Theatre – Page 3 – Looking For a Good Book

September 27, 2017

CLEOPATRA: I AM FIRE AND AIR – Harold Bloom

Shakespeare scholar Harold Bloom explores one of Shakespeare’s most intriguing personalities with his book Cleopatra: I am Fire and Air. Bloom clearly appreciates the literary character and writes not only about the character as written, but also as performed by some of the bigger named or more famous actresses. Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra is not Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mythology/Legend, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre

September 6, 2017

5-MINUTE PLAYS – Lawrence Harbison, editor

I love reading plays and collections of short plays are right up my alley. Not too long ago I read and reviewed a similar book (5-Minute Plays for Teens) by the same editor. This collection takes on the occasional more mature theme or just features older characters than the previous collection. Oddly enough, however, unlike Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, OTHER, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Plays, Reviews, Theatre

August 24, 2017

NEW BOY – Tracy Chevalier

I’ve read a couple of these Hogarth Shakespeare books (re-tellings of Shakespeare’s plays) and my reactions have been mixed. But Tracy Chevalier’s New Boy is a powerful, poignant re-telling of Othello. Osei Kokote is the son of a diplomat. He has moved around a lot and all too often been the new boy at school. Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, OTHER

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Literature, Reviews, Theatre

August 18, 2017

VINEGAR GIRL – Anne Tyler

The Hogarth Shakespeare series is on an incredibly challenging task to get today’s writers retelling Shakespeare’s stories. In some cases, such as here with Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler, we see how challenging this task is. I’ve been a fan of Tyler’s since Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant first came out in the 1980’s, and Continue reading

OTHER

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Reviews, Theatre

August 8, 2017

IVY GET YOUR GUN – Cindy Brown

We’re back in an Ivy Meadows Mystery with Cindy Brown’s Ivy Get Your Gun. This time Ivy takes to the road for some out-of-town acting work, but she can’t escape the need to solve a mystery. The character of Ivy Meadows (aka Olive Ziegwart) is really growing now that we’re in this, her fourth mystery tale. Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Mystery, Reviews, Theatre

July 12, 2017

A PARTICLE OF DREAD – Sam Shepard

I love to read plays and don’t have as many opportunities to do so since the Fireside Theatre Book Club went out of business (when was that…the 1990’s?). There seems to slowly be a revival of getting plays in print for the general reading audience. It should come as no surprise to anyone who is Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Mythology/Legend, Plays, Reviews, Theatre

June 21, 2017

5-MINUTE PLAYS FOR TEENS – Lawrence Harbison, editor

There is a special knack to reading plays and unless you are used to it, it can be frustrating. But for those of us who enjoy reading plays, it can be difficult to find reading material that isn’t one of the classics that we’ve all already read a dozen times, or not the latest Pulitzer Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, YA

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Plays, Reviews, Theatre

April 20, 2017

STORIES ON STAGE – Aaron Shepard

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE Reader’s Theatre is a bit of a lost art. From the late 1970’s through the mid-1980’s I participated in a number of reader’s Theatre programs – usually through church groups but also in my university theatre program. It’s quite likely that some of those scripts I performed in were written Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, ENTERTAINMENT

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Entertainment, Reviews, Theatre

March 27, 2017

HAG-SEED – Margaret Atwood

For me, Margaret Atwood is one of those writers who quietly keeps invading the literary world, transforming fiction and storytelling and leaves an indelible imprint on the reader’s soul. I don’t seek out her works the way I should (and the way I do for a few other writers) which is why she seems so Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, OTHER

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Literature, Reviews, Theatre

March 9, 2017

ERTÉ’S THEATRICAL COSTUMES – Érte

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE There’s not much to this book – it’s a short forty-eight pages long – but what’s here is beautiful. Érte is one of those names you might recognize but not be quite so sure why. Érte is a theatrical costume designer who created some of the most stunning costumes ever seen Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre

February 17, 2017

ANYTHING GOES – Ethan Mordden

I’m pretty much a sucker for any book about musical theatre. Who doesn’t love, singing, dancing, colorful costumes and lights, fantastic sets, and a rousing good story? Of course, musical theatre hasn’t always been just that, and author Ethan Mordden explores the history of this American institution in this book, Anything Goes. I definitely learned Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre

August 17, 2016

WINTER PASSAGES – Robert Brustein

If there is anyone writing today more eloquently and regularly on theatre and theatre artists than Robert Brustein, I would very much like to know who that is. For those of us who work in the theatre, we can often be consumed by the day-to-day rigors of the work, but works, such as Brustein’s essays, Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Biography, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre