2024 in Review: Performing Arts Books

by Ben West

The American Musical is a comprehensive history of an American art form. It delivers a detailed and definitive portrait of the American musical's artistic evolution over the course of seven distinct, newly defined eras, with a unique perspective gleaned from research at more than 20 different archives across the United States. This book actively addresses the form's often overlooked female and African American artists, provides an in-depth accounting of such outside influences as minstrelsy, vaudeville, nightclubs, and burlesque, and explores the dynamic relationship between the form and the consciousness of its country. 

by Cher

After more than 70 years of fighting to live her life on her own terms, Cher finally reveals her true story in intimate detail, in a two-part memoir. Cher: The Memoir, Part One follows her extraordinary beginnings through childhood to meeting and marrying Sonny Bono—and reveals the highly complicated relationship that made them world-famous, but eventually drove them apart.

by Philip Gefter

From its stage debut in 1962 through the legendary Hollywood film version, starring real-life on-again off-again couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? tore a hole in midcentury America's self-image around marriage, sex, love, and family. Philip Gefter's study of the huge cultural impact of both play and movie was researched in part at the Billy Rose Theatre Division at the Library for the Performing Arts.

edited by Adrienne Edwards

Widely recognized for the dance company he founded in 1958, Alvin Ailey cultivated an innovative platform for modern dance. This expansive volume, in conjunction with the exhibition at the Whitney Museum curated by Adrienne Edwards, situates Ailey within a broader cultural and social context, examines the dynamic themes within his dances, and looks at how his vision and worked changed contemporary dance forever.

by Deborah Jowitt

From the renowned dance writer and former longtime critic for The Village Voice Deborah Jowitt, Errand into the Maze draws on more than a decade of firsthand research to deliver the definitive portrait of this titan of dance. Jowitt shows how Graham became the face of modern dance, devising revolutionary new dance techniques and ways of moving. 

by Griffin Dunne

Actor, director, and producer Griffin Dunne's first book is a memoir and coming-of-age story chronicling the successes and disappointments, wit and wildness of Dunne and his multigenerational family of larger-than-life characters.

by Margaret B. Steele

Meticulously researched, Margaret B. Steele brings to life the role of "Boomsky"—sidekick and magician's assistant to famed illusionist Alexander Hermann (1844-1896)—and the young African American men who filled it and launched their own careers as magicians, musicians, and comedians. Herrmann's protégés entertain millions, but their achievements go unrecorded by the segregated press, condemning them to obscurity. More than a century later, magic's greatest untold story is finally revealed in this rollicking tale of adventure, success, betrayal, and perseverance.

by Christopher S. Connelly

An emotive soprano voice, heartrending melodies about unrequited love, and a draped-over-the-piano persona made Helen Morgan (1902–1941) the original torch singer, but she was so much more. The versatile actress appeared on Broadway, in film, and on radio. In the first biography of Morgan since 1974, Christopher Connelly utilizes interviews, newspaper articles, and family scrapbooks to present an honest and unflinching look at the life of this complex, talented, and iconic entertainer. 

by Questlove with Ben Greenman

When hip-hop first emerged in the 1970s, it wasn't expected to become the cultural force it is today. But for a young Black kid growing up in a musical family in Philadelphia, it was everything. He stayed up late to hear the newest songs on the radio. He saved his money to buy vinyl as soon as it landed. He even started to make his own songs. That kid was Questlove. Now, in this landmark book, Questlove traces the creative and cultural forces that made and shaped hip-hop. Questlove approaches it with both the encyclopedic fluency of an obsessive fan and the unique expertise of an innovative participant. Hip-hop is history, and also his history.

 by J. E. Smyth

A screenwriter, novelist, labor leader, Hollywood insider, and feminist, Mary C. McCall Jr. was one of the film industry’s most powerful figures in the 1940s and early 1950s. J. E. Smyth tells McCall’s remarkable story for the first time and examines why McCall’s legacy is unrecognized, showing how the Hollywood blacklist and entrenched sexism obscured her accomplishments.

edited by Renée Fleming

World-renowned soprano and arts/health advocate Renée Fleming curates a collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, creative arts therapists, educators, and healthcare providers about the powerful impacts of music and the arts on health and the human experience. Contributors include Ann Patchett, Yo-Yo Ma, Rosanne Cash, Anna Deavere Smith, and more. Fleming spoke about the book at the Library for the Performing Arts in a book talk in May.

by John Devore

An ode to the ephemeral, chaotic magic of the theater and the weirdos who bring it to life, Theatre Kids is DeVore’s irreverent and ultimately moving account of the margins of the aughts New York theater scene.