“Art has the power to render sorrow beautiful, make loneliness a shared experience, and transform despair into hope.” #MusicianForLife

“He was so delighted, confused, excited, terrified, happy, sad, totally sure, totally uncertain; he merely stood behind his turntable like an actor who had forgotten not only his lines, or his part, but also which production he was in.”

Loved it!! Best quote from the book - “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce, as Mother had said I could be. Just because I was interested in a man‘s job didn‘t mean I had to give up being girly. Who defined those roles anyhow?”

Once again, Tosca Lee delivers an Adrenalin laced page turner! Sequels sometimes don‘t live up to the hype but this one delivers in a big way. Lee‘s main character, Audra, is a strong woman surrounded by other strong men and women. Love that!

If you want to understand, very clearly, how the struggle for racial equality played out in the early years of Broadway, read this book.

If it were in my power to do so, I would make this book required reading for every student interested in pursuing a career in the performing arts. Understanding our past can help us to build a better future.

From “Introducing Bert Williams” ~

“Then, as they parted, Bert said that he was on his way to the back elevator.

As [Eddie] Cantor listened, he noticed that Bert‘s voice betrayed the merest trace of bitterness. Speechless, he stopped, and the two stood together ‘in understanding silence‘. Then, Bert opened up, just for a moment: ‘It wouldn‘t be so bad, Eddie, if I didn‘t still hear the applause ringing in my ears. ‘“