Theatre
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THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 2015-2016 – William W. Demastes, editor
There was a time when I bought every collection of short plays that was published. I love reading plays and I also was directing plays – for theatres and for high schools. When my focus changed and I wasn’t directing much any more, I also backed off from reading play collections. Which is too bad, Continue reading
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PLAYING TO THE GODS – Peter Rader
Sarah Bernhardt. Eleonora Duse. Most people are familiar with Sarah’s name, even if they don’t know why she is famous. Only a few dedicated history or theatre buffs probably know the name of Eleonora Duse. But at one time their rivalry was watched and reported internationally and the art of acting, as we know it Continue reading
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DEAR EVAN HANSEN – Val Emmich
I have heard of Dear Even Hansen, the Broadway musical, and I know it’s been very successful, but beyond that I was pretty clueless. When I saw that there was an ARC available of a book, based on the hit show, I put in my request right away. Dear Evan Hansen is a Young Adult Continue reading
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SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE – Laura Bates
Dr. Laura Bates had been told that maximum-security prisoner are beyond rehabilitation and Bates, an English professor and believer in the power of Shakespeare’s plays, took that as a challenge. Bates holds classes in Shakespeare’s plays with prisoners who sign up to take the classes. She begins regular meetings in a detention ward with maximum Continue reading
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DARLINGS OF DRESS – Norma Shephard
This is not what I would consider a ‘typical’ book for me (though I’m not sure I have such a thing as a ‘typical’ book), but there was a reason that I was interested enough to request this book … theatre. Because I write and direct for the theatre I do sometimes look for books Continue reading
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LIFE IS LIKE A MUSICAL – Tim Federle
Tim Federle’s Life is Like a Musical appears to be targeted toward the audience for his Young Adult books, but the advice he offers up is pertinent to everyone. Although many who read this book will know Federle as the author of popular books such as Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist and the Continue reading
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LEAR – Harold Bloom
Anyone who’s read much Shakespeare apologia has certainly encountered the works of Harold Bloom. Lear: The Great Image of Authority is the third book in Bloom’s “Shakespeare’s Personalities” series. I had quite enjoyed the second volume on Cleopatra and looked forward to this volume. Unfortunately this one did not work quite so well for me. Continue reading
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FOUR OF THE THREE MUSKETEERS – Robert S. Bader
Wow. Just … wow. Robert S. Bader has done an incredible amount of research into the early days – the vaudeville and live stage performance days – of the Marx Brothers and shares it with the rest of us in the tremendous book, Four of the Three Musketeers. Bader brings us in to the home Continue reading
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WORKSHOPPING A NEW PLAY – George Sapio
George Sapio has written what is probably the best, most definitive book on the how and the why to workshop a new play. While writing may be a solitary exercise, once words are on a page they need to be seen, read, or heard. This is especially true for playwrights who write very specifically for Continue reading
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WHEN BROADWAY WENT TO HOLLYWOOD – Ethan Mordden
This book really really needs a sub-title to let the reader know what the focus is, because this is just a little bit misleading. This book examines the transformation of the songs and the songwriters (music and lyrics) of the Hollywood musical when their work was being courted by Hollywood. That’s just a little bit Continue reading
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SHAKESPEARE ON PAGE AND STAGE – Stanley Wells
There is no end to the number of books one can find on the works or study of William Shakespeare. The name ‘Stanley Wells’ is certainly familiar to anyone who’s read critical essays on Shakespeare. This book, Shakespeare On Page and Stage, is a collection of some of Wells’ essays on the Bard, his work, Continue reading
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THEATER OF FEAR AND HORROR – Mel Gordon
THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE I’ve heard of the Grand Guignol of Paris and that it was horror or even depraved theatre, but I didn’t really know too much about it. It’s not the sort of theatre taught in the local colleges. The sub-title, I think, really gets it right when calling it a “grisly Continue reading
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