Friday November 21, 2008
Arts & Photography: Performing Arts
Displayed below are the top selling items for today, Friday November 21, 2008 along with the review customers have voted "most useful".
To find top selling items in for a specific category, use the menu on the left or click here to see all categories.
- Modoc : The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer
- The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet (Pictureback(R))
- Wicked - Piano/Vocal Arrangement by Stephen Schwartz
- Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare
- Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare
- Tuesdays with Morrie by Jeffrey Hatcher
- Wicked : The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical by David Cote
- Sock and Glove : Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-Off Socks and Gloves by Miyako Kanamori
- August : Osage County by Tracy Letts
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Modoc
The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived
by Ralph Helfer
(based on 135 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Ralph Helfer
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Price: $11.16
You save: $2.79 (20%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
30 out of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 2/17/07
Modoc: A fictional tale of true beauty
Let me start off by saying that I do love this book. It's a beautiful story that is well written and filled with emotion. Admittedly, this book had me in tears a few times. It is definitely aimed at tugging the heart strings.
What disappoints me about this book is that it claims to be a true story, when it is indeed mostly fiction. There are only tiny bits of fact in there, and those facts are mostly exaggerated. Things that started tipping me off:
1. The author describes most of the Indian elephants (aka Asian elephants) as having tusks. In reality, tusks on Asian elephants are pretty uncommon.
2. The author describes Modoc as having tusks, even to the end of the book soon before she died. Yet in the pictures in the book, the elephant shown has no tusks at all.
3. A circus owner on the hunt for *years* in a foreign country all for one elephant? I doubt that seriously.
4. No dates are given, and for being a work of "fact", I found it odd that no sources are ever listed except for very vague comments (i.e. saying that newspapers wrote articles, but never naming any specific paper)
5. Most information cannot be found except in reference to this particular book.
6. There is an act of a bull's mating with a cow (bull=male elephant, cow=female elephant) that seems way over the top and incredibly ferocious, quite unlike actual mating "rituals" among elephants.
After some extensive research, including research with the Circus Historical Society, I discovered that many elephants were named Modoc, the most famous being "Big Modoc" owned by the Ringling Bros Circus. In fact, Ringling Bros owned 3 elephants named Modoc, the youngest eventually being owned by Helfer, only years after being passed around from circus to circus. Helfer only owned this elephant for 3 years before she was passed onto another place, where she died at the age of 55, not 70 as the book claims. The elephant pics of one performing in the circus is that of Big Modoc, the elephant Helfer did *not* own. While a wonderful story, the bottom line was that Helfer made up most of what was going on. There is no elephant that went through the life that this fictional Modoc went through, there is no Bram Gunterstein...this is a story made up by a man who took an elephant he owned for three years and greatly exaggerated her life.
I also did take issue with the absolutely unnecessary writing style towards human sexuality. It was too graphic, and served no purpose except to throw in sex. The graphic details could have easily been left out without compromising the tenderness of the romantic relationships described in the story.
As I said, I do love this book. But I love it as a work of fiction, not as one of fact. I do not understand why Helfer would choose to make up a story and then call it true, because in my opinion, that greatly hurts his credibility. Unfortunately most people simply take him at his word without actually researching the truth behind the book. I believe the actual plot, writing style, and emotional depth make it a five star book. However, after my extensive research proved that Helfner fabricated almost all of this yet claimed it to be true, the credibility made me think "three star". Yet I couldn't justify rating such a lovely and romantic story so low, so I compromised and gave it four stars.
Please, do read and enjoy this book. But read it with the thoughts that the "greatest elephant whoever lived" merely lived in someone's imagination. It is a great love story that ultimately teaches that it's love, kindness, and affection that prove to be the best way to care for ANY animal. And even for a work of fiction, that is a lesson that is definitely applicable to real life.
Click here to see more reviews for: Modoc
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The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet (Pictureback(R))
(based on 4 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Price: $3.99
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
6 out of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 12/18/02
a little confusing
In reference to the next review, Marie and Clara are not the same character. Marie is the little girl, and Clara is her doll.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet (Pictureback(R))
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Wicked - Piano/Vocal Arrangement
by Stephen Schwartz (based on 41 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Stephen Schwartz
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Price: $13.64
You save: $4.31 (24%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
152 out of 153 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 7/9/04
Great score, arrangements! (melody in the piano part)
After waiting for so long to finally get this book, I've discovered it to be well worth the wait.Stephen Schwartz is releasing two versions of vocal selections for wicked, this version containing the melody interpolated into the piano part, and another book that is billed as a professional acompaniment without the melody necessarily built into the piano arrangement. This led many to speculate that the "with melody" version would therefore be much easier and less true to the music. Although I haven't seen the other book yet as it has yet to be released as I write this, you should definitely know that this book has not one "easy" arrangement. The arrangers have done a really excellent job of keeping the parts interesting while building in the melody. For instance, "Defying Gravity," the amazing Act-One closing number, is particularly well done, and if you can work through the key-- (it remains, as in the show, in Db) you will be VERY satisfied with the richness and fullness of the sound.
