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This beautiful photo sassy hard cover text is a "fabulous" read for anyone who loves fashion, New York City, or HBO's Sex and the City.
The book covers all four of the girls post-season 6 and highlights every major theme and scene in the recent release "Sex and the City the Movie." There is a forward by Jessica Parker and some very interesting behind the scene looks at the taping of the movie. There is also several pages dedicated to the outfits and designers that were featured in the movie.

I loved this book! I think it would make a great gift for someone or yourself! Definately a keeper!

I liked this book very much.
Since I love Sex and the City, and I liked the movie, this is the best gift I could ever buy to obtain thousands secrets and informations.

I'd highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of the movie and tv series. The photos are gorgeous and it's full of interesting behind the scenes tidbits.

Hi, I bought this book one month ago and in my opinion there is only a word to describe it: Great!
I suggest you to buy it... if you love "Sex and The City" you will love this book.
Monica from Rome (Italy)

Pretty much being the BIGGEST Sex and The City fan (yes I know everyone says they are, but trust me, you haven't met a fan like me), this book is like a dream come true. Just as great as "Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell" book was, but the pictures are just phenomenal in this book. Perfect choice of pictures from the incredible movie, and arrived so fast in the mail. I'm very happy with this book, and thanks for putting all the amazing highlights together in one book!

I laughed my head off while reading this book! I was actually sad when it was over! The characters are unique, hilarious, and impossible not to fall in love with. This is a dark comedy full of witty one-liners, zany situations, and a lot of sexual content. This book is not for the faint of heart.

You will laugh out loud, this book is truly hysterical. I am a new Tim Sandlin fan - Sorrow Floats and Social Blunders are just as good. Highly recommended!!

On the positive side this book was sometimes amusing. The story idea of two thirteen-year-old's experimentation with sex and resulting in a pregnant seventh grader was promising though poorly executed. None of the main characters are believable, not the narrator, Sam, not his girlfriend Maurey, and not his mother Lydia. The motivations and thought patterns of the adolescents especially lacked any power to convey belief. This novel should probably have stayed in the form of Mr. Sandlin's puerile fantasies, from which it sprung.

With "Skipped Parts", Tim Sandlin has assembled all the elements needed for a great book. Memorable characters, a good setting, tight pacing, a great plotline and wonderful dialogue.

The main character, Sam, is a thirteen-year-old boy. He puts me in mind of myself at that age, actually. Very prone to dreams and fantasies. He meets a girl, Maurey, also thirteen. Before long, these highly intelligent children are losing their virginities to each other. Not long after that, they discover that, oops, a girl can get pregnant before her first period.

This is the start of a series. I haven't read the other parts yet, but I really liked this one. I also enjoyed Skipped Parts, the movie based on this book, though bizzarrely they changed the kids to fourteen instead of thirteen.

This is a very good, sweet book recommended for pretty much anyone over the age of about eight or nine. Highly enjoyable!

In Sam Callahan, Sandlin creates one of the great characters of recent American literature. Equal parts Walter Mitty and Holden Caulfield, Sam is a hilarious narrator with a truly unique voice. If the book were nothing more than a series of comic misadventures of Sam and his irreverent Southern Belle mother, Lydia as they are transplanted from the good ol' south to rural Wyoming, it would be a great read.

However, Skipped Parts is far more than that. Beyond Sam and Lydia, Sandlin populates GroVont with no end of fascinating characters--almost all multidimensional and colorful--the kind of folks you only find in quirky places like Sicily, Alaska. In this book, its easy to imagine that folks like Dot,Hank Elkrunner and the old guys who populate the local diner have interesting lives and stories outside of the light they shed on the main characters and that they didn't just show up in the scenes to move the plot along. This gives the story an incredible richness.

