A Year with the Producers: One Actor's Exhausting (But Worth It) Journey from Cats to Mel Brooks' Mega-Hit (A theatre arts book)
by Jeffry Denman

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Book Reviews of A Year with the Producers: One Actor's Exhausting (But Worth It) Journey from Cats to Mel Brooks' Mega-Hit (A theatre arts book)

Book Review: Absolutely WONDERFUL book!!!
Summary: 5 Stars

Jeff Denman is a wonderful writer. I read the book in one evening taking time only for dinner and actually read while eating. It is one of those "can't put down" books. There is an ease and polish to his writing that allows the reader to feel Jeff is talking to him/her instead of just putting words on paper.

The narrative begins when Jeff is one of the principals in the last cast of "Cats" on Broadway going right through closing night. He takes the reader through auditions for "The Producers" that took place just before the closing and how he went from one show to the other. Then he details the rehearsal process, the out of town tryout and the New York opening. The closing section is the suspensful time he went through as the understudy for Matthew Broderick and going on for him during his vacation. It is so well written that it is possible to feel the nerves and tension he went through at this time.

Jeff mentions his roots in Buffalo and doing productions in this area before going to New York. I was lucky enough to have been in a musical with him and know he is a terrific singer-actor-dancer, but I was unaware of what a good writer he is.

If you would like to see him at work, he has a featured dance on the DVD "My Favorite Broadway, The Love Songs" (a lovely "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" partnered with Joan Hess) and can be seen throughout the DVD "Recording The Producers" about the recording of the cast album. (Watch during the tap sequence - Jeff has a distinctive pair of shoes so you can pick out his feet when no heads are shown.)

This is a book that anyone who loves musicals and theater should add to thier library to get the perspective of how the supporting actors really make the show. It is a book that can and will be reread many times.

Summary of A Year with the Producers: One Actor's Exhausting (But Worth It) Journey from Cats to Mel Brooks' Mega-Hit (A theatre arts book)

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