A is for Audra:
Broadway’s Leading Ladies from A to Z
by John Robert Allman
illustrator Peter Emmerich
from Doubleday
From Audra McDonald to Liza with a “Z,” here is a showstopping alphabet book featuring your favorite leading ladies of the Broadway stage!
This book is first in a series followed by 2021’s B Is for Broadway: Onstage and Backstage from A to Z.
Step into the spotlight and celebrate a cavalcade of Broadway’s legendary ladies. Start with “A” for six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald, then sing and dance your way through the alphabet with beloved entertainers like Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Lea Salonga, Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O’Hara, and Liza Minnelli!
Broadway fans and theater lovers everywhere will give a standing ovation to this one-of-a-kind tribute full of toe-tapping rhymes, with illustrations as bright and beautiful as the shining lights on any marquee.
Praise
“Women of the Broadway theater take center stage in this loving homage. . . . A lively introduction to a whole new cast of heroines.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[T]his is a book all kids (and many adults) will enjoy as they learn about and fall in love with the theatre.” —Playbill
“A true necessity for any kid’s bookshelf.” —Entertainment Weekly
“[A] thorough, eye-catching introduction to women of the theater. . . . budding theater lovers will get a thrill.” —Booklist
“A sure hit for thespians of all ages.” —School Library Journal
“Emmerich’s flattering caricatures, paired with [Allman’s] verse, are colorful and slick, bringing Broadway’s drama to the page.” —Publishers Weekly
“A book that teaches children the alphabet and Broadway history . . . witty rhyming couplets, and . . . Broadway’s divas in some of their most celebrated roles.” —NPR (Favorite Books of 2019)
“It’s an incredible honor to be included in this amazing book of the greatest talent the Broadway stage has ever known!” —Audra McDonald, Tony Awards for Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, 110 in the Shade, Porgy and Bess, and Lady Day
“A wonderful, enriching, enlightening book for theater lovers of all ages . . . and all that jazz!” —Chita Rivera, Tony Awards for The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman
“A to Z—awesome to zany—I’m thrilled to be a part of such an illustrious group.” —Christine Ebersole, Tony Awards for 42nd Street and Grey Gardens
“I’m so honored to be included among these fierce ladies—brought to life with such fun illustrations—in this wonderful book for little divas like my own!” —Lea Salonga, Tony Award for Miss Saigon
“A is for Audra turns the alphabet song into a show stopper! It is literally a love letter to Broadway’s leading ladies, and I am so honored to be memorialized alongside all of my sisters!” —Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony Award for Hamilton
“I’m honored to be included in this illustrious group. A to Z, they are all incredible!” —Kristin Chenoweth, Tony Award for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
“What a fun and fabulous celebration of the females of Broadway! Imagine my joy just to be a part of it!” —Kelli O’Hara, Tony Award for The King and I
“H is also for honored—because that’s what I am to be included in this beautiful book. I can’t wait to show my kids and tell them of all the brilliant leading ladies who have graced the Broadway stage.” —Heather Headly, Tony Award for Aida