Theater Kid

De: Jeffrey Seller

Narrado por: Jeffrey Seller, Annaleigh Ashford, Kyle Beltran, Steven Boyer, Danny Burstein, Darren Criss, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sas Goldberg, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lindsay Mendez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alex Newel, Andrew Rannells, Conrad Ricamora, Jonathan Marc Sherman

A coming-of-age tale from one of the most successful American producers of our time, Jeffrey Seller, who is the only producer to have mounted two Pulitzer Prize-winning musicals—Hamilton and Rent. Read by the author and a full cast of Broadway and Off-Broadway actors!

The star-studded cast includes: Annaleigh Ashford, Kyle Beltran, Steven Boyer, Danny Burstein, Darren Criss, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sas Goldberg, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lindsay Mendez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alex Newell, Andrew Rannells, Conrad Ricamora, Jonathan Marc Sherman, and Christopher Sieber. The program also features original music composed by Tony and Pulitzer Prize Award winner Tom Kitt.

Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway.

But moving to the big city is never easy—especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis—and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre. From his early days as an office assistant, to meeting Jonathan Larson and experiencing the triumph and tragedy of Rent, to working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on In the Heights and Hamilton, Jeffrey completely pulls back the curtain on the joyous and gut-wrenching process of making new musicals, finding new audiences, and winning a Tony Award—all the while finding himself.

Told with Jeffrey’s candid and captivating voice, Theater Kid is a gripping memoir about fighting through a hardscrabble childhood to make art on one’s own terms, chasing a dream against many odds, and finding acceptance and community.

©2025 Jeffrey Seller (P)2025 Simon & Schuster Audio

If you love musicals….

A must for musical lovers everywhere. Jeffrey Seller takes us on a roller coaster ride of his life, from the difficult childhood living in the “Cardboard Village” of Detroit to the triumphant production of Hamilton on Broadway.

Outstanding

Why did I cry so many times throughout this book?! It was just fantastic and insightful. For someone who loves musicals but is nowhere close to this industry, this was an amazing book. Also, what a stacked cast for the audiobook. I fully recommend this. You’ll enjoy it. Thanks to Jeffrey for writing this.

Must read/listen for all theater kids (especially Rentheads)

I loved this memoir, especially once it kicked into the Rent chapters and subsequent Hamilton chapters. Being a RentHead from 1997, I was enraptured by Jeffrey’s telling of Rent’s genesis and the insights into Jonathan’s process leading up to the night of his untimely passing. I resonated so deeply with the ways in which Jeffrey described rents Impact on his heart, soul, body and spirit. Theater kids rule and so does this book.

Good Pride month read

I knew these Broadway musicals but not much about the people behind them. Jeffrey tells his story well and I learned a lot about the world of theatre production. But this is also a very personal memoir compellingly read by the author with a talented cast of characters.

A Joy for Theatre Kids Everywhere

Beautiful read! As a playwright and actor myself it was wonderful to hear the story of one of my theatre heroes.

Theater Kid is not one to miss

Theater Kid tells a captivating story that will delight and reinvigorate your interest in musical theater

Loved this audio book

Could not put it down! Seller knows how to tell a story. He is inspiring and relatable. And it is a big bonus that the audio book is performed by actors including Lin Manuel!

What I did for Love (from "A Chorus Line")

Jeffrey Seller's, Theatre Kid, is a well-written, harrrowing and inspiring tale of nature vs. nuture, self-determination – a family boundary-bootcamp of theatrical proportions – a coming-of-age, rags-to-riches story about the power of imagination and the gritty determination to make sh*t happen. I just learned about Jeffrey Seller and his memoir two weeks ago when he was interviewed by Ilana Levine for her "Little Known Facts" podcast. I was instantly struck by the author's authenticity and incredible true story of perservance, imagination and self-actualization. His love of theatre helped him escape his challenging life-circumstances – eventually affording him a fulfilling and successful life beyond anyone's wildest expectations. He worked hard for his success and along the way, was instrumental in bringing to the world some of our most beloved, iconic, Broadway experiences. This Audible book, peppered with a cast of noteworthy Broadway vets, adds a sweet component to the listening - especially, Danny Burstein who voices the role of his dad. A side note: he does share, quite explicitly, some of his coming-of-age sexual encounters as he embraces his young homosexuality during the frightening AIDS epidemic in the 80s and early 90s - so if that would be of concern, perhaps, you might choose to read the book.

A creators passion

Jeffrey shared his life's story and what it took to achieve the many successes of his life. He never lost sight of his goal.

Inspiring to stay the course

A must read for anyone born to the theatre and those who just don’t know they are!