Beyond that, the book has a heart as big as the Tetons and frequently wears it on its sleeve. Rarely is a book so laugh out loud funny also so poignant and touching. There are moments that are truly noble, truly sad and truly beautiful and its a credit to Sandlin that none of them seem contrived. If you can get past the stuff about precocious 13 teen year olds experimenting with sex, you find a great novel about growing up, dealing with family, redemption and the endless disappointments and possibilities of life. A wonderful, wonderful book.

I will try to make this review as succinct as possible. This is to urge you to read this book and act on it.

I have read many many books on film (and the craft). I am a film producer/director who has won several festival awards and countless official selections. I was in utter awe at how much information was in this modestly sized cheap book. I base most of my book collections on Amazon reviews and peer suggestions. In that aspect alone this book refers to books on every single subject of filmmaking!

That alone makes this book solid gold. It took me about 2 years to compile my current film-oriented library. If I had this book before hand, I am undoubtedly sure it would not take me 2 years to build my collection.

So, what else will you find in this technical masterpiece? "Everything you need to create a successful Independent Film". Literally.

Every chapter flows swiftly (at the end of every chapter is a reference to what seems an endless list of contacts/books/sources). And before you know it, you're done. And boy will you want more. ;)

Simens packs so much information in a tiny amount of space, it makes other books i've read seem redundant. Read it once and you'll be a better filmmaker 10 fold. Read it twice, and you should have no reason to hold you back (aside from the lazy).

Thank you MR. Simens... I have read many a film production book. None of them compare to this one. This book is clear and the most organized piece of work I have yet to come across. He speaks in terms that is easy to follow and understand, with a large dose of reality. Reality that can get your movie made. He wants you to do it. He has made your production list for you. No need for other books (money saved). Please, if you have read thus far and have not purchased this book, do so now. You will not be dissapointed... And for the expert(s) (with the three stars or less) Get real. Swallow your pride. This book is perfect. Mr. Simens knows what he is talking/writing about. EVERYTHING you need to succeed is right here. Get your first movie off of the ground, then go from there. Again, Thank you Mr. Simens.

I reference this book all the time. From Reel to Deal cuts to the chase and offers no bull. It is an easy read and loaded full of practical and useful information. I have produced eight short films in four years and currently preparing for my first feature-film. Dov's book it geared for those making a feature-film but useful for shorts as well. I always recommend From Reel to Deal to any filmmaker who has not read it already. Do yourself a favor and buy or borrow this book. It is a must-read for filmmakers, or as Dov's says PRODUCERS.

This book is awesome. I recieved it as a gift with my first feature film coming up (coming from shorts). I went from having a little bit of a clue, to knowing almost every in and out of what I should do, how to do it, and how to get the upper hand in doing it.

The author is great. His points are humourous because they are so blunt. He'll add little comments that tell you a ton, and totally make fun of something in the process; but whatever it is is so true that it's the information you really need to know. For example, he puts "TOP SECRET" signs by any huge point that makes or breaks films, that 4-year film school and HY avoids telling people. All points helpful, enlightening, and direct.

It also is a huge directory book for studios, executives, rental houses--basically contact information for every single thing he goes over in the book. It also lists other books, films, etcetera to go and read and view and further your knowledge. You can't learn from just 1 book and go out and make it.

I'm going through this particular book, thought, 3 times--at least. To (2) index everything and then (3) pull everything from it together into a timeline that works best for me.

Now, [[[ CONS ]]] . Like other reviews have mentioned--he goes off on how "the other 97% of you probably had a hard time parting with the money to buy this book" when talking about budgets, hinting that you probably are making a 5000$-50000$ feature--and then turns around and gives his most detailed, step-by-step process of making a film, about 15 chapters, all around making a 250,000$ film (which, as you'll find out, is marketed as a 1,000,000$ film). You have to take this relatively. Take what's there, and shrink it down to your budget. He explains SOME things you can cut down on to make a film with lower budgets afterwards, but only spends about a few paragraphs on it. So you go through all the process of the 250,000$ film and take from it everything you can. Bring it down to your level. It has all the information you need to get started, as listed, but you're going to have to get creative and cut down hard on the 250,000$ budget--starting with the things he mentions during those paragraphs.

