I bought this book as a gift for a 15yr old girl whose interested in theatre. She enjoyed it and was engrossed in it for hours after opening. I think it was a good purchase and am satisfied with the product.

Whenever I encounter a new version of a book, my primary concern is "what has changed?" Included in the hardcover, but not seen in this edition were "A Connecticut Yankee," "Destry Rides Again," "Dubarry was a Lady," "George White's Scandals...," "Full Monty," and "Les Miserables." Included in this paperback version (not in the hardcover) are "Avenue Q," "Drowsy Chaperone," "Grease," "Grey Gardens," "Sunday in the Park with George," and "Wicked." Having seen each of these musicals, I cannot believe that anyone of an educated opinion finds "Grease" to be more artistically significant than "Les Miserables." Further, while "Grey Gardens" featured one sensational performance, it was far from a peak achievement as a musical. I find the need to own both editions. People who don't may prefer this more conveniently sized paperback with its updated photos and inclusion of more recent popular Broadway artists.

While praising this book's really extraordinary collection of rare photographs, many of the Amazon reviewers seem hung up on the selection of shows. One almost feels that they expect books to reflect their personal taste, whereas books naturally reflect the taste of their authors. In fact, the authors have been rather conservative in what to include. Imagine if the choice of titles were as madcap as some of their photo captions. The 101 Greatest Shows might then have included Portofino, Buttrio Square, or Illya, Darling. There really isn't a lot of wiggle room in the first 101--but how about a second volume? Then there would really be questionable inclusions, bones of contention, readers in quandary. I'm dying to see two pages of stills from The Vamp.

If you saw Dori Berinstein's illuminating 2007 documentary, Show Business - The Road to Broadway, you got close to an all-access peek into the 2003-2004 Broadway theater scene that gives you a sense of the chaos, diligence, exhaustion, and luck that goes into mounting a musical. Two of the four shows spotlighted, "Avenue Q" and "Wicked" are still running as of this date, and unsurprisingly, they are included in the list here. The other two, "Taboo" and "Caroline, or Change", did not fare as well, at least at the box office, and such is the fate of most efforts trying to make it to the Great White Way. Co-authors Ken Bloom (also a Broadway musical performer) and Frank Vlastnik have compiled an eminently entertaining coffee-table book describing what they consider the 101 greatest musical productions staged on Broadway. They seem to have a thing for such lists because last year, they compiled the genuinely addictive Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies of All Time.

Both books share the co-authors' enthusiasm for their topics. Most such entertainment reference books stick with mainly the facts of the productions, but Bloom and Vlastnik go beyond the relevant statistics about each show and inject plenty of behind-the-scenes information along with a surprisingly sharp level of critical commentary on how justified the legacy are of these productions. The challenge of this tome, however, is that most of us have not seen the original-run productions discussed and can't really provide a personal response to the co-authors' collective viewpoint. For me, among the 101 shows, I have only seen "Sweeney Todd", "Dreamgirls", "Avenue Q" and "The Drowsy Chaperone" during their original runs. At the same time, the co-authors give you a palpable sense of what probably were incandescent performances onstage - Fred Astaire in "The Band Wagon", Vivienne Segal in "Pal Joey", Gertrude Lawrence in "The King and I", Ethel Merman in "Gypsy", Julie Andrews in "My Fair Lady", Gwen Verdon in "Sweet Charity", Michael Crawford in "The Phantom of the Opera".

The rarely seen black-and-white and color photos make this an indispensable record of these lightning-in-the-bottle shows. There are sidebars for particularly noteworthy performers and other creative dynamos behind the curtain. Similar to the approach taken with "Sitcoms", the co-authors devote special pages to infamous flops, guilty pleasures, great scores from so-so shows, star turns that have become mythic, film stars who tried to conquer Broadway, and even shows with T&A. There are opening remembrances from luminaries like Angela Lansbury ("Mame") and Chita Rivera ("West Side Story") and an introduction carried over from the 2004 edition by the late Jerry Orbach ("Promises, Promises"). Naturally, some shows you would expect to be included are not, arguable candidates such as "Rent", "Les Misérables", "The Producers" and "Hairspray". Moreover, the one flaw with the approach here is the somewhat arbitrary exclusion of musicals whose scores were created for another project. That's why you won't see long-running shows like "42nd Street", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Mamma Mia!", and "The Lion King" in the book. Regardless, this book is a fine document for any musical theater aficionado with a penchant for breaking out into a show tune.

I received this as a birthday gift and love it! I'm just a little surprised at the selection that made it to the 101 shows included in the book. No Rent? Really??? Regardless of your opinion on the show, it is surely one that should make it on a list of 101 greatest shows..