Description

A Self-Help Guide–with Jazz Hands! Life is Like a Musical features 50 wry, witty tips on getting ahead in life and love–all learned in the showbiz trenches.

“Hilarious, wise, and one-of-a-kind. This book is so damn brilliant I’m surprised it didn’t already exist.” — Sarah Knight, bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck

Before Tim Federle became a bestselling author and a Broadway playwright, he worked as a back-up dancer at the Super Bowl, a polar bear at Radio City, and a card-carrying chorus boy on Broadway. Life is Life a Musical features 50 tips learned backstage, onstage, and in between gigs, with chapters such as “Dance Like Everyone’s Watching” and “Save the Drama for the Stage.” This charming and clever guide will appeal to all ages and inspire readers to step into the lead role of their own life, even if they’re not a recovering theater major.

What's Inside

Introduction--I Mean, Wait--Overture

Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!
At this evening’s performance, the starring role will be played by . . . well, you, it turns out. So are you ready?
No worries, I’m here to help. This book contains everything I know about life, learned during my time as a theater kid–turned–chorus boy–turned Broadway playwright. Along my way to the Great White Way, I picked up tips and tricks backstage, onstage, and in between gigs—and realized just how many ways life is like a musical.
Basically, think of this book as Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff with jazz hands.
These aren’t instructions for dancing in the middle of the streets (though, by all means, go for it). It’s more about “borrowing” (okay, stealing) the pizzazz and determination that define theater people, and harnessing that energy for your own forces of good.
Right around my third career transition, I recognized how many hard-won showbiz lessons applied to all walks of my life—not just how to be a successful performer, but how to be a successful person and partner, too. And I want you to know these insights, too.
Come on in, the spotlight’s warm.
From “Cast Yourself in the Role You Must Play” (chapter 1), in which I advise you how to stop waiting for someone to “discover” you, to “Find Your Tribe” (chapter 49), in which I recommend cultivating a network of like-minded souls, I hope the advice I borrowed from Broadway can help you get inspired—not to mention get hired, whether it’s in a boardroom or on the boards.
Now, you don’t have to know every lyric to Les Miz to find these secrets and shortcuts useful—at least I hope you don’t. Many of the references contained within Life Is Like a Musical will resonate with theater people, sure—but also with anyone who didn’t think they liked musicals, until they accidentally overheard some kid blasting the Hamilton album. Truth is, even if you’re not a diehard drama geek, there are fundamental insights about getting ahead in life, love, and leadership that only a true Broadway baby can share. Trust me.
Oh, why me? Great question, appreciate you asking.
Because nobody has a thicker skin or a more deeply ingrained work ethic than a lifelong theater person. We eat rejection for breakfast and still manage to smile (see chapter 40, “Put on a Happy Face”). I’ve worn just about every hat in the theater, at times literally—yes, that was me sporting a bejeweled catfish on my head for The Little Mermaid. Hey, it paid the bills.
Beneath the grit and before the glitter, I grew up swallowing how-to books whole, dying to discover answers to my own deepest questions: Will I ever be truly happy? Will I ever be cast in Rent?
But while I hope this book both guides and counsels you, I’m no doctor (though I have, on occasion, been a sort of show doctor). Life Is Like a Musical is more a collection of wry observations than a prescription for living—but everything here was indeed jotted down from the frontlines, the sidelines, and occasionally the footlights.
Lastly, Life Is Like a Musical is for people who find themselves desiring something—a stronger relationship or a better job or a more refined way of framing the story of their life. (We theater people call this your “I want” song; more on that in chapter 13.) I don’t care what this something is for you. But I know it’s something. Or you wouldn’t still be reading. And that’s where I come in.
So good luck. Or, rather, break a leg. Now please silence your cell phones. The performance of your life is about to begin.

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Praise

"Hilarious, wise, and one-of-a-kind. This book is so damn brilliant I'm surprised it didn't already exist." —-Sarah Knight, bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck
"Federle (Tequila MockingbirdT) draws on his experience as a Broadway dancer in this delightful handbook of "hard-won showbiz lessons" that can be applied to all aspects of life and contribute to helping readers build more successful futures. Presenting advice "borrowed from Broadway" in a series of 50 witty vignettes, Federle aims to inspire readers to make any changes they may be seeking, whether these changes are in service to getting a better job, a healthier relationship, or simply a greater sense of satisfaction....an intuitive guide that puts life into perspective in humorous and entertaining fashion." —-Publishers Weekly
"With tongue-in-cheek cocktail books, a middle-grade series, an acclaimed YA novel, and a Broadway show to his name, Federle has proven himself to be a veritable chameleon of a writer. Now he offers up a self-help guide by way of Broadway. In 50 bite-sized chapters, he doles out life lessons and little wisdoms gleaned from his years in the theater, sparkling with the trademark cheeky wit so evident in his Twitter account. ... Theater lovers will enjoy the peek behind the curtain of the industry, but this is valuable advice for all. —-Booklist
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