The other con is, this book is published in 2003, so written during 2002 or earlier. This book doesn't know about HD, HD cameras, and HD tapes. Among others. It's either film or miniDV. And DVC--ha. It's surprisingly savvy on Internet distribution, primarily because it hasn't evolved there yet, but obviously there is other information about it that is present now that you won't find in the book. The main thing is, again, it's a little dated on digital stuff, which is dissappointing, because digital is like the light of ultra low budget film making. However, some updates on this topic can be found at his web school.

Another personal con is all the endorsements and stuff. So a few big names have succeeded by involving Dov's information--it's sad that that's what it takes to sell the book. If you bought the book because tarauntino or queen latifa's names on it, you probably aren't going anywhere. Luckily, he doesn't mention these people anymore than anyone else once you dive into the text; only as references to first-time film makers, etc.

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Great information, I think it lives up to it's claims, and the personality of Simens makes it interesting all the way through. His personality is extremely direct, and if you can't take the heat, you probably won't make the cut in the industry, so it's probably a great thing.

Enjoy

I've wanted to take one of Dov's workshops but they're never close to where I live so I bought this book which I like. However, with a copyright of 2005 I would have thought it would have more web information (urls, etc) in it. I suspect most of the information was compiled before the web got popular which has been a while. Oh well. I emailed Dov last year too and nobody bothered to reply. Still, for the price, very good info.

Many books have been written about the horror and monster film genres over the years, but few have been written by fans specifically for fans. That's what makes "Horror 101" so special and unique -- as you read the essays contained within you can't help but share the enthusiasm that the writers have for the films, even the ones you've never seen. The books runs the gamut from silents like "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and "The Golem" to modern classics like "An American Werewolf in London" (a personal favorite) and "Ringu" -- and everything in between. No matter whether you're a neophyte just getting into the genre or a horror fanatic with dozens of films under your belt, you'll find plenty of reasons to pull a chair and audit a course in "Horror 101."

This book is an absolute must-read for horror film fans of any stripe. It covers everything from silent classics to more modern films in a series of conversational essays written by knowledgeable genre fans from all over the world and from a wide variety of backgrounds. It is, in short, kind of like hanging out with a ton of horror fans talking about their favorite movies. There are (as to be expected) spoilers throughout the discussions, so anyone who hasn't seen any of the films is advised to watch them before reading those films' particular chapters. As a guidebook and listing of horror movie essentials, it's hard to beat, giving the novice horror fan a solid foundation of classic films. As a book *by* horror fans *for* horror fans, there's simply no better book out there.

What makes "Horror 101" so good, for me being a huge fan of the genre, is that it doesn't leave out much of the favorites and even much of the classic unknown films that so often happens with books written about this subject. Here, we jump right into the mix of such classics as "Halloween", "The Shining", and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", etc. It even includes such obscure films as "Deathdream" and "Them."

The author gives a thorough review of each the films listed and politely doesn't give away much of the twists. It is a must read for us horror fans...and people researching the horror.

Buy this book!

Anyone who considers himself a serious fan of the horror genre would do well to pick up this book. It contains in-depth reviews of 101 of the most essential horror films and monster movies of all time, spanning the Silent Era up until the 1990's. Probably the best book of this type I've read in a long time!

Horror 101 is the ideal book for the lonely horror fan. We poor, misunderstood wretches who have no one close by with whom we can share our love of malevolent spirits, monsters run amok, and the undead in their manifold forms, hungering for living human flesh and blood! (Sorry, I got a little carried away there.) The articles in the book, ruminations on over a hundred of the greatest horror films, are written by horror fans from all walks of life, and are both entertaining and informative. It's like having a great group of knowledgeable friends always available to talk scary cinema. Bravo to all of the contributors and likewise to Dr. AC for compiling a terrific and unique collection. I highly recommend it to all horror and film enthusiasts, and can't wait for volume 2.

