Michael Riedel Joins THEATER: ALL THE MOVING PARTS

Michael Riedel discusses his acclaimed new book, "Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway" on this episode of "THEATER: All the Moving Parts", premiering Friday, December 18th at 9:30PM on CUNY TV and streaming at THEATER: All the Moving Parts starting December 21st.

Host Patrick Pacheco interviews Michael Riedel about "Singular Sensation," a sequel to his previous history, "Razzle Dazzle." While that book examined the roots of Broadway's 1970s resuscitation, this new history focuses on Broadway of the 1990s when such shows as "Rent," "Angels in America," "The Lion King," and the spare revival of "Chicago" swept away the British invasion dominated by Andrew Lloyd Webber ("Cats," "Phantom of the Opera") and producer Cameron Mackintosh ("Miss Saigon"). Riedel gives us a riveting and amusing insider's look that includes: the tempestuous relationships between Lloyd Webber and Patti LuPone, Faye Dunaway and Glenn Close; why the revival of "Chicago" went begging for investors; and how "The Lion King," overcame nearly fatal skepticism among Disney's executives when it was in workshop. Riedel says, "Loyalty in show biz does not exist. It's all about selling tickets. And if something doesn't work, you have to put the knife in the person you may have embarked on the original conversation with."

Patrick Pacheco says, "Who would have thought that devilish columnist Michael Riedel, could come up with two books likely to become as classic as William Goldman's 1969 tome, 'The Season'? Like that famous Broadway history, 'Singular Sensation,' exemplifies the truism that 'nobody knows anything' when it comes to figuring out popular taste in entertainment. And in our conversation, Riedel is even less inhibited than in his book, in telling just what fools we Broadway mortals be."

"THEATER: All the Moving Parts" is a CUNY-TV show, featuring in-depth interviews with top theater artists, including playwright Theresa Rebeck, musical director Casey Nicholaw, intimacy director Claire Warden and choreographer Sergio Trujillo. Of Pacheco, Rebeck said, "I felt like I was being interviewed by someone who knows me better than I know myself." Go to THEATER: All the Moving Parts to see these and other episodes.

PATRICK PACHECO is an Emmy-winning commentator and journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, THE WALL Street Journal, Esquire.com, and many other periodicals. He wrote the 2009 Disney documentary "Waking Sleeping Beauty," and is the co-writer, with Maria Cassi, of the play, "My Life with Men...and other animals." He is the writer and editor of the Amazon best seller "American Theatre Wing, An Oral History: 100 Years, 100 Voices, 100 Million Miracles."

MICHAEL RIEDEL has been the theater columnist for the "New York Post" since 1998. "New York" magazine has called his column a "must-read" for the theater world. Michael began his radio career as regular on the IMUS IN THE MORNING show in 2011. In 2017 WOR, New York's oldest and highest-rated station, asked him to cohost its morning show with well-known sportscaster Len Berman. The Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning show is the highest-rated morning radio program in the New York City area. Michael's book "Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway" won the Marfield Prize for arts writing in 2015 and is widely considered to be the successor to William Goldman's celebrated 1967 book about Broadway, "The Season". A graduate of Columbia University, Michael lives in the West Village.

STREAMING on THEATER: All the Moving Parts starts Monday, December 21, 2020.

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