Theatre Books

the complete review is listed as written by Herb Siegel.

Never before has a book revealed such complete and intimate details about the birth pains of what today we know as the modern theater. Mr. Frome introduces us to the creative geniuses who experimented with writing, directing and acting. We learn of their conflicts, motivations and final breakthroughs to greatness.

We follow their lives as they hone in on their acting methods. Their egos are examined, revealing how weakness becomes strength, which in turn can sometimes topple greatness.

The Actors Studio presents an all-star cast of the best creative talent available and how they struggled to make it! From the early years of the Russian theater and into the forties and fifties when experimental theater groups competed to find the true "method acting" techniques.

As a onetime student of the highly exteemed Sandy Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC, I prize this book as a captain his log, noting an exciting journey around the world. One day it will be a major movie or play. But it will require only the best actors to portray the lives of greats like Adler, Brando, Cliff, Dean, Garfield, Kazan, Miller, Odets, Winters, Stanislavsky, etc. These names easily fill a book and it is called "the Actors Studio".

This is a book for anyone with a serious interest or involvement in film and theater. It will make both intriguing reading and invaluable reference material for students, teachers, people in the business (or those hoping to be) and dedicated movie- and theater-goers.

Professor Frome, who teaches dramatic arts at the University of Connecticut, really knows his stuff. In his new book he shows how Stanislavsky's introduction of "Realism," followed by collectives such as the legendary Group Theater and especially the Actors Studio, exerted their massive influence on the style and quality of acting and production in America. It's a story in which two seemingly incompatible elements, conflict and synergy, transfigured the face of drama.

There are fascinating insights into the characters of such icons as Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and many others. Frome, who can be quite acerbic when he wants to be, doesn't hesitate to debunk some of the PR-inspired legends of this hugely formative era, and is pretty snitty about Lipton's TV series of the same name. Take a close look at the many photos, not one of which is a posed studio still.

Frome's five-page bibliography in small type, and his painstakingly inclusive index, bear witness to the mountain of research on which this impressive book is based.

Although Edward Albee says, 'No one collaborates with me on a play,' he is wrong. The theater, is built on collaboration. Maybe Mr. Albee writes the play, and maybe he is insistent that the play be performed exactly as he wrote it, but the actions, the sets, the dance steps, the lighting all come from other people. Like a sports team, an army or a corporation it takes a bunch of people to pull it off.

In this book, 28 of Broadway's best write essays on collaboration. The essays are broken down into four general categories:

Part I - Pen to Paper -- Playwrights, Composers, Liberettists, the people who write what's going to become the play.

Part II - Captains -- Theatre Owner, Producer, Director, Casting, Stage Manager.

Part III - Actor, Dancer.

Part IV - Completion -- Set Designer, Costume Designer, Lighting, Sound, Makeup, Advertising.

All in all, this is an insiders view of how they see the theater working. Needless to say, each view the theater differently, they se it from their own point of view. This is not only fair, this is what collaboration is all about.

Productions of theatrical plays are collaborative efforts involving large numbers of people the include not only the actors and their director, but the expertise of playwrights, producers, stage hands, craftspeople, choreographers, musicians, publicists, make-up artists, costumers, and so many others. In "The alchemy Of Theatre: The Divine Science", New York theatre journalist and author Robert Viagas has compiled and edited a number of informed and informative essays on the phenomena of the theatre. The essayists range from the late playwright Wendy Wasserstein and the late composer Cy Coleman, to director/producer Harold Prince and director/choreographer Susan Stroman, to playwrights Edward Albee and Terrence McNally, to lyricists and composers Lynn Ahrens and Stepyhen Flaherty, to theatre owner Gerald Schoenfeld, to producer Rocco Landesman, and others representing every aspect of those professionals who must work together to create the theatrical experience for appreciative audiences. A welcome and highly engaging read, "The Alchemy of Theatre" is a core addition to professional, academic, and community library Theatre Arts reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

At first glance, "Alchemy" resembles a college textbook (which it could certainly be used for). But Viagas' project is more than a 'standard text.'

He collected input from leaders in every area of the theatre world on the topic of collaboration. After a picture and brief bio of each contributor, Viagas lets these collaborators speak for themselves. Their essays describe rich and varied experiences (SO many influential people in the world of modern theatre!) Playwrights, composers, directors, stage managers, actors, sound designers, makeup artists, advertising executives - all parts of one body - some more visible, but all vital to a successful production. In Viagas' words, "The essence of drama may be conflict - but the essence of creating drama turns out to be cooperation."