Schwartz has adapted the songs for use as solos or (where applicable) duets, removing longer instrumental breaks, trimming ensemble sections, and providing some new lyrics and endings to make the songs work really well for this new format. This in my opinion is yet another reason to purchase the book, as it gives fans of the show a way to interpret small sections of some of the songs differently.
Sometimes I do wish some cuts could have been avoided (notably I miss the wonderful "We deserve each other" theme that appears on the cast album intersecting "Dancing through Life" and the counterpoint melody "Who's that mage..." in "One Short Day"), but Schwartz is right, it would have impeded the creation of solo pieces to put those in.
The score for Wicked is definitely not to be missed, it really is a must have-- (especially while I wait patiently for the imminent release of the other version of the score!)
Overall, the music is wonderful, the arrangements remain challenging, but are extremely well edited and contain chord diagrams to help you along as well. Well done.
Click here to see more reviews for: Wicked - Piano/Vocal Arrangement
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Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library)
by William Shakespeare (based on 29 customer reviews)
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(Mass Market Paperback)
Author: William Shakespeare
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Price: $5.99
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
15 out of 20 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 2/28/06
Beautiful Love Story
Romeo and Juliet is a compelling romantic tragedy which I first read at secondary school. I suppose that since the play is simple, it was a good introduction for me to the wealth of Shakespeare's genius. I thoroughly enjoyed the moving exchanges between Romeo and Juliet.
Here were two families, the Capulet and Montague that were in perpetual feud. The quarrel was going on for a long time that no one in the two families really cared to find out the root cause and if it could not be resolved. All that the two families cared about was to kill each other wherever possible.
Romeo (a Montague) falls in love with Juliet (a Capulet). However, because of the long-running feud between their families, they were married in secret by Friar Lawrence. They decide to flee Verona since Juliet was due to be married to another man. Romeo gets banished from Verona following his killing of Tybalt when he was avenging the death of his friend Mercutio.
With the dilemma that Romeo and Juliet were having, Friar Lawrence and Juliet come up with a plan for Juliet to take a poison that would make her appear dead and Romeo would come and take her when she wakes up 48 hours later. However, Romeo was not aware of the plan and when he turns up and sees Juliet apparently dead, he decides to kill himself. When eventually Juliet wakes up, she finds her lover dead so she also kills herself. When the two feuding families discover what happened, they decide to end their feud.
For those who want to start learning Shakespeare, this is a good place to start. The play is first class, simple and straightforward romantic tragedy. I love the play as it highlights the ultimate futility of all conflicts and teaches the often unfortunate and unnecessary tragic consequences of such conflicts.
Click here to see more reviews for: Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library)
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Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library)
by William Shakespeare (based on 34 customer reviews)
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(Mass Market Paperback)
Author: William Shakespeare
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Price: $5.99
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
37 out of 41 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 3/10/05
Fantastic story, and excellent for new reader of Hamlet
The book has an interesting layout, with definitions of words on the left, with the text of the story on the right. The book layout is the best layout I've seen of any Shakespeare book, and the size is right (you can take it with you!).
The story is legend - even speaking literally - apparently the story of Hamlet hearkens back to even older legends that predate Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Shakespeare is so quotable, and Hamlet is no different - you often find yourself saying "Oh, that's where that comes from!" and its like finding an old friend in a new story. "To be or not to be, that is the question" is one; so is "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" and so is "To thine own self be true". The book even comes with an appendix listing commonly quoted portions of the story and their source.
However, my favorite quote (but not well-known) from the play comes from Hamlet himself, and sums the character up well:
"O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!"
Get this book, and have a good read! Then get more Shakespeare from the same series: you won't be sorry.
Click here to see more reviews for: Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library)
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Tuesdays with Morrie
by Jeffrey Hatcher (based on 2118 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Jeffrey Hatcher
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Price: $7.50
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
277 out of 299 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 2/8/00
Great book to remind you of what really matters in life
I read this book after hearing so many good things about it and the TV movie based on it. It's a very quick read - I finished it in two days, which is unheard of for me! The book is basically about Morrie Schwartz, a history professor at Brandeis University, who has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and is dying. A former student, Mitch Albom, who had become a fairly well known sports writer, heard about his teacher from an interview with Ted Koppel on Nightline and decided to pay a visit. This visit soon turned into regular meetings - on Tuesdays - since at the time there was a strike at Albom's newspaper. Albom plots Morrie's declining health, which is quite depressing, but at the same time imparts Morrie's wisdom. One definitely can get a sense of what the important things in life are from someone who has little left, but Morrie is particularly eloquent and seems to carry an upbeat dignity to the end. Sometimes it takes the wisdom of a dying man to jog us enough to realize that human relationships and health are more important than all the gadgets, modern conveniences, pressures to get ahead professionally and monetarily combined. This is just the main point that Morrie starts "teaching" Albom and getting through to someone who, like many of us from time to time, have gotten obsessed with the real trivialities of life. The only complaint I have about this book is that it wasn't longer. I wanted to take more time and savor the wisdom and sweetness of this old man, but, like his illness's swiftness, reading the book seemed to go by all too quickly.