One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel

Audrey Hepburn loved her children and all the children of the world...Sean honors his mother...we all honor his mother...a mother to so many...indeed...an elegant spirit...

The photos here are lovingly chosen by her son, and the entire book is an absolute joy.

This book was pleasant and thoughtful, as is its subject. Though admittedly the writing was far less enchanting than I would have expected; I like to think it was kept simple to further emphasize the simplicity and sincerity of Audrey herself. This book did not add any revelation for the reader about her life; but instead, allowed for a glance at Audrey Hepburn's everyday existence. I was constantly amazed at how strong and genuine her character when faced with life's sometimes complicated decisions. This book shows Audrey as a person who effortlessly put others before herself, and seemed to never question her sense of what is right.

Even the idea of such simplicity has become a fairytale in our lives, and it is so refreshing to read about someone who was capable of remaining so solidly pure, that I cannot help but read a little more. One need only look to her work with UNICEF to know how first-rate she truly was.

She has allways been one of my favorite stars.The book has a beautifull
lay-out and is a pleasure to read.Lots of photographs never seen before
and beautifull passages about her work for Unicef and what a wonderful mother she was.I can highly recommend this book.

Bought this as a gift for my daughter as she is a fan and thought that the personal insights were revealing and poignant.

Read it, buy it, love it! If you love the movie and want to look smart to all your friends who vote and go to college, bust this out and shut their smug faces with it!

It's like the movie, but for the type of jerk that reads books too.

Granted, it's more of a guide to life for people that have had their lives turned upside down by falling into a vat of toxic waste, but a guide to life nonetheless. More importantly, you no longer have to bother jamming a DVD into your DVD player (or a tape into your tape player if you want to watch it the way it was intended to be watched), because you can just pick up the book and read the words. Yee haw.

when i was in the fourth grade i talk my mom into renting the toxic avenger and that may be the reason iam a film maker today. and the novel is a must own if your a fan of this movie it adds so much more to the back ground of the story and after you read it the next time you watch the movie you will like it more ( if thats possible) do Lloyd and your self a favor and buy it

I think that Lloyd is a very talented and gifted writer. He also is a very nice guy. I think anyone that buys this will be very pleased and very glad they made this purchase. I loved it. Great work!

Lloyd Kaufman is at it again. Only this time he's leaving the imagination part up to the fans which if your a Toxic Avenger fan your gonna have one helluva time with this novel! This book is brilliant, not only does it provide a novelization of the legendary film, alot of pressing questions are answered. Tromatons? Tromaville? Its all in here. READ IT SUCKA!!!!!!

Hi, how are you all? Well I know this book is wonderful! Acually i never read the book charmed but i did read the book so little time, which is by the same author. That was a very good book. So if that was a good book that she wote then this should be good also. The book is very intersting and tells you alot of information and some good heads up and tips. Kids my age would like the book, i would belive..... I might not be giving alot of information right now but the more information you want is right inside the book. So i would suggest to read the book and i think you will injoy it! I also think Charmed is a good book to read too.!.!.!.!.! Well i hope i at least helped you out a little bit. And i hope you read BOTH books because reading is good for you , and just enjoy them! Thank you for taking your time out to read this.

I have a penchant for time-travel stories, as they are striking, interesting, not to mention compelling. This book is inevitably one of them. Phoebe being abducted into past by a time-demon during the times of the Salem Witch Trials was huge (amazing)!! I'm not going to reveal details of the story, but what I don't get is that how on earth could the Charmed Ones use their powers in the past, and how the Law of no coincidences is oblivious to the author.


