Broadway Nights

Broadway Nights: A Romp of Life, Love, and Musical Theatre
by Seth Rudetsky
Fiction. 339 pp.
Alyson. 2007.

back copy:

Mr. Conductor, if you please . . .

It's been said (actually, it's been sung) that when a Broadway baby says goodnight, it's early in the morning. But what about those nights? The thrill of being on stage, the adulation, the applause, the stage door fanatics . . .

Stephen Sheerin has no such life. Sure, he dallies on the Great White Way, but when he does have a job it's beneath the stage, subbing in the orchestra pit. Other parts of his life are the pits too—including his love life. Why does he always date men who already have boyfriends?

But now Stephen has been given the chance of a lifetime: to be the music director on a brand-new, Broadway-bound show. He couldn't be happier. Trouble is, Stephen doesn't do happiness well.

Completed May 4.

Whatever reviews I had read of this, they made it sound like this wonderfully written, gleeful romp. By and large, I was disappointed. I guess, when all is said and done, the writing was fine. The Broadway trivia was fun. But where I had issues with the book was with the protagonist. Knowing that, it shouldn't surprise you that I'm now going to complain about how I couldn't respect the character because I don't like books where the plot conflict stems from the character's inherent stupidity. I just have no sympathy for a guy who wants to bitch about how much his love life sucks when he insists on only dating guys who already have boyfriends. For years. If you choose to be the other man, you choose to be miserable.

What's truly unfortunate is that he gets the guy in the end. And not a guy who was dating someone else, but an actual good guy. He so doesn't deserve him.

So, the Broadway setting was entertaining and fun, but overall, the book was an exercise in not throttling the protagonist.

Other reviews:
Pop Culture Book Review
Gratuitous Violins
LGBT Book & Video Blog