Christopher Newton has placed the Shaw Festival firmly on the map of world-class theatre. His best Shavian productions are revolutionary re-interpretations of plays that are normally treated as Edwardian period pieces or didactic entertainments. In this first full-length study of Newton, critic Keith Garebian shows how the pairing of Shaw and Newton, that once seemed not bloody likely, has become one of the most exciting enterprises in Canadian theatre, with startling results. This book begins with a biographical section that sketches some of the most perasive influences on Newton's artistic...

In his book Harold Prince and the American Musical Theater, Foster Hirsch recalls a woman who left the opening-night performance of Cabaret in Wilmington, Delaware, exclaiming: It is more than a musical The exclamation suggests that the Broadway show had gone beyond European ethnicity and history on its way to success. And there is truth behind the suggestion. Even on the mere surface, Cabaret is not just a musical. The Berlin of the Third Reich, diluted for Broadway audiences, provides a symbolic edge that tips the show into a realm of fascinating metaphor.