But as this is not the tv show, I suppose authors are able to use their imagination freely. My fave bit of this book is how Piper and Prue was under the evil influence of the root tea Prudence drank, given by Hugh, and they acquired amazing powers, which included being "evil" themselves and coming in handy to rescue their sister. I especially like the fact that Prudence did not succumb to the tainted root tea to nearly kill her own descendant, as the power of good always prevails!!! Also, its nice to involve the Charmed Ones' ancestor to this book, as readers somewhat know more about certain witches from the Warren line. Rosalind Noonan did a good job portraying each sister's characters, and how all their different and unique personalities combined together can pack a huge wallop. True to the series, with dry humour added and the Power of Three situation makes Whispers from the Past all the more enjoyable. And the fact that poor Phoebe, despite "stuck playing cinderella", she was determined to stay focused on the path to solving the problem, is also rather warmth-evoking.

In a nutshell: If you like Charmed, there's no doubt you will like this book. Not as excellent as Soul of the Bride, but close. One of my all-time faves. Well worth it!!!

Finally, a Phoebe episode [well book] that any Charmed fan can get behind. It's a time travel piece and a family get-together. Need I say more?

Fantastic addition to the Charmed series :) Not as good as 'Soul of the Bride' but up there with the best of the books.

I always love a good time-travel story if it's: 1) Well-Written, 2) Believeable. This book gets it on both counts.

The evil piper/prue angle was kinda amusing *ducks* The new powers they got were awesome too (though Piper's was kind of an extension on her stopping tme power)

This book does have a couple errors (Girls using their powers in the past to get home) but considering these books aren't written as fast as the series is ('least most of them seem that way)... we need to give the author's a break. We can't expect them to keep up with the pace/storylines of the show.

Considering SOME of the storylines 'Charmed' has taken, maybe the creators should look to some of these books for plot ideas.

I hope Miss Noonan puts in another contribution to the Charmed series again sometime.

This was the very first Charmed book I read and it was solid. I have now watched every episode of every season and there were no holes in it. I love all episodes that the sisters go back in time or forward or relive memories etc. If you are like me, then you will love this book too!

This book was so refreshing, inspirational, and moving. I absolutely Loved it and would reccommend it to All. This was my first time reading your work Mrs. Thomas but it will certainly not be the last. Thank You for enlightening me. This book has really helped me with a lot of things going on in my life.

I ordered this book after reading Jezebel (by Jacquelin Thomas) and seeing all the glowing reviews for this book. This book was slow. The first 150 pages were just about Marin and her husband going to dinner parties and their children. The next half of the book was about Marin's use of drugs and her husband being upset with her. This book had no excitement whatsoever. I can't fathom all these 5* reviews.

**Summary**
Marin, an actress, meets Warner, a pastor, at a religious conference. Warner was 30 something and previously engaged to a woman who died of ovarian cancer. Warner stated that God told him that he and Marin were meant to be together. Marin felt the same way.

After a few months, the two married. Initially, Marin wanted to focus on her career, but when she got pregnant by mistake, Marin was so happy that she decided to put her career on hold. After 4 years and 2 children (Rylan and Gabriel), Marin decided to return to her career.

Marin had a hard time getting acting jobs. She was finally offered a Lifetime job playing a drug addict. Marin decided to try cocaine to get ready for the role. Marin got hooked immediately because she always was told she was a screw up by her mother, felt abandoned by her mother and father, and didn't feel like she was good enough to be a preacher's wife.

Warner found out about Marin's drug use and convinced her to go into rehab. Marin stayed clean for a few months, but then started her drug use again. When Marin left the house to do drugs, Warner cut off all her credit cards, bank accounts, and so forth. Marin ended up prostituting herself and was raped.

After a while, Marin moved to NY (she was originally living in California) with Tisha and another drug buddy. When Tisha and the guy got arrested, Marin went to rehab. While in Rehab, Marin found out she was pregnant.

Eventually, Marin turned to Warner and the two reconciled.

Pros: EXCELLENT writing! easy to read
Cons: Boring, nothing exciting happened in the story; the names in the storyline were pretty bad (Dru, Warner, Marin, Shirley, Garfield)--what kind of names are those for black people??

