Musical theater is total theater, encompassing spoken dialogue, song, dance, and instrumental music. But it's even more than that, as Stephen Peithman and Neil Offen make clear. Drawing from the columns and archives of Stage Directions magazine and adding new material and introductions that put the information into perspective, they focus on five main areas of responsibility in musical theater—producing, directing, performance, musical direction and choreography, and technical support. From here, they paint the big picture of musical theater as the most collaborative of the performing arts, creating challenges and rewards at every turn.

Most of all, their book is a bible for budding or veteran directors and producers of community theater, and performers too, on the ins, outs, ups, downs, hows, whys, and why nots of musical theater. Peithman and Offen's book answers such questions as:

• How do you choose the right musical for your theater?
• How do you find out when new musicals become available for production and how do you secure rights?
• What are your considerations in choosing between orchestra versus solo piano accompaniment?
• What are some of the special challenges in terms of costume or set design and how do you meet those challenges—within a budget?
• What about casting, publicizing, and just plain getting the show on its feet?