Review Roundup: Michael Riedel's RAZZLE DAZZLE: THE BATTLE FOR BROADWAY

Michael Riedel_(c) Anne Wermiel.jpg" align="left" width="299" />Michael Riedel, Broadway's most respected (and feared) commentator pulls back the curtain on its stars, its producers, and its mega-hits to reveal all the shocking drama, intrigue, and power plays that happened off stage in his new memoir, Razzle Dazzle (available today; Simon & Schuster; US $27.00). Michael Riedel has been a theater columnist for the New York Post since 1998. He worked at the Daily News (New York) for five years before returning to the Post and has written for The Guardian, Harper's Bazaar, Mirabella, Departures, and Commentary. Riedel is the cohost of Theater Talk with PBS, is a contributor to the BBC, and has appeared on Larry King Live, the Today show, Good Morning America, and many other news programs. He lives in New York City. Razzle Dazzle is his first book.

Razzle Dazzle is a provocative, no-holds-barred narrative account of the people and the money and the power that re-invented an iconic quarter of New York City, turning its gritty back alleys and sex-shops into the glitzy, dazzling Great White Way-and bringing a crippled New York from the brink of bankruptcy to its glittering glory. Michael takes readers into what was at the time a seedy symbol of New York's economic decline, Times Square. Two men, Bernard Jacobs and Jerry Schoenfeld, transformed the collapsed theater district by taking over a crumbling theater company that became one of the most successful entertainment empires in the world and revitalized Times Square.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Elysa Gardner, USA Today: Some of the inside chatter and commentary will raise eyebrows and stoke debates. Sondheim fans will surely bristle when Riedel describes the composer/lyricist's work, more than once, as "cynical." A certain former theater critic gets rather too much unflattering attention. But there is no mistaking the positive, infectious zeal at the core of Razzle Dazzle. For those interested in the business behind the greasepaint, at a riveting time in Broadway's and New York's history, this is the ticket.

Sarah Archer, Washington Post: Broadway and Times Square today would not be recognizable to those who last saw it in the mid-'70s or, for that matter, in the late '20s. Broadway musicals are as popular as ever, but much of the grit and seediness has been washed clean, and the area is now more akin to a family-friendly theme park than a bawdy vaudeville enclave. Riedel unearths treasures from the recent past and contextualizes events that would otherwise be too easily forgotten. "Razzle Dazzle" helps explain how each of these distinct eras could unfold in the exact same physical place, each one a potent sign of its times.

Trey Graham, NPR: Ill-conceived and too insidery for anyone who doesn't readBackstage for sport, Razzle Dazzle chooses for its narrative spine the history of the Shubert Organization, that titan of Rialto real estate. In particular, Riedel focuses on the rise and rule of Bernard Jacobs and Gerald Schoenfeld, the two lawyers who took control of the storied family-run combine in 1972, when it faced an existential threat from a combination of outside pressures and a boozy Shubert heir.

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune: Most books about Broadway, of course, center on the so-called creatives, the real artists of the field. Did I mention they're usually boring? Not so "Razzle Dazzle." Riedel's book grips because he understands, far better than most, the power of the theater owners on Broadway. The Nederlanders and the Shuberts decide what shows go into their theaters - and without a theater, you ain't got a show. It's true that they can't control what's a hit or a miss - critics come into play there, maybe, and so does the audience's good taste, or lack thereof - but the owners have clauses allowing them to kick out shows that aren't doing well. The real money on Broadway is in the real-estate business. So is the real power. And good journalism thrives around power.

Kirkus Reviews: Drawing on newspaper articles, reviews, interviews, and memoirs, Riedel vividly portrays the egotistical players in a feud so intense that producers had to take sides. Among them was David Merrick, whose hits included Gypsy, Irma La Douce, and Hello, Dolly! "I have the soul of an alley cat," he said himself. But the misanthropic Merrick was not the only difficult personality: Jerome Robbins "was a tyrant, notorious for his tantrums"; and choreographer Michael Bennett self-medicated "with pot, Quaaludes, and cocaine." After meeting with Schoenfeld and Jacobs about their groundbreaking new musical, Cats, Andrew Lloyd Weber and Cameron Mackintosh were dumfounded: "These are the people who run Broadway?...They're all mad." Riedel masterfully builds suspense as he chronicles productions from idea to stage to reviews to Tony Awards. A captivating gift to theater lovers.

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