Learn all you can about musical theatre! You'll be perfecting your craft and acquiring valuable resources for audition material. It's a fact: the more knowledgeable you are, the more respect you’ll earn from your meetings with directors, agents, teachers, and casting directors. I’ve learned a great deal from books about musical theatre history, biographies of performers, composers, producers, and other working theatre professionals.

For your convenience, I've listed several of my favorites below. You can even search amazon.com’s vast online bookstore right from this page, and order a book by clicking on its title. Remember — even in the theatre — knowledge is power!

NEW, AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

Raising a Star: The Parent's Guide to Helping Kids Break into Theater, Film, Television, or Music
by Nancy Carson
An excellent guide to breaking your child into the entertainment industry from one of America's top talent agents.

MUSICAL THEATRE PERFORMANCE:

On Singing Onstage
by David Craig
A valuable guide to song performance by the man who many say “invented” vocal coaching. I feel fortunate that I got to know him quite well, and was able to audit many of his New York classes.

A Performer Prepares: A Guide to Song Preparation for Actors, Singers and Dancers
by David Craig

On Performing: A Handbook for Actors, Dancers, Singers on the Musical Stage
by David Craig

Set Your Voice Free
by Roger Love

The Cabaret Artist's Handbook
by Bob Harrington

The Actor Sings: Discovering a Musical Voice for the Stage
by Kevin Robison

How To Make It In Musicals
by Michael Allen

The Broadway Song Companion:
An Annotated Guide to Musical Theatre Literature by Voice Type and Song Style
by David P. Devenney

How To Audition: Advice From A Casting Director
by Gordon Hunt

THE BUSINESS OF SHOW BUSINESS:

Acting As a Business: Strategies for Success
by Brian O'Neil

Actors Take Action: A Career Guide for the Competitive Actor
by Brian O'Neill

How To Sell Yourself As An Actor
by K. Callan

From Assassins to West Side Story: Director's Guide to Musical Theatre
by Scott Miller

Deconstructing Harold Hill: An Insider's Guide to Musical Theatre
by Scott Miller

The Dramatist's Toolkit: The Craft of the Working Playwright
by Jeffrey Sweet

Monster: Living Off the Big Screen
by John Gregory Dunne

The Big Picture: Who Killed Hollywood?
by William Goldman

Making It Big: The Diary of a Broadway Musical
by Barbara Isenberg

The Amazing Story of the Fantasticks: America's Longest Running Play
by Donald C. Farber

Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting
by William Goldman

HISTORY OF MUSICAL THEATRE:

Coming Up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s
by Ethan Mordden

Beautiful Mornin': The Broadway Musical in the 1940s 
by Ethan Mordden

Make Believe: The Broadway Musical in the 1920s
by Ethan Morrden

Rodgers & Hammerstein
by Ethan Mordden

The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater
by Richard Kislan

American Musical Theatre Song Encyclopedia
by Thomas S. Hischak

OK! the Story of Oklahoma
by Max Wilk

Broadway
by Brooks Atkinson

The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway
by William Goldman

It Happened on Broadway: An Oral History of the Great White Way
by Myrna & Harvey Frommer

The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Popular Standards
by Max Morath
A concise history of the art form, major composers, lyricists, and performers.

BIOGRAPHY:

Irving Berlin: American Troubadour
by Edward Jablonski

Richard Rodgers
by William G. Hyland

Lorenz Hart: A Poet on Broadway
by Frederick Nolan

Cole Porter: A Biography
by Charles Schwartz

Cole Porter: A Biography
by William McBrien

Footnotes: A Memoir
by Tommy Tune

Gene Kelly: A Life of Dance and Dreams
by Alvin Yudkoff

Making the Wiseguys Weep: The Jimmy Roselli Story
by David Evanier

Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey and the Last Great Showbiz Party
by Shawn Levy

Stephen Sondheim: A Life
by Meryle Secrest

Been There, Done That
by Eddie Fisher

Bette: An Intimate Biography of Bette Midler
by George Mair

Laughing Matters: On Writing Mash, Tootsie, Oh, God!, and a Few Other Funny Things
by Larry Gelbart

Rewrites: A Memoir
by Neil Simon

Showtune: A Memoir
by Jerry Herman

A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life: A Portrait by His Daughter
by Susan Loesser

Nice Work If You Can Get It
by Michael Feinstein

Jolson: The Legend Comes To Life
by Herbert G. Goldman

Gershwin: A Biography (With a New Critical Discography)
by Edward Jablonski

INSPIRATION PLUS:

There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery
by Portia Nelson

Classical Music for Dummies
by David Pogue

Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language
by Steven Pinker

How The Mind Works
by Steven Pinker

Max Morath: The Road to Ragtime
by Max Morath and Diane Fay Skomars
My good friends, Max Morath and Diane Skomars, have created a beautiful volume celebrating Max's travels and career as an entertainer, and "channeler of American popular culture."