Theatre Books

This production by Focus on the Family Radio Theatre was a great pleasure to listen to. The miles in car passed as I listened to this great production.

Again, Radio Theatre by Focus on the Family has exceeded our expections with "At the Back of the North Wind." We listen over and over again to all of their radio theatre productions. So much fun to listen to in the car! It's as if you're watching a movie, except you get to use a little imagination.

Whether you are an avid theater-goer, a Shakespeare fan, a playwright (or wanna be), Simon's experience and insight will engage your mind and offer new perspectives on how drama works - interactions back and forth between writer and audience, by way of live actors. Fascinating thinking about many ways that the theater experience is different than that of the big or small screens.
As a result, Simon has penetrating insights for authors working in ANY medium - and for all students of human behavior and relationships. To top it off, his personable, comfortable writing style makes the reader right at home -- like speaking with a companion (albeit a highly seasoned one) along for an entire theater evening.
In the course of the book, Simon helps the reader understand better why great theater grips (and moves and aggravates and CHANGES) us: drawing from Shakespeare, Chekov, Stoppard, Translations... and even back to Oedipus. Just about anyone in any stage of theater experience will benefit from Simon's grasp of the dynamic part that is played in theater by YOU. I'll be rereading this little volume numerous times to reflect on why and how these masterpieces work their wonders on me.

The writing is simple, candid and congenial -- the insights are extraordinary. Mayo Simon has explained how theatre works, and in doing so, articulates in fascinating detail all the intuitive feelings you may have had when going to a play. Understanding how theatre works is no small thing, and this book stands alongside Aristotle's Poetics in getting the job done... only THE AUDIENCE & THE PLAYWRIGHT is infinitely more engaging and entertaining. Mr. Simon weaves his perspective as if he's guiding you through an evening at the theatre, and illuminates his insights with dozens of examples from contemporary stage experiences. This book is a must read for anyone who loves theatre, likes theatre or just wants to know more. It would also be great for college and high school literature and theatre classes, indispensible to writers and playwights, and a fabulous addition to the bookstores and premium offerings of regional theatres around the world.

5 stars for one of the most significant literary/theatrical endeavors of the last century, August Wilson's cycle of ten plays, a decade-by-decade chronicle of ordinary African-American family life from 1900-2000, elevated to the extraordinary by some of the most powerful poetic diction ever to grace the American stage; Wilson was the successor and peer of Eugene O'Neill and Tenessee Williams, refracted through the sensibility of James Baldwin. The bars, the churches, the backporch, the white-picket fence front yard, the crack-vial strewn alleys, the jails, the recording studios, the ballparks, this was the terrain Wilson took us through, no place was alien to him, every character, old , young, male, female, upwardly mobile, downwardly spiraling, or just holding on, saint and sinner had their gospel and blues-drenched monologue/moment in the spotlight. These ten linked plays are essential reading, and bear in mind Wilson kept himself alive while through sheer force of will while in the throes of a terminal illness to make sure he finished the cycle. And for the first time ever, all ten have been housed in one volume.

So why oh why has the tome been priced in the three figures, beyond the scope of the very people who would most benefit by reading it? A sin and a shame...one star to the publisher, Mr. Wilson's estate, whoever thought this gouging was necessary.

Having read all these plays as they emerged in print, having seen many of them on stage over the past 23 years, and having just had the ecstatic experience of witnessing all ten plays in the cycle performed in chronological order at the Kennedy Center in Washington, I confess a strong bias in this review! I believe that every literate American should have this set on his or her bookshelf. It will provoke laughter and tears, stir the mystic chords that bind all people together regardless of race or status, and provide the satisfying recognition that -- while life is an inscrutable mystery -- it is also a rich and rewarding adventure.

I'm iterested in the book. I don't know how to get some information about it before buying it. If by this "rewiew" you can give me some, i will appreciate it. Thank you. I'm interested in everything connected with art movements before and after the world war I ( and II)

I'm iterested in the book. I don't know how to get some information about it before buying it. If by this "rewiew" you can give me some, i will appreciate it. Thank you. I'm interested in everything connected with art movements before and after the world war I ( and II)

Rivka Katvan, whose photography has been seen many times in many places, is honest, poigniant and natural. You see actors at their most natural and human, and the quotes the actors have provided are all great. I have also found a wonderful, inspirational poem on Christiane Noll's dressing mirror. I reccomend the book simply for that, if for no other reason.