Click here to see more reviews for: Tuesdays with Morrie
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Wicked
The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical
by David Cote (based on 124 customer reviews)
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(Hardcover)
Author: David Cote
Publisher: Hyperion
Price: $26.40
You save: $13.60 (34%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
133 out of 142 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/26/05
Wicked: The Grimmerie
Finally, after months of waiting (and a whole week early!). Wicked: The Grimmerie is here. Some may be wondering if they should buy this book, and I'm here to tell you.
The Good News: The cover and design of the book is amazing. The cover looks old and worn and is even padded. The intricate designs are textured and the book is nice and heavy and thick. The inside design is incredible. Each page (printed on very heavy paper) is made to look old, worn and stained and it's wonderful to look at. As for the actual contents... wow. The production photos are brilliantly printed and include photos from the following casts: Original Broadway Cast, 2nd Broadway Cast (Jennifer Laura Thompson and Joey McIntyre), Original Tour Cast (Stephanie J. Block and Kendra Kassebaum), and the 3rd Broadway Cast (Shoshana Bean and David Ayers). There are very few new photos but there are some. Most of them are from the tour cast (most of Kendra and some of Stephanie and one small one of Carole Kane). There are many interviews with every cast member and many from Gregory Maguire (writer of Wicked the novel) and Stephen Shwartz and Winnie Holtzman (writer of script). There is a step-by-step page of how Stephanie gets green before each show. They have a page dedicated to the dance Elphaba does in "Dancing Through Life" and they teach it to us step-by-step. They have many photos of props and sets and wigs, as well as original costume and set sketches. There is a handwritten page from the book and an early version of Defying Gravity. There is commentary on each song by Mr. Shwartz and this isn't even all of it. So much information to soak up!
The Wicked News: Unlike what some people are saying, the book DOES NOT INCLUDE THE FULL SCRIPT. There are bits of dialogue and a lot of it is summed up in a few sentences. (The Cornfield Scene is completely gone) They cut whole scenes (which is dumb, they are all spoiler free about it, even though they talk about the same parts in interviews). I was so hoping they would make a huge deal about the script and splash the libretto with tons of photos from each scene... It's very, very disappointing, yes. Very. But... ah, well. They also didn't include Elphaba's spells like they said they would. There is also a sad lack of production photos. There are so many wonderful photos and they don't use NEARLY as much as they should have... You should also know they don't include the 4th Broadway cast (Megan Hilty, Ben Vereen) or ANY of the Chicago cast (Ana Gastyer and Kate Reinders)... that really bites. The Chicago sit-down cast is only mentioned and that is a shame. If you are an Original Cast fan you may be slightly disappointed. Instead of using only the original cast photos (like the RENT "bible") they mix and match all the different casts. This would be fine except that if you are a big fan or the Chicago cast or the current Broadway cast (as of Fall 2005) you will be disappointed.
But over all, an AMAZING book. Buy it! It's a must for every Wicked fan. A MUST. This is also a wonderful gift.
Click here to see more reviews for: Wicked
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Sock and Glove
Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-Off Socks and Gloves
by Miyako Kanamori (based on 27 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Miyako Kanamori
Publisher: HP Trade
Price: $10.36
You save: $2.59 (20%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
45 out of 45 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 7/25/07
harbinger of a trend?
I love Japanese craft books.
No, I mean it. I *love* them. Love them so much that I'm willing to spend a zillion dollars in postage to get them here in the US, because they almost never disappoint.
I'd seen the japanese version of this book, and it's been on my wishlist at amazon.jp forEVER. So when I found out there was an english version, I dove on it with the voracity of a hungry shark on chum.
And I'm definitely not disappointed. True to the japanese craft book roots, the photography is gorgeous, the projects are so cute they'll send you running ofr insulin (in a good way), and the instructions are clear and follow-able, even to a non-seamstress like myself.
If this is a trend that publishers are heading toward -- reprinting these japanese favorites in english -- then let me be the first to stand up and applaud wildly. Maybe even whoop a little. Because if this book is any indication, it's going to be a fabulous, wild ride.
Click here to see more reviews for: Sock and Glove
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August
Osage County
by Tracy Letts (based on 28 customer reviews)
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(Paperback)
Author: Tracy Letts
Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
Price: $11.16
You save: $2.79 (20%) off the list price!
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Most useful review as voted by customers:
24 out of 29 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 2/11/08
Summer and Smoke (and Pills)
When The Stern Librarian saw this show in New York recently she heard lot of debate at intermission (both of them!) about whether Tracy Letts has a written a classic to stand with the best of Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams, or whether the play is a Carol Burnett spoof of those masters. Anyone who thinks this play is nothing but a bawdy of exchange of insults and swears (and catfights about catfish) should read the published play. On the page it is abundantly clear that the poetry quoted in the lovely opening scene by the doomed husband finds its messy, human correlative in the scenes that follow, with language so memorable it deserves to be printed on t-shirts and sold in the lobby. This is a masterpiece from beginning to end, from August to tragic December. The Stern Librarian (I get a lot of reading done in the TKTS booth).
Click here to see more reviews for: August
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