The Alchemy of Theatre, edited by Robert Viagas who poses for a quick shot with 1515 Broadway, the Viacom building, as the backdrop.
The Larchmont Gazetteturns the spotlight on Mamaroneck resident Robert Viagas, founder of Playbill.com and host of the annual Tony Awards webcast.
Mr. Viagas also collaborated with the original cast of the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning musical A Chorus Line on their book On the Line: The Creation of A Chorus Line, released to coincide with the Broadway revival of the long-running musical. On the Line tells the story of how the show was forged in unprecedented workshops at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre and includes exclusive insights from those whose personal life stories were used as the basis for the show. The book was released in early October by Limelight Books.
In addition, Mr. Viagas served as editor of The Playbill Broadway Yearbook from Playbill Books, a 512-page backstage look at life at all 71 shows that played on Broadway during the 2005-2006 season. It is the second in an annual series, and Mr. Viagas is currently at work on the 2007 edition.
This Sunday he will moderate a very special reading of The Alchemy of Theatre with contributors and Broadway luminaries: director Harold Prince (Evita and The Phantom of the Opera), playwrights Terrence McNally (Kiss of the Spider Woman and Love! Valour! Compassion!) and Edward Albee (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), actress Kathleen Chalfant, and lyricist/composer team Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
