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Mitch Weiss and Perri Gaffney. The Business of Broadway: An Insider's Guide to Working, Producing, and Investing in the World's Greatest Theatre Community. New York: Allworth Press, 2015. www.allworth.com.
Amid the hundreds of books discussing the rapidly-expanding, everchanging music business, the latest book from co-authors Mitch Weiss and Perri Gaffney delves into one of the most lucrative yet often overlooked segments of the entertainment industry: Broadway. The twelve billion dollar-per-year business of Broadway is centered in a few streets in New York City, but it reaches all the way around the world. The authors' years of hands-on experience in this specialized area of the live entertainment business give this book an in-depth yet easily-understood perspective, which makes it a great option for music industry and entertainment management professors seeking to enhance their curricula through a more thorough look at one of the most important aspects of the entertainment industry.
Broadway is for many people the exemplar of the word "showbiz;" however, most people do not think about the multitude of things that go into producing a single $13 million Broadway production. The majority of consumers experiencing a live performance suspend their disbelief and allow themselves to be taken in by the world that is created onstage. To take a peek behind the scenes could dull the magic of a beloved musical or lessen the impact of a powerful drama. Thus, Weiss and Gaffney's book is oriented more toward those individuals who wish to understand Broadway from a business perspective. The authors speak largely from a producer's standpoint, but there are portions of the book that offer meaningful insights into all stages of a production. Because of this, the book is a useful tool for the college classroom, especially in a course teaching various aspects of this booming industry. The text explores the industry from several standpoints, including that of an investor, producer, actor, musician, costumer, stagehand, and carpenter.
The book is structured logically with six overarching parts, each encompassing a number of chapters that provide a deeper look into the topic under discussion, making it practical as a textbook to be used in a university course. Part One is a broad introductory section that discusses Broadway, the jobs, the people in control, and the...