{"product_id":"9781517920623","title":"Eggs I Have Laid","description":"\u003cb\u003eBack in print: the playful and personal memoir of Meredith Willson’s creative tribulations and triumphs before \u003ci\u003eThe Music Man\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Composer, musical director, writer, lecturer, and piccoloist Meredith Willson laid many eggs throughout his career—but not all those eggs would hatch quite so gloriously as his Broadway hit \u003ci\u003eThe Music Man\u003c\/i\u003e. In \u003ci\u003eEggs I Have Laid, \u003c\/i\u003eWillson genially chronicles the failures that he faced as he made his place in show business during the pivotal early 1950s, when radio was being overtaken by television. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e From Hollywood to New York, London, and Paris, and back to his hometown of Mason City, Iowa, Willson sets each scene vividly, bringing to life his encounters with zeitgeist stars, from collaborators Tallulah Bankhead and Fred Allen to Orson Welles and Carmen Miranda. His signature wit excels as he relates his tales of eggs dropped, notable among them the lavishly produced variety program \u003ci\u003eThe Big Show, \u003c\/i\u003ehis ill-fated attempt to be a radio bulwark against the encroaching tide of television. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e First published in 1955, \u003ci\u003eEggs I Have Laid\u003c\/i\u003e features delightful curiosities, like an eight-page “platonic dialogue” about quitting smoking and the lyrics to a love song with the occupancy limits of the New York Fire Code as its central metaphor. It is at once a vivid chronicle and a trove of insight from the hilarious, perseverant mind of Meredith Willson. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Minnesota Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42906050363453,"sku":"9781517920623","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0603\/0838\/9949\/files\/9781517920623_p0.jpg?v=1771582256","url":"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.com\/products\/9781517920623","provider":"Tattered Cover","version":"1.0","type":"link"}