It's interesting to compare the priorities of the different contributors. In this book, the experiences of well-known figures like Chita Rivera and Edward Albee are right alongside those of perhaps more unfamiliar names (makeup designer Angelina Avallone and lighting desinger Peggy Eisenhauer.) The book opens with a witty essay by playwright Wendy Wasserstein (who passed away in January).

An entertaining (and educational) read!

This book is a remarkably accurate and knowledgeable way to learn the many American dialects. It is very clear and concise, and would be a great help with the theatre. I spent a lot of time perfecting my New York City accent,and even though a don't do alot of acting it was fun to fool people, & with the help of this book, it worked. An amazing compilation that is clear and focused, it offers an invaluable lesson for anyone that has the time to sit and study it. Wonderful.

As a novelist struggling to learn how to give each character his own voice, this book was a gift from God. Perhaps the most important lesson it taught me was to trust my inner ear. It explained beautifully that dialects, even ones that sound ungrammatical, have their own rules of grammar. It helped me to isolate the particular dialect I was striving to recreate on the page and gave me the courage to use it without apology or explanation. A wonderful source for writers.

An essential tool for any actor who wants to be able to master the regional American accents. Using the international phonetic, this book will guide you through various areas of the USA and allow you to nail down the subtleties of their accent. With this book you'll fool the natives.

This is a delightful parody of several of The Bard's more famous plays including Hamlet and MacBeth. Written in the "High Style" and foleyed in Firesign Theatre's usual excellence, you will actually believe that you have been transported to Castle Phlegm.

Anythinge You Want To (Shakespeare's Lost Comdie) has unavilable for years so make sure you add this to your collection before it's toad away.

Well, I'm glad to see that the other reviewers (so far, anyway) have liked this album. It is my favorite Firesign album but the online Firehead community in general rate it in the middle of the pack. The work is presented to the listener as a play and, perhaps because it was meant to be performed live, is one of the most linear and accessible of the Firesign albums. The feature-length play is the only thing on the album. This gives the guys a lot of room to work in and they make full and glorius use of all of it!

I first heard this play in much shorter form on the "Not Insane" album. It was fleshed out considerably for the original release of "Shakespeare's Lost Comedie" which benefited from several new acts and characters. This latest version has been enlarged even further to resemble a BBC presentation of a stage play. A narrator who sounds vaguely like Principal Poop with an English accent opens and closes the play and provides awkwardly humorous color commentary during the intermissions.

It is the juxtapostion between the Olde Englyshe phrasing and the modern references I find so appealing. These are the multiple entrendes that Shakespear might have written in if he had Nuclear power and Hollywood to make fun of. In one speech, an alchemist wonders aloud "am I then doom't to lyve oot my lyfe on zis island but 3 myles wide und watch ambitions melted down to smoking slag?" In a later segment of almost 5 minutes, while all the nobles are assembled discussing war, the dialog works seamlessly as though it were taking place on either the battlefield, the boardroom of some corporation or on a movie lot. Pure genius and every act in the play has _at least_ two subtexts going on so you can listen to it over and over finding something new each time.

This album has been in print in various formats but never for too long at any given time. If you are a Firehead, just curious or perhaps a fan of "The Reduced Shakespear Company" and never even heard of Firesign Theatre you really owe it to yourself to get this album. If you don't like it you can always wait til it goes out of print again and auction it off here on Amazon!

(Note - I use album here in it's original sense: a collection of something in one format. Whether we speak of LP, CD, Tape, MP3, it is still an "album" in this sense.)

Someone was very smart to get this back in print. I heard this at my public library years ago and was rolling on the floor in laughter. It's a parody of various scenes from Shakespeare's plays, all rolled into one new, very strange, and very funny, play. I just can't begin to describe how well it's done and how funny it is. I don't know what I'd have thought of it if I hadn't been a Shakespeare fan, and I'm not sure if very high-minded Shakespeare fans might be offended by what Firesign has wrought... But I can say I personally rank this album among the very funniest comedy records I've ever heard (and I've heard a lot.)

