Razzle Dazzle – Audiobook Online By: Michael Riedel
Razzle Dazzle is a provocative, unrestricted narrative account of people, money, and power that reinvents an iconic New York City neighborhood, turning back alleys and sex shops.Of it into the glitzy, dazzling Great White Way – and brought a crippled New York from the brink of bankruptcy to glittering glory.
In the 1970s, Times Square was a symbol of New York’s economic downturn. Its once bright star, the famous Shubert Foundation, has lost theaters to make way for parking lots. Bernard Jacobs and Jerry Schoenfeld, two aspiring board members, find the crumbling company ready to take over and organize a coup between corporate intrigue, personal betrayal and criminal investigation.
After Jacobs and Schoenfeld consolidated their power, they turned a crumbling theater-owning company into one of the most successful entertainment empires in the world, eventually backing several major hits. Best of Broadway, including A Chorus Line, Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia! They also sparked the revival of Broadway and the renewal of Times Square.
With wit and passion, Michael Riedel tells the stories of the Shubert Foundation and its shows that have rebuilt a city in grand style, revealing behind-the-scenes drama that often contrasts with what goes on on stage, exposing bitter rivalries, unlikely alliances and, of course, intriguing rumors.
Absolutely love this book. The backstory isn’t just about how Broadway became the Broadway it is today – the stories of some of its best-selling shows are absolutely fascinating. I love being on Broadway and it’s history, but throughout this book I keep saying to myself, “I didn’t know that…. I didn’t know that.” This is a book that is easy to read and hard to put down once you pick it up!
Michael Reidel is a “love him” or “hate him” character and I don’t care much for the gossip he covers in his New York Post column, but this is a complete book. Totally interesting that I finished reading in one go. Some Reidel haters may quibble about the authenticity of what he recounts in his book but I loved it and would recommend it to other theater buffs wanting an inside look at New York theater and especially the almighty Shubert organization.
