Broadway Nights

A Romp of Life, Love, and Musical Theatre

By: Seth Rudetsky

Narrated by: Seth Rudetsky, Kristin Chenoweth, Andrea Martin, Ann Harada, Richard Kind, Jeff Bowen, Jonathan Groff

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Stephen Sheerin was born to play on Broadway - or at least, under it. He's a musician, a conductor, and his dream is to music-direct a big Broadway musical. After years of toiling in the pit of some of the best-loved (and loathed) hits on the Great White Way, he's just been given his big break. Can life really be going that well?

Of course not - his family is driving him crazy, and his boyfriend can't seem to get rid of his other boyfriend. Add to that an alcoholic diva, the cheapest producing team on Broadway, and a comatose casting director, and you have some of the other characters buzzing around Stephen's Broadway break. Then there's Stephen himself - neurotic and bitchy - who realizes that maybe total happiness is overrated.

Narrated by Seth Rudetsky, from Sirus radio and Broadway's The Ritz; Kristin Chenoweth, Tony Award winner, star of Wicked and TV's Pushing Daisies; James Wesley from the Rosie O'Donnell cruise ship; Jonathan Groff, Tony Nominee from Broadway's Spring Awakening; Andrea Martin, Tony Award winner, from SCTV, and currently in Young Frankenstein; Jeff Bowen, Hunter Bell, and Susan Blackwell from [title of show]; Andrea Burns, from Broadway's Tony nominated In the Heights; Andy Karl, from Broadway's Legally Blonde and the upcoming 9 to 5; Anika Larsen, from off Broadway's Zanna, Don't and Broadway's Xanadu; Mary Birdsong (from TV's RENO 911); Billy Porter, from Broadway's Grease and winner of Star Search!; Richard Kind, from TV's Spin City and Broadway's The Producers. Jim Price, from Les Miserables and Off-Broadway's Bat Boy; Ann Harada from Avenue Q and the upcoming 9 to 5; Emily Skinner Tony nominee from Broadway's Side Show; Juli Wesley - Becky's First Grade Class at PS 98; and Sally Rudetsky (Seth's Mom).

©2007 Seth Rudetsky (P)2008 Audible

Critic reviews

"Pretty chorus boys flirt with the world, backstage liaisons complicate rehearsals, and old friends finally become happy lovers - this is a gay romance, after all. But the real fun of the fictional romp is the wealth of factual showbiz lore - much of it bitchy and most of it hilarious - that theater insider Rudetsky packs into his charmingly giddy plot." ( San Francisco Bay Times)
"I love Seth Rudetsky! He is Mr. Broadway! Seth's love for the Musical Theatre equals my own and his knowledge of all things Broadway is an obsession to be cherished. His chronicle of the journey of starstruck kid to Broadway pianist/conductor is a wonderful every-theatre-kid tale with wicked humor and New York City savvy, sass, and insight. I LOVE THIS BOOK!" (Betty Buckley, Tony Award-winning actress/singer)
"Even if Broadway isn't your thing, you'll still laugh at the comedy." ( AudioFile)

Amazing!!

Laugh out loud funny! Out of every book read by the author, Seth is hands down the best reader. I LOVED this book. Howling!!!

Fun and Witty

The narrator adds great dimension to this book. I laughed out loud and rooted for Stephen throughout the book. If you forgot what tone is listen to this and then call your high school English teachers to tell them you got it now!

Fun, flirty fluff

Definitely not the book for homophobes.

Has the feel of 'dishing with the girls.' If you love Broadway -- as I do -- you'll enjoy this fast-paced read.

Self centered blabber

I made myself sit down and listen to this babbling idiot for 10 hours. Any 10 child could write this crap. I only did this because it was recommended by Dan Savage.

Painful to listen to

What would have made Broadway Nights better?

A different narrator.

What was most disappointing about Seth Rudetsky’s story?

The narration; the lack of cohesive story line.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

Anyone else. A good speaker.

What character would you cut from Broadway Nights?

The author.

Any additional comments?

I puchased this entire book from Audible and really regretted it. I forced myself to listen to about an hour and then simply deleted it from my computer.

Please understand that I love broadway and I love music and I adore show tunes. But this writing (at least the first hour) is solipsistic, self-aggrandizing rambling.

Listen to the sample first.

It may be a good and funny story but the reader with his "Valley Queen" like reading was more than I could take. Every 10 words, more or less, was the accenting of every syllable with a pitched note on the last like he was living in a musical. Maybe for other gays but not this one.

Wanna hear a whiny voice carry on about nothing?

I've just begun this, even listened to a sample before buying it.....
I can't take this whiny-voiced narrator carry on about nothing!
One of the worst purchases I've made so far.
No wonder it's on sale!

Painful

I ordered it for something light, funny, interesting, and gay. It was not funny. I actually got agitated and could feel my blood pressure go up while listening. Not that the content or views were bad - it was just like listening to one of those people talk. You know the kind - never listens to anybody else, loves to hear themselves talk, everything is sarcastic, trying too hard to be funny - "Hey, if you don't listen to me, I will just become louder and more annoying until you do listen to me!". Just plain painful.

UGH!!!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

the guy that wrote and reads this book is BEyond DESPICABLE! he is a narcisstic, two-faced, lying, backstabber and is SO UNtolerable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he is the type of Gay Man that gives Gay Men a bad rap!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do NOT purchase this book!!!

Would you ever listen to anything by Seth Rudetsky again?

hell NO

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

doesn't really matter

What character would you cut from Broadway Nights?

the main character

Any additional comments?

this guy just disgusted me to no end... he is beyond shameful!!!!!

Like Nails on a Chalkboard!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No - and I barely made it through chapter 3. The narration was unbearable. This is the first audio book I have ever had to quit altogether. I couldn't get into the story, because Mr. Rudetsky's shrill voice and self-important delivery was so off-putting.

What was most disappointing about Seth Rudetsky’s story?

The author's inability to remove himself from the text. His stranglehold prevented the narrative from ever taking off.

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?

No. Never.

Did Broadway Nights inspire you to do anything?

Broadway Nights inspired me to turn the volume down as far as it could possibly go, before turning it off and switching to music.