Theater kid : a Broadway memoir
Edition
First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Publication Information
New York : Simon & Schuster, 2025.
Physical Description
viii, 354 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Summary
"Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway. But moving to the big city is never easy--especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis--and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre. From his early days as an office assistant, to meeting Jonathan Larson and experiencing the triumph and tragedy of Rent, to working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on In the Heights and Hamilton, Jeffrey completely pulls back the curtain on the joyous and gut-wrenching process of makingnew musicals, finding new audiences, and winning a Tony Award--all the while finding himself"--
Contents
- Act one. The accident ; Adventureland ; Camping ; Mom and Dad ; Miss Shively ; Speaking of murder ; A baby and a bar mitzvah ; Plays, musicals, and a talk with Dad ; "Gower Champion died today" ; Old men and clowns ; Go blue! ; "And I am telling you I'm not going" ; Freshman fables ; Scenes from a sophomore year ; 628 Packard Street ; People express: one-way ticket to NYC!
- Act two. "The one place on Earth I want to be." ; Fran and Barry and Susan ; Our first new musical ; Three meetings that change my life ; The booking office ; Booking wars ; The Real Live Brady Bunch ; Rent part I: the reading and workshop ; Rent part II: rehearsals ; Rent part III: performances ; Rent part IV: Broadway
- Act three. Unlikely ; "Avenue Q Tony coup" ; Can we do better? ; Who is Mark Belanger? ; The Hamilton mixtape.