Ekkehard Schall's life was devoted to the theatre. In this autobiographical memoir, he offers a lifetime of experience, expertise and memories of working with some of the great German writers, actors and directors of the twentieth century.

A member of the Berliner Ensemble established by Bertolt Brecht and his wife Helene Weigel in 1949, Ekkehard Schall worked on numerous productions of Brecht's plays and others with the Ensemble between 1952 and 1995. In the 1970s and 80s he combined the roles of leading actor and deputy director of the Ensemble. In all he played over sixty roles and achieved greatest success in the role as Arturo Ui, a role he played over 500 times.

"The Craft of Theatre: Seminars and Discussions in Brechtian Theatre" offers the reader a first-hand account of Schall's work, of his insights and his appreciation of the Brechtian roles he assumed and of the work of Germany's most important theatre. "The Craft of Theatre "is an important addition to Brechtian studies and to the biography of Germany's most totemic theatre.

'When you see Schall at work during his two-hour performance, it's as if you were watching Brecht himself on stage. Schall's technical skills embody all of Brechtian dramatic theory and practice, just as Brecht's thoughts and opinions infuse his performances.' "NewYork City Tribune"

Born into the famous, sometimes scandalous, theatrical clan of Colley Cibber, Charlotte was an actress destined for greatness. But she rebelled, and started dressing as a man. When her father disowned her, her life became an adventure extending from the pinnacles of London society to its dangerous depths. Kathryn Shevelow captures Charlotte - an artist and a survivor - in all her guises, from her time among the leading lights of glamorous Drury Lane Theatre to her trials as a strolling player and puppeteer, to her comeback as author of one of the first autobiographies written by a woman. "Charlotte" is the captivating story of an extraordinary woman, set against the rich tapestry of London's colorful theatre world, its history and savage political battles.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon described him as the Beatles' "favorite group," and yet no figure in popular music is as much of a paradox as Harry Nilsson. A major celebrity at a time when stadium rock was in its infancy and huge concerts and festivals were becoming the norm, Nilsson's instrument was the studio, his stage the dubbing booth, his greatest technical triumphs were masterful examples of studio craft, and he studiously avoided live performance. He was a gifted composer of songs for a wide variety of performers, having created vivid flights of imagination for the Ronettes, the Yardbirds and the Monkees, yet Nilsson's own biggest hits were almost all written, ironically, by other composers and lyricists. He won two Grammies, had two top ten singles, and numerous album successes. Once described by his producer Richard Perry as "the finest white male singer on the planet," near the end of his life, his career was marked by voice-damaging substance abuse and the infamous deaths of both Keith Moon and Mama Cass in his London flat. His music remains prevalent today, through the 1995 tribute album For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson (featuring performances of Nilsson's hits by Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Fred Schneider and others) and recent covers, such as Aimee Mann's recording of "One" (popularized as the main track on the Magnolia soundtrack) and Neko Case's arrangement of "Don't Forget Me" on her album, Middle Cyclone. In this first ever full-length biography of Nilsson, author Alyn Shipton traces Nilsson's life from his Brooklyn childhood to his Los Angeles adolescence, and charts his gradual move into the spotlight as a talented songwriter. With interviews from Nilsson's friends, family and associates, and material drawn from an unfinished draft autobiography Nilsson was writing prior to his death, Shipton probes beneath the enigma and the paradox to discover the real Harry Nilsson, and thereby reveals one of the most creative talents in 20th century popular music.

This volume provides a detailed record of the life and career of Noel Coward. The book begins with a short biography and a chronology that highlights the most important events in Coward's career. Detailed entries for Coward's many performances follow, with entries grouped in chapters on drama, film, radio, and television, as well as a discography. Entries include a list of cast members, a synopsis of the plot of the production, excerpts from reviews, and critical comments. The book also lists Coward's awards and honors, and it concludes with a detailed, annotated bibliography.

The Polish composer Henryk Górecki (born 1933) achieved world-wide renown in 1992 when his Third Symphony, written in 1976, was recorded on CD and became an international bestseller. It is now one of the best known musical compositions of recent years, yet Górecki's other music is still relatively little known. This study, the first detailed account of his works in any language, provides biographical information as background to the music, and is by a leading enthusiast for Górecki's music.

When Don Nix began his career in Memphis, he was still in high school. Over time, his first band, the Mar-Keys, evolved into Booker T. and the MGs. As a producer and musician, Nix worked with Freddie King, Furry Lewis, Albert King, Delaney and Bonnie, the Staple Singers, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, and many others. He was asked by Beatle George Harrison to help organize the 1971 Bangladesh Concert at Madison Square Garden. Nix's stories of living at George Harrison's mansion in England make for especially good reading. Included in this memoir are dozens of revealing photographs taken by Nix of the extraordinary musicians with whom he worked.

Ruth Lehrer's memoir-in-thirty-six essays is a compelling contemplation about her life as a secular American Jewish woman. With humor and passion, she tells of her family's arrival in America in 1920, her Yiddishe Mama, Catskill vacations, Bar Mitzvahs, Christmas trees, war and peace, religion, God, and politics. She delights in books, theatre, and film with Jewish content, and laughs loudest at jokes told in Yiddish. When she hears of a crime, she prays that the perpetrator is not Jewish. A Judaica gift shop is her favorite place to browse.