My main issue was Geneva though. She, being a single woman, pushes up on the pastor and this is Christian behavior? Whatever! Also, it appears that all Jacquelin Thomas' characters suffer the same fate. It kind of makes it pointless to read her books now.

This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. I highly recommend you read this book. It is definetly a tear jerker and is an item that belongs in every married African American woman's bookshelf.

I love Jacquelin Thomas books and this one by far is one of the most moving stories. The personification of redemption! Be prepared to stay up until 3am and pull the Kleenex out because you will need it! This book was truly a blessing to me and all my friends that I've passed it along too! I even bought a second copy as a gift for a friend =)

The book brings the stories in the bible to life...reading the book made the story of gomer and hosea make so much since. The one thing I do like is after you read the book you can turn in your bible to that story and see the similaries. God has truely given you a wonderful gift. Keep using it to gorify God

The book has great pictures and very detailed if you know someone who loves Sta Wars movies would love this book..

My son is using this book as a reference for his drawing class and we all find it very helpful. There are facts here which are quite detailed and wondered how the author know all these stuff! Anyway, we love the book!

This Book has a lot of glear crisp pictures in it. Since I make Star Wars movie props (Lightsaber hilts, Helmets, Costumes) this book helped a lot. darth vader lightsaber is totally sweet and the moment I saw it in the book I said I gotta make that, so right now I'm in the process of making his and many others.
Again this is a great book so please don't hesitate a second. buy it!

RYAN J.

This guide was accurate, except for one thing: Solah is Padme's sister, and Jobal is her mother. This book portrays it as the other way around. But otherwise, a good reference book for the best movie ever!

This is the best book for any fan of the movies. It explains things you'll never learn about on screen. From their weapons, to their clothes and why they need and have them, it makes sense of things that don't make sense. Good book!

Playwright Peter Shaffer is an exceptional dramatist. His characters are unforgettable, and each one is dealing with a psychological struggle. In "Amadeus," Shaffer examines seventeenth century Vienna and the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his rival, court composer Antonio Salieri. This play shatters the view of Mozart as an innocent child prodigy, and instead paints a picture of a childish, scatologically minded, yet ultimately tormented musical genius. Trapped by the financial demands that are placed upon him, and the demands of a domineering father, Mozart strives to make his music and to be excepted.
The main focus of the play is upon Salieri, whom the audience sees as a sweetmeat loving, conniving schemer who is appalled by Mozart's new ideas and manner. However, Salieri is not one demensional. He is a sympathetic character, who wrestles with his conscience. Feeling betrayed by a god who shows favoritism, he recounts his desire to make music that will provide him with unsurpassable fame. However, his music is ordinary when compared with Mozart's genius, and Salieri is fully aware of this whereas ordinary citizens of Vienna are not. Vowing revenge, Salieri decides to lash out at Mozart: "God's Flute," therefore providing an opportunity for a terrifying confrontation in which Mozart is driven into madness and early death. Everyone can relate to the character of Salieri because we have all felt betrayed when our own specific talents were regarded as inferior to someone else's.
Shaffer introduces us to two tortured individuals who are nevertheless sympathetic and unforgettable. Please give this play a chance.

When I was younger, I almost never reread anything. My hunger was so voracious that I gobbled up a book and then rapaciously moved on to the next. But as I've aged, I read less frantically, returning again and again to a few works that especially move me. At the top of the list of such works are the plays of Peter Shaffer. And at the top of that list is his masterpiece "Amadeus."

