty and definitely require times, energy and whole lot of practices to execute.

I was expecting there will be lots of impromptu magics, the kinds I like to entertain people. Quite dissapointed to find the section to be basic and not very impressive. However, if you are a professional magician without this book, you'll be like a man in LA without a car. Thus I can say that this book is critical and mainly focused for stage magicians.

Editorial Review:

Three hundred magic tricks are divided into the sections "Effect," "Secret & Preparation," "Method," and "Comments & Suggestions"; and more than two thousand photographs demonstrate how to master sleight-of-hand.

Lord of the Dance

Michael Flatley

Amazon Price: $22.95
List Price: ~~$22.95~~
Usually ships in 24 hours
By: Touchstone
Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $1.16

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Performing Arts -> Dance -> Folk
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Dancers
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Entertainers

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 136 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

As the spirited step dancer and international star of Riverdance, Michael Flatley shattered records, silenced doubters, revolutionized an ancient dance form, and brought joy to millions of people worldwide. After finding his calling at the age of eleven, when he was "dragged by the ears" to dance school, Michael went on to become the first American to win the World Irish Dancing Championship.
In this no-holds-barred autobiography, Michael explains what really happened backstage at Riverdance -- and why and how he launched one of the greatest show business success stories of all time, Lord of the Dance. He also discusses his life as a dancer -- the hours of rigorous training and the drama behind his controversial rise to stardom. Filled with commentary from family, friends, colleagues, and celebrities and brimming with Michael's Irish charm and good humor, this book is the very personal story of a man who has lived life to the fullest according to his own credo: Nothing is impossible.

Death of a Salesman

Arthur H. Miller

List Price: ~~$18.00~~
By: Caedmon
Amazon Marketplace: 8 new & used starting at $15.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 202 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

" A contemporary classic. . . listen to this album." --The New York Times Death of a Salesman burst upon the scene in 1949, and is as fresh and meaningful today as it was when it opened on Broadway - and won the Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. As Death of a Salesman is Miller's great play, Willy Loman is Lee J. Cobb's great role. He created the part on Broadway, just as Mildred Dunnock created the role of Linda Loman. They both recreate their roles here, with an exceptional cast including Michael Tolan as Biff, Gene Williams as Happy, and in the role of Bernard - Dustin Hoffman. Arthur Miller took an active part in this production, undertaken expressly for this recording - from Miller himself recording the introduction with which the play opens to choosing the director, participating in the casting, and attending the rehearsals. Arthur Miller was born in New York City in 1915. His first theatrical success occurred in 1947 with All My Sons, which earned him the Drama Critics' Circle Award. In 1949, Death of a Salesman was given the Pulitzer Prize and Drama Critics' Circle Award. The Crucible won a Tony Award four years later. His other plays include A View From the Bridge, The Price, After the Fall, Incident at Vichy, The American Clock, Danger: Memory, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, and Broken Glass.

Rise up singing: The group-singing song book

Peter Blood-Patterson

List Price: ~~$14.95~~
By: Sing Out Corp
Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $6.16

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Performing Arts -> General AAS
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> General
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 66 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The basic "hymnal" for our singing group 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is the one referred to as the "hymnal" by our informal sing-along group (I think one of he members picked it up from an autoharp class she had with Brian Bowers). It's a good description; we often find ourselves saying "Is such-and-such a song here? I'm sure it is, lemme see now ... ah. Turn your hymnals to page 62 ..."

As Pete Seeger mentioned in the introduction, there's bound to be at least song you know on every page. It's true that there's a strong populist sentiment in the editing process (which some critics would label "leftist" or "socialist" or "liberal"). That's to be expected, since it sprang from the roots of the folk movement of the last mid-century, which sprang in turn from the union organizers and community organizers who were addressing serious social dysfunctions in their songs. And they paid heavily for the right to compose, sing, and teach these songs, often with their freedom and their blood, a fact which many have forgotten or found it convenient to ignore. I doubt you'll get any apologies for their inclusion here, and certainly not from me.

But political-themed songs are a small minority here anyway, and they are easily outweighed by the lullabies, love songs and "fun songs" that cut across culture and politics. Even Rush Limbaugh would find some favorites here.

My only minor quibbles with the book concern occasional mistakes in lyrics or attributions, which detract from its value as a reference (which it was never intended to be). It is also not for rank beginners; you won't always be able to figure out which chords go where, particularly if your acquaintance is with a different version of the song than the authors had. (Bob Dylan's version of "Blowin' in the Wind" and Peter, Paul and Mary's version used different chords for the same melody, so which one should we be using ... the author's version or the most popular cover of it?) But If you know the song, the annotations allow you to fake the accompaniment reasonably well.

If you're playing an instrument, by the way, get the spiral-bound "Leader" version, which is the 9"x12" one. It's a lot easier to read from a few feet away, which is probably the distance from your eyes to your music stand.

Editorial Review:

This comprehensive collection has sold tens of thousands of copies around the world. It contains words and guitar chords to nearly 1200 songs, arranged in a compact, easy-to-use format for locating songs and working with groups. You won't find an array of songs like this anywhere else: 'Folk Revival' favorites popularized by Baez, Seeger, Collins, Peter, Paul and Mary, Dylan, Mitchell, Taylor, Donovan, and many others. * The best-known material of contemporary folk songwriters including Near, Staines, Williamson, Rogers, Bok and many more. * Broadway show tunes, Beatles songs, Motown hits * Hymns, spirituals, and gospel standards * Songs about peace, freedom, labor and the environment * Ballads, cowboy songs, shanties and blues

Page 3 of 200 - Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 14

Performing Arts Books - Page 3

Subcategories:

Lorraine Hansberry

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

Sidney Poitier

Helen Edmundson

Mark Wilson, Walter Brown Gibson

Michael Flatley

Arthur H. Miller

Peter Blood-Patterson