This invaluable inside account, written by a writer and director of many successful musicals, is jam-packed with great advice, information, and exercises designed to help new musicals reach their full potential. It's the ultimate guide to what to do and not do when you're putting your show together.

Often dismissed as kitsch sentimentalism, The Sound of Music (1959) has proven enduringly popular and surprisingly influential, both within the field of musical theatre and the wider world. The Broadway production won five Tony Awards, the London production became the longest-running West End musical, and the movie version became the highest-grossing film of all time. Over sixty years it has become a cultural icon, with wildly shifting significance in different cultures, but the stage musical has often been eclipsed and altered by the popularity of the film. In this series of short...