Jan.-New Year's, Feb.-Fastelavn (Denmark), Mar.-St. Patrick's Day, April-Passover, May-May Day, June-Dragon Boat Festival, July-Independence Day, Aug.-Obon, Sept.-Homowo (Ghana), Oct.-Divali, Nov.-Ramadan, Dec.-Las Posadas. Personally, I have used the book more for its details. Besides a script, each holiday also includes background info, follow-up activities, suggestions on how to actually throw a party in your classroom for that specific holiday and suggestions for further activities. These activities include recipes and crafts and detail how each one is curriculum-related (i.e. National Anthem of Mexico -Literacy and Music).

Around The World Through Holidays: Cross Curricular Readers Theatre is an amazing resource for elementary classrooms. A literacy and geography lesson sprinkled with math, science, art and history in each of the twelve plays. The author, Carol Peterson, begins with background information about a specific holiday. She then introduces a reader's theatre connected to the holiday. As if that weren't enough, she includes a plethora of cross curricular activities connected to each holiday. Some of the holidays covered are Passover, Ramadan, the Indian Festival of Lights and Las Posados. Each month brings a new country and a new holiday and endless opportunities for learning and fun!

Readers Theatre is a great way to involve kids in drama, without the pressure of memorizing lines and facing stage fright. Peterson's plays are organized around holidays, one per month, that celebrate different cultures around the world. January is a round-up of New Year's traditions from all over the globe, February is Fastelavn from Denmark, March is St. Patrick's Day, March is Passover, May is May Day, June is the Dragon Boat Fesitval from China, July is Independence Day, August is Obon in Japan, September is Homowo, a Ghanian festival of thanksgiving, October is an Indian festival of lights, November is Ramadan, and December is Las Posadas from Mexico. After each mini-play are a bevy of related activities that cover art, literature, science, history, and math. The author clearly has done her homework and is very respectful of the different beliefs presented, but also keeps a light, kid-friendly touch throughout. All in all, a very valuable teacher and parent resource. It's a great companion to her earlier book, Jump Back in Time.

Of all the books currently published on Sondheim's musicals, Gordon gives the best academic treatment to his works. Mainly a formal analysis of the shows, she peppers in enough historical and biographical facts to provide any reader with a better understanding of the plays. The chapter on _Sunday_ is particularly good. It does help to be familiar with the shows before reading, as Gordon wastes little time on plot synopsis. A must for any Sondheim scholar.

Whether you are well versed in all of Sondheim or have just seen a show once this books covers everthing from plot, to technique, to reviews. I used this for my thesis on Sondheim and found it very informative.

This book takes us musical-by-musical through some of the most famous and artistically valuable of Sondheim's musicals (the latest entry being Assassins). Each chapter looks at the musical with a critical eye (or listens with a critical ear, as the case may be) and responds to criticism about the musical in question. This is not a book simply about selling Sondheim - when the author is unimpressed, she lets us know. But Gordan finds much to admire in Sondheim's musicals, and helps us to appreciate that. Each chapter outlines in detail the plot, characters, and songs - especially useful for in-depth study. You can't get much more specific without actually taking out the libretto or following along in the score! All her arguments are well-founded and supported with examples from the text. The use of lyrics is especially appropriate. This book is especially valuable from a literary and theatrical standpoint. The observations on the music itself are correct, but not plentiful, as Gordan's expertise is in theatre, not music. Accessible to the casual audience member and the Sondheim groupie.

Very entertaining! It was a great surprise to find this gem from an unknown author. The characters are very real and engaged my interest. I laughed, cried and was captivated by the wonderful story. It caught my attention and held me right through to the last word. It was difficult putting the book down since the novel is written with each chapter leaving you wanting more. I would very much like to find more work by this author but haven't been able to find anything else. Highly recommended! Thank you.

Acting: Art of the Monologue by Frank Catalano.

If you are an aspiring actor you must read this book and you will go back to it a thousand times. Frank has a unique, ralaxed way of teaching and writing. After you read his book I'm sure you will wish you could attend his classes. I said an aspiring actor because I am one, but I really mean anyone can and will learn a great deal from this book. Don't wait. You will be many steps closer to succes with the use of this great book.

I have read many monologue compilations, but this one is excellent! The material is relevant and very good. I also loved the characters. Plus all of the pieces can be done together as a single work. Very cool book. I'd give it an A+ for originality.

