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Press Contact for Eddie Shapiro:
Rick Miramontez / Aaron Meier
rick@omdkc.com / aaron@omdkc.com
212 695 7400

Press Contact for Oxford:
Cayla DiFabio
cayla.difabio@oup.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, ON MONDAY, MAY 3, PLEASE

“A WONDERFUL GUY: CONVERSATIONS
WITH THE GREAT MEN OF MUSICAL THEATER”
EDITED BY EDDIE SHAPIRO
AND PUBLISHED BY OXFORD
IS AVAILABLE TODAY

FOLLOW UP TO WILDLY SUCCESSFUL “NOTHING LIKE A DAME”
INCLUDES IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH
JOEL GREY, JOHN CULLUM, LEN CARIOU,
BEN VEREEN, MICHAEL RUPERT, TERRENCE MANN, HOWARD MCGILLIN, BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL, MARC KUDISH, MICHAEL CEVERIS,
NORM LEWIS, WILL CHASE, CHRISTOPHER SIEBER, NORBERT LEO BUTZ,
CHRISTIAN BORLE, RAUL ESPARZA, GAVIN CREEL,
CHEYENNE JACKSON, AND JONATHAN GROFF

New York, NY (May 3, 2021) – A Wonderful Guy: Conversations with the Great Men of Musical Theater, Eddie Shapiro’s follow up to his wildly popular Nothing Like a Dame, is available today in hardcover and digital formats on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. A Wonderful Guy is published by Oxford Press.

The cover image of A Wonderful Guy is available at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7ogufel31hxghpy/A%20Wonderful%20Guy%20book%20cover%20%28edited%20by%20Eddie%20Shapiro%29.tif?dl=0

In A Wonderful Guy, Shapiro sits down for intimate, career-encompassing conversations with 19 of Broadway’s most prolific and fascinating leading men. Full of detailed stories and reflections, the talks dig deep into each actor’s career; together, these chapters tell the story of what it means to be a leading man on Broadway over the past 60 years.

Shapiro said, “In Nothing Like a Dame, I talked to the greatest living female stars of the American Musical Theater, weaving a tapestry of 60 years-worth of Broadway’s oral history. But, of course, the women only tell part of that story. For every Evita, there’s a Che. Mrs. Lovett is no one without Sweeny Todd. Bess only exists if Porgy’s there, too. The list of iconic male musical theater characters embodied by indelible performers is not only robust, it’s made of legends.

Only Joel Grey can talk about creating an iconic role on Broadway, then starring in the film version, then bringing it back to Broadway. Only Michael Cerveris can detail the experience of creating iconic roles as diverse as the eponymous Tommy, and Bruce in Fun Home. Only John Cullum has appeared on Broadway in each of the last seven decades. And Brian Stokes Mitchell knows better than anyone what it feels like to be a star of today at a time when stars who work exclusively in theater are all but extinct. Their stories are unique and needed to be captured.”

Spanning three generations of luminaries from icons of the stage like Tony^® and Academy Award^® winner Joel Grey (Cabaret) and Tony Award winner Ben Vereen (Pippin) to the newest crop of leading men like four-time Tony Award nominee Raúl Esparza (Company) and two-time Tony Award winner Christian Borle (Something Rotten, Peter and the Starcatcher) along with a host of others, A Wonderful Guy brings more fly-on-the-wall opportunities for fans to savor, students to study, and even the unindoctrinated to understand the life of the performing artist.

In addition to Grey, Vereen, Esparza, and Borle, A Wonderful Guy features interviews with two-time Tony Award winner John Cullum (On the Twentieth Century, Shenandoah), Tony Award winner Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd), Tony Award winner Michael Rupert (Falsettos, Sweet Charity), three-time Tony Award nominee Terrence Mann (Les  Misérables), two-time Tony Award nominee Howard McGillin (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me, Kate), three-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch (The Girl From the North Country), two-time Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris (Fun Home, Assassins), Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis (The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess), Tony Award nominee Will Chase (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), two-time Tony Award nominee Christopher Sieber (Spamalot), two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz (Catch Me If You Can, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Tony Award winner Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!), two-time Drama Desk Award nominee Cheyenne Jackson (Finian’s Rainbow), and two-time Tony Award nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton).

ADVANCED PRAISE FOR “A WONDERFUL GUY”

“Reading Eddie Shapiro’s interviews with these gentlemen of the theatre was like being with them at their shrink sessions, in the confessional booth and at a table at Joe Allen’s all at the same time. The next time I see these guys I will feel like I’ve seen them all naked, I don’t know if Eddie Shapiro should be applauded or arrested!

But good Lord, it made for a great read! Bravo!”
– Marc Shaiman

“The conversations and stories, so generously told by these beautiful gentlemen, provide a moving glimpse into the complicated lives of artists.”
– Bebe Neuwirth

“Of course the dish is delicious, but Eddie has gotten into the hearts and brains of these ‘Wonderful Guys.’ As with his book, Nothing Like a Dame, I came for the great showbiz stories, but my take always were philosophies about working in the theater, and loving portraits of men who’ve given their lives to that most seductive mistress: the stage!”
– Michael Urie

“These inspiring conversations show how and why these are truly great men of the theater and great guys, many of whom I have had the honor to work with and call my friends. Enjoy the adventures of these fellas!”
– Chita Rivera

“Eddie Shapiro asks the right questions, sometimes the really hard ones, sometimes the ego-boosting-leading ones we hoped he would ask, but always the right ones, the honest ones that get inside these wonderful guys. I learned so much I never knew!”
– Kelli O’Hara

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR “NOTHING LIKE A DAME”

“Shapiro states that he wanted to create a tapestry, an oral history, of the last 60 years of American musical theater, and he has succeeded… Highly recommended for readers who are interested in the theater, women performers, and those who dream of being on Broadway.”
– Library Journal

“Falling somewhere between a reference book and my fantasy version of People magazine from a parallel universe where Broadway musicals are the dominant art form, this book offers diehard fans new facets to admire about favorites, and newer fans may be inspired to learn more about the myriad shows and personalities mentioned within the book’s pages.”
– Talkin’ Broadway

“Elaine Stritch, Patti LuPone, Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth, and Audra McDonald are among the leading ladies taking center stage in this sparkling compilation that chronicles the life and times of the Great White Way.”
– O, The Oprah Magazine

“Nothing Like a Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theater is filled with Eddie Shapiro’s penetrating interviews with Broadway’s most dazzling femmes.”
– Michael Musto, Out Magazine

“These great ladies of the stage offer a funny, warm, informative and dishy look at the experience of life on Broadway.”
– Playbill

“For theater devotees, Shapiro’s book is a veritable treasure trove.”
– Huffington Post

BIOGRAPHY

Eddie Shapiro grew up singing music from every cast album he could get his hands on. He is the author of Nothing Like a Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theater, Queens on the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks, and hundreds of articles in various magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals. He lives in New York City and Los Angeles.

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