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The Best Broadway Books for June 2024

Broadway Direct spotlights the best theater books of the month, just for you.

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent 
By Judi Dench with Brendan O’Hea
$32, St. Martin’s Press

Judi Dench already gave us a memoir with And Furthermore. Here we get an even greater treat: a chat with one of our great actors about a life in the theater, the craft of acting and above all Bill S.The person you should become a green-eyed monster over for having the chance to ask Dench everything theater fans yearned to ask is actor and director Brendan O’Hea. Bastard! A treat, this book offers up great stories, insights and tips any actor should soak up.


The Mother Act 
By Heidi Reimer
$28, Dutton

Henry Henry 
By Allen Bratton
$28, The Unnamed Press

Two works of literary fiction are shot through with theatricality. The Mother Act is set in the world of the theater, with a daughter neglected by a mother who becomes famous…in a scathing one-woman show about motherhood. Oh the irony. When the daughter becomes a notable actor herself, their paths–and swords–cross on an opening night. Henry Henry is one of the best reviewed books of the year and can be enjoyed on its own as the story of an heir facing succession with less than grace. But fans of the Henriad will quickly recognize Hal Lancaster and his annus horribilis as a witty, pointed retelling of the Shakespeare cycle. Wicked fun.


The Swans of Harlem 
By Karen Valby
$29, Pantheon

The Great Gatsby: The 1926 Broadway Script
By Owen Davis
Edited and with an introduction by James L.W. West III and Anne Margaret Daniel
$26.99, Cambridge University Press 

We always have more to learn from the past. The Swans of Harlem is a marvel of history, shining a spotlight on five Black ballerinas who blazed a trail through the dance world while enjoying a 50 year bond of friendship and respect. Not surprisingly, Misty Copeland is a fan. And we think we know the original fate of The Great Gatsby, which is on Broadway right now as a new musical. Gatsby was of course a commercial flop when it was published and F. Scott despaired. But some may know it was handed out to GIs as a paperback book during World War II, became a favorite and that helped it become a classic and standard text in school. Less well known is that the book was a flop, but ten months later an adaptation opened on Broadway (directed by George Cukor, no less) and proved a huge hit, giving Fitzgerald hope for his baby after all. Editors West and Daniel present the script by Owen Davis with an extensive introduction and photos and reviews of the day, some taken from Fitzgerald’s own scrapbook.


Two books, Made Glorious and Breakup Lists set against bookshelf background.

Made Glorious
By Lindsay Eager
$19.99, Candlewick

The Breakup Lists
By Adib Khorram
$19.99, Dial Books

Two young adult novels draw vastly different inspiration from the theater. Made Glorious is a no-holds-barred reimagining of Richard III with our antihero Rory, a student willing to do anything to snag the lead role in Bosworth Academy’s senior musical. She’s not messing around! Far sweeter is The Breakup Lists, a Heartstopper-like story of a student named Jackson in love with the theater…and the swim team captain turned leading man. But surely the guy is straight? Besides, Jackson’s sister is already in love with the dude. Adding to the pleasure: our hero is the stage manager of the school show and stage managers never get enough love. But maybe this time?


Waiting In The Wings
By Julie Andrews & Emma Walton Hamilton; art by EG Keller
$18.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

We don’t know you, but if you knew us at all you’d know we are incapable of seeing a new book by Julie Andrews and her daughter Emma without snapping it up immediately. In this case, it’s a picture book based on the true story of ducks who gave birth right outside a theater and used theatrical pizazz to keep them safe. Did we mention Julie Andrews?


Michael Giltz is Parade.com’s bookologist, in charge of overseeing the iconic website’s books coverage and writing its major stories. He also covers all areas of entertainment as a journalist, critic, feature writer, podcaster and analyst. Giltz has written for many outlets, including the New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and The Advocate, among others. When Michael’s not attending theater, he’s reading about it.