I loved this book as a child and still have the original printing which I read to my boys. My 7 year old especially loves it. This story follows Primrose Woodmouse one evening as she wanders into the woods. At the end, evening falls and the illustrations turn eerily enchanting. This is one of those books that children as well as parents will enjoy. I look forward to finally completing my Brambly Hedge collection for my children.

There really isn't a lot of quality books about the Fall, which is a shame since it is such a lovely season. Kill Barklem books about Brambley Hedge are wonderful little tales, filled with detailed drwaings about the little community of mice. Winter is just around the corner and the harvest is not complete. crops The mice rush to collect the rest of their crops before the rain begins. The wealthy Lord Woodmouse's daughter tries to help out in earnest but has wandered into the Woods. Now she is lost and scared, and it is after dark. Thrilling little tale that is worth it for the artwork alone.

First published in 1980, Autumn Story follows Lord Woodmouse's daughter through her adventures exploring the delights of autumn harvest in the woods, until she realizes she is lost. As always, remarkable illustrations of blackberry brambles and fauna seen only by tiny folk bring both authenticity and charm.

The proess of getting the book was excellent. I got the book as expected. Excellent customer service.

Continuing a tradition of publishing a series that has become the measurement of play-writing excellence over the decades, Applause produces The Best American Short Plays 2003-04, which identifies new cutting edge playwrights who've produced winners. 12 plays - half written by women - reflect the latest industry achievers and are some of the best in print, making this a top pick for any drama collection.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

These 12 plays take issues of the recent past (50-60 years) and puts them into short, entertaining one-acts. These one-acts would be good for those needing or wanting to perform something from recent history, possibly even events that they can relate to. This book takes issues such as terrorism, life as a soldier, post 9/11 life, a "Perfect" life, anti-semitism, teachers' dreams, hysterical fans, love, deceit, choice, friendship, and betrayal. These are issues that because we can relate, the stories bring us in. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in theatre and plays.

John Gray's play, a musical tribute to Canada's famous WWI ace Billy Bishop, VC, first performed in the 1970s, has become a classic of the Canadian theatre. It is still being performed in many places in North America, as well as other parts of the world, by theatre groups, and John Gray and Eric Peterson recently (within the past year or so) reprised their roles in "Billy Bishop Goes To War" on stage for a new generation of Canadians. The play is not only entertaining but also reasonably historically accurate, and the music is excellent. The play is sophisticated in its treatment of the subject, hilarious in places, and rather moving. When it was first performed, quite a few World War One flyers were still around to see the play, and many of them gave it high marks. It would have been fun to know what Bishop would have thought of it, had he lived into his eighth decade. The book is recommended, but make sure to see the play if it comes to your neighbourhood. By the way, Gray has also written a musical on the life of woman flyer Amelia Earhart.

John Gray's play, a musical tribute to Canada's famous WWI ace Billy Bishop, VC, first performed in the 1970s, has become a classic of the Canadian theatre. It is still being performed in many places in North America, as well as other parts of the world, by theatre groups, and John Gray and Eric Peterson recently (within the past year or so) reprised their roles in "Billy Bishop Goes To War" on stage for a new generation of Canadians. The play is not only entertaining but also reasonably historically accurate, and the music is excellent. The play is sophisticated in its treatment of the subject, hilarious in places, and rather moving. When it was first performed, quite a few World War One flyers were still around to see the play, and many of them gave it high marks. It would have been fun to know what Bishop would have thought of it, had he lived into his eighth decade. The book is recommended, but make sure to see the play if it comes to your neighbourhood. By the way, Gray has also written a musical on the life of woman flyer Amelia Earhart.

John Gray's play, a musical tribute to Canada's famous WWI ace Billy Bishop, VC, first performed in the 1970s, has become a classic of the Canadian theatre. It is still being performed in many places in North America, as well as other parts of the world, by theatre groups, and John Gray and Eric Peterson recently (within the past year or so) reprised their roles in "Billy Bishop Goes To War" on stage for a new generation of Canadians. The play is not only entertaining but also reasonably historically accurate, and the music is excellent. The play is sophisticated in its treatment of the subject, hilarious in places, and rather moving. When it was first performed, quite a few World War One flyers were still around to see the play, and many of them gave it high marks. It would have been fun to know what Bishop would have thought of it, had he lived into his eighth decade. The book is recommended, but make sure to see the play if it comes to your neighbourhood. By the way, Gray has also written a musical on the life of woman flyer Amelia Earhart.