"Actress Eden Blake's biggest claim to fame is a mortifying pharmaceutical commercial for male enhancement pills. That is, until the female lead on the nationwide tour of Broadway's hit Pride & Prejudice musical abruptly quits, and Eden is called up to fill the role. The cast of Liz and Darcy: The Musical has just settled into a three-week run in Washington, DC, and Broadway royalty Brennon Thorne is set to play Darcy. Despite Brennon's reputation...

"Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical? In [this book], Jack Viertel takes them apart, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he invites us to fall in love all over again by showing us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate...

Interwoven with such classics as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Ridinghood, is the story of the baker and his wife, whose longing for a child is thwarted by a mischievous witch who lives next door.