Broadway theater buffs who enjoyed Michael Riedel's Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway will find much to love in Singular Sensation as he advances the history of the Great White Way into the 1990s and very early 2000s. Singular Sensation is an irresistible combination of scandal, history, gossip and diva behavior.
The 1990s brought profound changes to the Broadway stages and the Times Square area. The 1980s AIDS pandemic decimated Broadway with the deaths of talented people working on- and off-stage, and the Times Square area was overrun with porn theaters and prostitutes. Broadway came back with the refurbishment of long-derelict theaters and some new, more youthful offerings, like Rent. "Broadway is good at comebacks," writes Riedel. The '90s brought an abrupt end to the British invasion; Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard ran for more than two years without recouping its cost. But it was also the decade that brought theatergoers Angels in America; the innovative The Lion King; the 1996 revival of Bob Fosse's flop 1975 musical Chicago; and Edward Albee's surprisingly successful second act. And after the September 11, 2001, attacks closed down Broadway, there was yet another comeback, thanks to Mel Brooks's phenomenally successful musical The Producers.
Riedel interviewed more than 100 people, so even familiar behind-the-scenes tales gain freshness through first-hand accounts. (The juiciest chapter is on Sunset Boulevard and Patti Lupone's account of being done wrong at every turn.) Singular Sensation is a sensational treat for theater fans. It's a vivacious overview of a turbulent decade that revitalized Broadway and energized theatergoers. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant