Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway. But moving to the big city is never easy—especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis—and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre. From his early days as an office assistant, to meeting Jonathan Larson and experiencing the triumph and tragedy of Rent, to working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on In the Heights and Hamilton, Jeffrey pulls back the curtain on the of process of making new musicals and finding new audiences.
Packed with insider nods and insight ... Makes for a fascinating study in identifying, supporting and achieving greatness ... Seller’s recollection of how the Rent team simultaneously mourned Larson and cemented his legacy is a vital account of artistic perseverance ... Engaging ... An inspiring road map ...
Theater Kid will resonate with any reader who has tried to manifest their dream job via sheer pluck and commitment. Even if Seller proves oddly evasive about his post-Rent personal life, and quotes a few too many wooden conversations from memory, those quibbles don’t overwhelm the book’s merits.
Captivating ... Seller candidly describes his dysfunctional family, his teenage sexual awakening, and relationships with his best friend Andrew and other men in New York City during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s ... Seller is an engaging storyteller and as passionate about directing summer camp theater as he is about producing award-winning Broadway shows. Highly recommended.
Theater Kid is told in the present tense in three acts, and some of Seller's lean, rapid-fire recollected dialogues could pass for excerpts from a polished script. He has a light touch, whether he's contemplating being gay and adopted or engaging in Broadway-insider wheeler-dealing. A reader needs no prior familiarity with Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights, or Hamilton, all of which Seller had a hand in, to enjoy chapters devoted to the origins of these against-the-odds hits. For each show, Seller has written a gripping underdog story, which is another way to describe his memoir.
