Historic Photos of Broadway: New York Theater 1850-1970

With 240 carefully selected photographs and memorabilia from the New York Public Library's acclaimed Billy Rose Theatre Collection Historic Photos of Broadway: New York Theater 1850 1970 celebrates the Great White Way, the undisputed pinnacle of success and achievement on the American stage. This beautiful coffee table book begins before the Civil War Historic Photos conjures up a time when Times Square was farmland when New York's theater district crisscrossed lower Manhattan. The volume is packed with photographs of truly incandescent actors: from the great Sarah Bernhardt and Broadway's indomitable cheerleader, George M. Cohan to the Barrymores and Zero Mostel. In addition to unusual streetscapes, and interior and exterior portraits of many of the most beautiful Broadway houses over the years, dynamic performers of the 1900s, 1910s, and 1920s are represented. Also represented are the plays of Eugene O'Neill and George Bernard Shaw, and the musicals of George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and the tres chic Cole Porter. Historic Photos of Broadway: New York Theater 1850 1970 is booming with the plays of Lillian Hellman, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams whose Streetcar Named Desire brought Marlon Brando to world attention and theatergoers to their feet. Finally, the American musical theater reaches its zenith with Oklahoma!; Carousel; Guys and Dolls; Wonderful Town; West Side Story; Hello, Dolly!; Fiddler on the Roof; and many more. This marvelous book will delight theatergoers of all ages.

2008 ForeWord Book of the Year Finalist for Photography