Rec Request: Theater Fluff

[forestofglory]

Rec me some theater fluff/ Something where the characters are putting on a play (or some other type of performance I guess) and hijinks happen, but not to much angst or tragic past.

Things about kids presuming a preforming arts career could also work. I love the Shoes books but every now and again I try to read recent book in this vein and its full of angst and/or bullying which is not what I want from that type of book.

ETA:any media is great! Books, movies, tv, comics, fic, ect

Comments

[ambyr]

Raina Telgemeier's Drama is what leaps to mind here.

To expand it to other performing arts, maybe Wolff's The Mozart Season? That's not recent, though, of course.

[forestofglory]

Ah! Drama is a prefect rec! I should reread that.

[alchimie]

All of the adult-ish things I can think of have too much angst in them, but last year I read The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown, which is a very soothing children's book in the Shoes tradition from 1941. I had to get it through interlibrary loan, so it might not be easy to find, but it is worth looking for.

As a teenager I adored and constantly reread The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth by Marilyn Singer, which is a 1983 YA about teenagers putting on Midsummer and having some amount of angst and confusion, but if I remember right it is more coming-of-age confusion about relationships and less anything like bullying -- maybe there was an unfortunate teacher/student crush, though? I cannot guarantee that it is fluffy, it has been too long since I read it, but I did love it back then since it focused a lot on the actual play rehearsals rather than just the characters and I love reading people working at theatrical things.

I am surprised I cannot think of more.

[forestofglory]

Thank you! Coming of age angst is ok, but dead parents and bullying is too much for me just now.