The Explosive New York Times Bestseller A backstage pass to the wildest and loudest party in rock history--you'll feel like you were right there with us! --Bret Michaels of Poison Nothin' But a Good Time is the definitive, no-holds-barred oral history of 1980s hard rock and hair metal, told by the musicians and industry insiders who lived it. Hard rock in the 1980s was a hedonistic and often intensely creative wellspring of escapism that perfectly encapsulated--and maybe even helped to define--a spectacularly over-the-top decade. Indeed, fist-pumping hits like Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It," Moetley Crue's "Girls, Girls, Girls," and Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" are as inextricably linked to the era as Reaganomics, PAC-MAN, and E.T. From the do-or-die early days of self-financed recordings and D.I.Y. concert productions that were as flashy as they were foolhardy, to the multi-Platinum, MTV-powered glory years of stadium-shaking anthems and chart-topping power ballads, to the ultimate crash when grunge bands like Nirvana forever altered the entire climate of the business, Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock's Nothin' But a Good Time captures the energy and excess of the hair metal years in the words of the musicians, managers, producers, engineers, label executives, publicists, stylists, costume designers, photographers, journalists, magazine publishers, video directors, club bookers, roadies, groupies, and hangers-on who lived it. Featuring an impassioned foreword by Slipknot and Stone Sour vocalist and avowed glam metal fanatic Corey Taylor, and drawn from over two hundred author interviews with members of Van Halen, Moetley Crue, Poison, Guns N' Roses, Skid Row, Bon Jovi, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Winger, Warrant, Cinderella, Quiet Riot and others, as well as Ozzy Osbourne, Lita Ford, and many more, this is the ultimate, uncensored, and often unhinged, chronicle of a time where excess and success walked hand in hand, told by the men and women who created a sound and style that came to define a musical era--one in which the bands and their fans went looking for nothin' but a good time...and found it.

Pretty Mess meets #Girlboss in this part memoir, part entrepreneurial manifesto from The Real Housewives of New Jersey's "Powerhouse in Pigtails." Margaret Josephs is a hustler. She's a tough cookie. She speaks her mind. She never leaves the house without lipstick on. She's also a devoted wife, mother, daughter, businesswoman, lifestyle expert, and fan-favorite star of the reality TV series The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Sounds pretty glamorous, right? Well, things are never exactly as they seem. Before she arrived where she is today, "The Marge" was born to young immigrant parents. Raised by a single party-girl mother who left her physically abusive father when she was one and a half, she was taught that it was more important to look good than to feel good. No structure. No rules. No blueprint for future success or stability. But like most people who struggle through atypical childhoods, destructive relationships, and career challenges, she forced herself to wake up every morning and put one high heel in front of the other, even if she didn't know where she was going. Margaret took the cards she was dealt and eventually turned them into a winning hand, and she wants to arm fans with the ability to do the same. In Caviar Dreams, Tuna Fish Budget, she'll talk about how to launch a lifestyle brand, how to work with family members, and how to be an uncompromising woman in a man's world. She also spills stories from her personal life about the son Real Housewives viewers don't know exists, the time Joan Rivers gave her the best advice she ever got, the rendezvous she had with a famous rock star, and the affair with her contractor that ended her marriage but gave her the happily ever after. Caviar Dreams, Tuna Fish Budget takes fans along Margaret's wild, bumpy journey to entrepreneurial success and reality TV fame, written in her trademark no-nonsense, tongue-in-cheek voice with the perfect combination of grit and glitz.

A brilliant new biography of the extraordinary, outrageous performer who helped open the floodgates of Rock'n'Roll

In June, 2007, Little Richard's 1955 Specialty Records single, "Tutti Frutti," topped Mojo "magazine's list of "100 Records That Changed the World." But back in the early 1950s, nobody gave Little Richard a second glance. It was a time in America where the black and white worlds had co-existed separately for nearly two centuries. After "Tutti Frutti," Little Richard began garnering fans from both sides of the civil rights divide. He brought black and white youngsters together on the dance floor and even helped to transform race relations.

Little Richard: The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll "begins by grounding the reader in the fertile soil from which Little Richard's music sprang. In Macon, Georgia, David Kirby interviews relatives and local characters, who knew Little Richard way back when, citing church and family as his true inspiration. His antics began as early as grade school, performing for his classmates every time the teacher would leave the room, connecting to an age-old American show biz tradition of charade and flummery. On the road, Little Richard faced competition from his peers, honing his stage show and making it, too, an act that could not be counterfeited.

Kirby sees Little Richard as a foxy warrior, fighting with skill and cunning to take his place among the greats. In the words of Keith Richards (on hearing "Tutti Frutti" for the first time), "it was as though the world changed suddenly from monochrome to Technicolor." Those sentiments have consistently been echoed by the music-listening world, and the time is ripe for a reassessment of Little Richard's genius and legacy.