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Primetime TV Book Reviews
 "Sweat,
Tears, and Jazz Hands: The Official History of Show Choir from
Vaudeville to Glee" by Mike Weaver and Colleen Hart
This is a really interesting book. If you have ever been
in any kind of choir, it's bound to bring up some good memories about
that experience. If you were ever in a show choir or swing choir, then
this book will be endlessly fascinating. It's also of interest to TV
fans, especially fans of old 1950's variety shows, and of "Glee". It's
just a really well done coffee table book with a lot of information and
great photos.
The writers are from midwestern show choirs, so that's where they
concentrate the book, to a certain extent. However, it sounds like most
show choirs are in the midwest, so that may be a reasonable idea. I
certainly learned a lot from the book.
The book has lots of surprising things in it. It traces the origins of
Show Choir back to the early days of Vaudeville and television, then it
moves forward slowly to today's show choirs and "Glee". It is fun and
exciting - not at all dry or boring. This would be a great gift for
Christmas, too.
VIDEO
Get your jazz hands ready for...
no, not just the season premier of Glee
...Hal Leonard Books releases the ultimate show choir book
Sweat, Tears, and Jazz Hands
The Official History of Show Choir from Vaudeville to Glee
by Mike Weaver and Colleen Hart
Take a step beyond the hit show Glee and learn about the real drama,
the
hard work, the sweat, and the tears that go into every show. Find out
what
it takes to build an award-winning competition set: the branding, the
budgets, the strategy, and the performance. Meet the characters.
Learn the
lingo. Fall in love with show choirs.
Sweat, Tears, and Jazz Hands (Hal Leonard Books, $22.99) is the first
book
to give a full history of show choirs. Complete with photos, quotes,
and
stories from more than 100 groups nationwide, Sweat, Tears, and Jazz
Hands
is the perfect book for show choir buffs and fans of teenage dram-
coms
like Glee.
Not only for the "gleeks," this book also has valuable advice for
members,
written by an award-winning show choir choreographer and a former
show
choir member.
Highlights include:
· A look back at pop culture and theater influencers that built
this
unique entertainment genre including Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey
Circus, speakeasies, cigarette companies and the television ·
Featured
icons of show choir, from Bob Fosse and Fred Waring to Jackson 5 and
modern day successes such as Lady Gaga and, of course, Glee
·
Faces of
show choir today, illustrating more than 65 competitive show choirs
in
their latest performance set
· Creative fundraising efforts
created by
and executed by choir around the country
· Detailed glossary of
"gleek" terms
Mike Weaver is an award-winning director and choreographer based in
Chicago. He works widely in both conceptual and technical development
with
projects ranging from musical concerts to theatrical productions.
Credits
include work with Carnival Cruise Lines, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom:
Marine World Africa USA, and Warner Bros. Publishing. Weaver
regularly
collaborates with some of the country's most noted high school music
departments, staging concerts and musical theater productions. His
work
has garnered awards for best directing, choreography, lighting, set,
and
show design.
Colleen Hart, a former eight-year member of E.T.C. "The All
Americans"
show choir in Akron, Ohio, graduated from her real-life Glee in 2001.
After stepping down from the stage, Colleen went on to earn a BS in
communication at Ohio University. She currently works at Edelman, a
global
public relations firm, and resides in Chicago.
Sept. 20, 2011 $22.99 Paperback 978-1-55783-
772-1
208 pages 8.5' x 11' Hal Leonard Books is an
imprint of
Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group
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