What I find remarkable about Shaffer's "Amadeus" isn't so much the title character, Mozart, as the character who becomes Mozart's nemesis, Antonio Salieri. Salieri is one of the great tragic figures in literature. He's an individual who appears to genuinely love musical beauty, and who genuinely wants to dedicate his life to it. (In an early scene, for example, he makes a deal with God. "Signore," he begs, "let me be your flute, your mouthpiece. Let me produce absolute beauty. In return, I'll be your slave.") But Salieri is also a hopeless mediocrity. He knows good music when he hears it, but he's simply unable to create it himself. His compositions are acceptable, and sometimes even pleasing to the ear. But when compared with the music of Mozart, they reveal themselves for what they are: technically proficient, but utterly uninspired. The awareness of his own mediocrity, coupled with his absolute yearning for beauty and his life-destroying jealousy of/admiration for Mozart, is the heart of the play. (Milos Forman's 1984 cinematic production of the play unfortunately rewrites the script to put Mozart rather than Salieri centerstage, thereby missing the whole point.)

When one thinks about it--and I believe that this is what makes Shaffer's play so poignant and profound--Salieri is everyperson. Let's face it: most of us are mediocre. We fall somewhere in that great middle zone of "average." We'll never be able to create artworks that express the yearning for beauty that even the dimmest of us occasionally feel.

As if that's not bad enough, the world, as Shaffer demonstrates in his play, is unforgiving of mediocrity when it comes to art. One can work like a demon, as Salieri does, but it's genius that the world wants, genius that the world demands, and genius that the world rewards. Moreover, the creative genius is allowed anything by the admiring world--in fact, the world expects its geniuses to walk to the beat of a countercultural drummer. The mediocre artist, however, is allowed no latitude whatsoever in personal lifestyle.

The paradox of this situation, as well as the horrible burden of mediocrity felt by artists like Salieri (and the rest of us), is the tragic message of "Amadeus." When Salieri at play's end tells us, in his decrepitude and madness, that we can pray to him when we feel the sting of our own shortcomings and he will bless us, most of us ought to shiver. For, after all, we don't want our mediocrity blessed, do we? And yet the tragedy of the human condition is that, blessed or not, it's what we are. And so Shaffer leaves us with this question: how do we overcome our Salieri-like resentment and frustration at not being able to create beauty long enough simply to appreciate beauty when we encounter it?

The best part of the book is the introduction, which tells of the changes made to the script over the years, based on on-going research by the author. I saw the movie and the play, then bought the script in order to compare the different renderings of this amazing story.

Peter Shaffer's award-winning and highly popular play AMADEUS is in many ways a morality play but seen through the eyes of a complicated postmodern villain. The play is called AMADEUS but the chief character of the story is Antonio Salieri. Salieri is the Court Composer for Emperor Joseph II of Austria during the end of the 18th Century. He is held in esteem not only by the Emperor and Court, but by the masses as well. Then Amadeus Mozart makes his way to the Austrian Court at Salzburg and Salieri recognizes in the young man a musical genius superior to anything musical he has ever heard. He becomes enraged with bitter jealousy. Feeling that God has abandoned him and given the talent that he has trained to develop and possess his entire life, Salieri declares a war against God that he will fight on the battleground that is Amadeus Mozart.

AMADEUS is a fantastic play. Author Peter Shaffer has revised the play several times since its first performance in 1979 and this version of the show (written twenty years later in 1999) is in my opinion the best because it is the one that portrays Salieri more than just an evil man, but as a human being that the audience and readers can relate to and actually understand somewhat. A must see play that anyone who enjoys theatre should be familiar with.

Like a newspaper article, theatre has to convey its story with an economy of words.

In this way, great playwriting is a rare skill much like land the penny toss at the carnival and Shaffer is that rare playwriter who accomplishes his task so seemingly effortlessly.

Deftly, Shaffer tosses his Amadeus and Saliere together and in so doing plays each against their type rendering his Amadeus into the simple squeezebox which provides the background for the languid single note of Saliere's mournful jealousy.

What's so amazing is that in telling us the story of Amadeus' art, Shaffer shares important insights about his own. Don't have too many or too few notes but just the right number. Don't be so flashy in being good that people concentrate on the flashiness instead of the point.

And don't become so engrossed in your art that you lose sight of the ultimate ends it was meant to service in the first place.

Whether we are each more Amadeus or more Saliere we can connect with this play.