High Art

Good Morning, Olive (named for one of the most beautiful and temperamental of Broadway's ghosts) is about the ghosts that haunt theatres in New York and around the world. Broadway is the playground of stars, so it's probably not surprising to learn that even its ghosts are stars. Meet some of Broadway's best known—and most active—celebrity ghosts. Don't worry: like Casper, they tend to be friendly. For the most part.

He was one of the most fascinating figures in 20th-century political history. Yet today, Elias Demetracopoulos is strangely overlooked - even though his life reads like an epic adventure story....

Don Paterson is one of our most acclaimed contemporary poets, possessed of "an infinite sensitivity to the world" (Zadie Smith). But his current standing gives few hints of his hilariously misspent youth. An indifferent student prone to obsessions (with girls at school and . . . origami), Paterson nevertheless made clear early on his immense gift for observation. In Toy Fights, he vividly re-creates the customs of the Scottish working class, from the titular childhood game ("basically twenty minutes of extreme violence without pretext") to the virtues of the sugary sweet known as tablet.

He is the legendary and notorious Head Coach who built the United States All Army Wrestling Team from the ground up. He was the first American to win a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in international level competition at the World Military Championships. He was also the All-Time Armed Forces Gold Medalist. He is a renowned figure in wrestling and military circles not only in America but worldwide for his numerous accomplishments. Many of his soldier-athletes went on to become generals, colonels, special forces operatives, Olympic medalists, university head coaches, and success stories ...

When a nameless, struggling actor in 1970s New York gets the call that an enigmatic director wants him for an art film set in the Amazon, he doesn't hesitate: He flies to South America, no questions asked. He quickly realizes he's made a mistake. He's replacing another actor who quit after seeing the script - a script the director now claims doesn't exist. The movie is over budget. The production team seems headed for a breakdown. The air is so wet that the celluloid film disintegrates.

A comprehensive look at the making of the wildly successful Disney Channel film High School Musical, this unofficial guidebook explores the cultural phenomenon and loyal fan base the movie spawned. Providing detailed profiles on the film's cast members - including Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, and Corbin Bleu - this companion follows the cast around the world as they promote the film.

Melody McIntyre, stage manager extraordinaire, has a plan for everything. What she doesn’t have? Success with love. Every time she falls for someone during a school performance, both the romance and the show end in catastrophe. So, Mel swears off love until their upcoming production of Les Mis is over. Of course, Mel didn’t count on Odile Rose, rising star in the acting world, auditioning for the spring performance. And she definitely didn’t expect Odile to be sweet and funny and care as much about the play’s success as Mel.

Since the 1960s, documentary films have moved closer to the mainstream, thanks to the popularity of rockumentaries, association with the independent film movement, support from public and cable television, and the rise of streaming video services. Documentary films have become reliable earners at the US box office and ubiquitous on streaming platforms, while historically they existed on the margins of mainstream media.

In September 1769, 3,000 people descended on Stratford-upon-Avon to celebrate the artistic legacy of the town's most famous son, William Shakespeare. Attendees included the rich and powerful, the fashionable and the curious, eligible ladies and fortune hunters, and a horde of journalists and profiteers. For three days, they paraded through garlanded streets, listened to songs and oratorios, and enjoyed masked balls. It was a unique cultural moment - a coronation elevating Shakespeare to the throne of genius. Except it was a disaster....

Whether drinking Red Bull, relieving chronic pain with oxycodone, or experimenting with Ecstasy, Americans participate in a culture of self-medication, using psychoactive substances to enhance or manage moods. A "drug-free America" seems to be a fantasyland that most people don't want to inhabit. High: Drugs, Desire, and a Nation of Users asks fundamental questions about US drug policies and social norms.

For Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High School's Spoken Word Club, there is one phrase that reigns supreme: Respect the Mic. It's been the club's call to arms since its inception in 1999. As its founder Peter Kahn says, "It's a call of pride and history and tradition and hope." This vivid new collection of poetry and prose - curated by award-winning and bestselling poets Hanif Abdurraqib, Franny Choi, Peter Kahn, and Dan "Sully" Sullivan - illuminates just that, uplifting the incredible legacy this community has cultivated.

"High-Ticket Coach: Mastering the Art of Premium Coaching Services" is your compass to the realm of unlimited potential and exceptional rewards. Elevate your coaching practice to new heights as you transform lives, amplify your influence, and step confidently into the realm of high-ticket coaching excellence.

Andrew Lauder is one of British record business's most significant and highly influential figures but outside the music industry few people will probably know his name. He's always retained a fan's perspective which, combined with an exceptional knowledge of music, meant he was at ease around musicians and never happier than spending time with them. During the later '60s and throughout the '70s in particular (working at the legendary United Artists), he had a knack of being one step ahead of the next trend.

My memoir begins at birth, where I almost died, and ends with my suicide attempt at the age of 31. I am grateful that I survived. Somewhere in the aftermath, an old self perished, along with all past trauma. I went through a rebirth and was finally ready to share that part of my story which I had kept hidden and secret from the world. My journey covered mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, prescription medication abuse, suicide, drug overdose, coma recovery, military base life, house repossession, facing homelessness, gang crime, domestic abuse, divorce, and much more.

Since Wilde's condemnation of modern biography, the genre would appear to have accelerated its descent into bad taste. As Carl Rollyson points out, writers as various as Rebecca West, Ted Hughes, and Joyce Carol Oates have deplored biographers' tendency to cut up lives and render the bloody data so as to make their subjects seem unhealthy, unwholesome, and unsound. Janet Malcolm has compared biographers to burglars; modern novels feature the biographer as grave robber and victimizer.

The inspiring stories of five people who changed history, including Leonardo da Vinci, who painted the Mona Lisa; Christopher Wren, who rebuilt London; Antoni Gaudí, who built the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona; Pablo Picasso, the famous Spanish painter; and Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican female artist.

Transforming Harry: The Adaptation of Harry Potter in the Transmedia Age is an edited volume of eight essays that look at how the cinematic versions of the seven Harry Potter novels represent an unprecedented cultural event in the history of cinematic adaptation.

In this Oxford Guide to Film Musicals, author Hannah Lewis gives listeners fascinating new insights into the development, style, and reception of the 2016 film musical La La Land. Directed by Damien Chazelle with music by Justin Hurwitz, the film tells the story of a romance between an aspiring actress and jazz pianist as the two pursue their dreams in Los Angeles. It uses a vintage form to tell a modern story and its blend of nostalgia and realism made it an instant classic even as it prompted a range of critical and audience responses.

The inspiring stories of six people who changed history, including Pablo Casals, the Catalan cello player; Louis Armstrong, the American trumpet player and singer; Frank Sinatra, the Italian American singer and actor; Édith Piaf, France's famous singing star; Maria Callas, the Greek opera singer; and Elvis Presley, the man who changed pop music.

The inspiring stories of five people who changed history, including Glenn Miller, the leader of the most famous big band in the USA; Pérez Prado, the Cuban musician who was known as the 'King of Mambo'; Ella Fitzgerald, the most popular female jazz singer in the USA; Luciano Pavarotti, one of the world's best opera singers; and John Lennon, member of the famous band The Beatles.