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Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Fun little bookBy Russell J. SandersBroadwayrsquo;s Most Wanted; by Tom Shea; is part of a series of ldquo;listrdquo; books on various subjects. This one; as the title implies; is a book of lists of Broadway musicals. The lists are varied; covering such far-ranging topics as shows based on Shakespeare to shows with small casts to shows parodied on television. It is a fun book of trivia; and because of its format; one could keep it nearby and just read a few lists when the desire hit; rather than reading the book from cover to cover. Being a Broadway buff and somewhat of a musical theater trivia expert; I truly only found two errors in the book (and bear in mind that there may be others that I didnrsquo;t catch.) In a minor slip; Shea says that the Dolly Parton song ldquo;I Will Always Love Yourdquo; was written for the movie version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. While the song was indeed used in the movie; Dolly had written many years earlier; and it had been her signature for years. The other error is more egregious. On a list of shows that are about other entertainment genres; Shea lists the musical The Red Shoes. Here he says it was based on the film Ninotchka. That musical; however; the one based on Ninotchka; was Cole Porterrsquo;s Silk Stockings. The rest of the info given seems to be about The Red Shoes; but I couldnrsquo;t trust it. It is sad that an editing error mars this book. When I see errors of this nature; I have to wonder if the rest of the book is factual. I truly believe this one is; however. While I had tons of fun reading the lists; and Shea is obviously a lover of musical theater; I did find that far too many times he used individual shows in multiple lists. I understand he was fitting shows into categories; but with well over a hundred yearsrsquo; worth of Broadway; I would think he could have found enough material to not have to repeat. I got tired of seeing descriptions of Mel Brooksrsquo;s The Producers; of the show The Golden Apple (who even remembers that one? Well; I do; but Irsquo;m Broadway loco) and a few others. And another drawback is that this is not a new book. It was published in 2004; so shows since then donrsquo;t appear and statistics on long runs and such are out of date. That being said; for theater nuts like me; this book not only expands our knowledge; but it entertains by placing shows in categories we might not have thought to place them in.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Cute Premise; but....By NatmamaThe book was a serious disappointment. Except in the "busts" category; the author equates big ticket sales with "best." Yes; Broadway is a business; and yes; box office is important. But some big sellers have been mediocre artistically; and some flops have been important.He talks about some of the latter; its true - but the overall feeling of the book is to show the biggest and shiniest. Also; how could anyone write such a book and not include; even once; the names Lerner and Loewe (there is one mention of My Fair Lady; but without naming its creators)? Many other omissions - too many to list; in fact. I found the book seriously flawed. There are lots of better books on Broadway. And if you want to read about flops; get "Not Since Carrie".0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Interesting but...By Catherine GoltzGood book of interesting facts but many errors. For example Inspector Javert is not the principal villain in Les Miserables though its a common mistake people tend to make. Contains many obscure shows; including several regional productions and shows that never made it to Broadway.