THE GREAT AMERICAN MOUSICAL

This mother-and-daughter team has created an amusing spoof of the New York theater world through the device of a parallel theatrical community of mice existing in the basement under a famous old Broadway venue. The mouse troupe is rehearsing a New Year’s Eve performance called Broadway Airs: A Tribute to the Great American Mousical, with songs and dances from favorite shows. The novel’s large cast of mouse characters includes both actors and backstage pros, most with names from well-known musicals, but with over 30 characters, it’s hard to keep all the players straight. When the star of the musical revue, Adelaide, is caught in a trap and transported to Brooklyn, the cast has to revamp the show, as Adelaide finds her way back to Broadway in a snowstorm with the help of a kindly mouse professor named Henry. The omniscient narrative style, sophisticated vocabulary and convoluted theatrical situations will be of interest mainly to good readers who are also budding thespians. A glossary of theatrical terms is included. (Illustrations not seen) (Fiction. 8-11)