The first thing I have to say is- I adore this book. I received it a few days ago, and it makes a lovely addition to my coffee table. Everyone who has come into my house since has commented on it. The photography is clever, as we often see numerous photographs taken of various productions onstage, but not nearly as many taken from the perpective of life backstage.

Each photograph has an interesting artistic viewpoint (one of Jim Dale putting on makeup for Barnum sticks on vividly in my mind), and they give you not only insight on the actor's personality, but also on the personalities that each actor gives his or her character. The book also contains interesting quotes from the actors represented, and insightful commentary on life backstage. All in all, this book is a really wonderful addition to anyone's theatre collection, one of the first I've seen to really dive into the actor's life backstage.

Barefoot In The Park is the complete and unabridged ninety minute audiobook presentation of a classic Neil Simon romantic comedy. Wonderfully performed by Laura Linney and Eric Stoltz, Barefoot In The Park is the flawlessly recorded production that tells the story of a new lawyer and his young bride, the adventures and foibles in beginning married life, complicated by an uptight mother-in-law and an eccentric gourmet chef who lives in a loft on the roof of their apartment (their window ledge is the only access to his padlocked premises). A superb choice for any personal, school, or community audiobook collection, Barefoot In The Park is also available in a CD format...

I first heard of this play from my good friend, who happened to see it performed in Central Park. I later saw this old copy of the play laying around my high school stage office, and picked it up, remembering my friends mention of it... upon finishing the play (within two days, I could NOT put it down) I realized I have NEVER laughed so hard outloud while reading any sort of literature.. it is witty, comical, and softly but lovingly expressing the hardships of the first days of marriage and living together with your beloved. I highly highly highly recommend picking this up for a mood-lifter, or just a good laugh. It is light and entertaining and very cute!

I cannot imagine my life without the influence of Jack MacGowran as a crucial part of it. Young does an excellent job of bringing this amazing actor's life and work to the reader. But, after reading the book, please take the time to discover what Jack did best: Bringing the works of Samuel Beckett to life.

My interest in Irish theatre brought me to this book. What a find! A fascinating look at a fascinating actor. The author brings alive the work and times of MacGowran. A well-researched and thorough work recommended for any student of theatre. I was especially impressed with the variety of interview subjects. Made me do a search for MacGowran's available work on video. While not a big fan of Beckett, I was impressed by the relationship between the playwright and this ultimate interpreter of his works.

BENCHLEY AT THE THEATRE It was the Golden Age of Broadway. Sandwiched between the two wars that would end all war, the American theater briefly blossomed into a thousand different colors, giving the world such immortals as Eugene O'Neill, the Barrymores, Lillian Hellman, George S. Kaufman, Fred Astaire, Helen Hayes, George M. Cohan, the Gershwins, Orson Welles, the Marx Brothers, and many more. Amid all this hubbub was Robert Benchley, famed humorist, actor, and boulevardier.

Known mostly for his urbane and often puckish essays, Benchley was also an ardent observer of the stage, first for the old Life magazine and then for the New Yorker. He wrote nearly a thousand reviews during his 20-year tenure as one of Broadway's leading theater critics. Those culled by Ipswich Press for Benchley at the Theatre represent Benchley at his wittiest and most revealing.

This garland of hitherto uncollected pieces touches on the great, the near-great, and some deservedly forgotten (but nonetheless intriguing) plays and actors of the twenties and thirties. For Benchley aficionados the book is a rare treat--the first new collection of the master's work in nearly 40 years. For both amateur and professional students of the theater, it's a chance to share an aisle seat with one of Broadway's most discerning critics. And if you are none of the above, no matter. If you love informed, literate, brisk writing, Benchley at the Theatre will be a welcome respite from the Siskel and Ebert school of criticism.

A night at the theater with Benchley is never dull, chock-full as it is with pithy asides, New England common sense, and occasional eruptions of pure Dada. Benchley deflates some enduring and cherished myths: "[Katherine Hepburn] is not a great actress, but one with a certain distinction which, with training, might possibly take the place of great acting in an emergency."

He reaffirms modern critical hindsight: "Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater Group...give ["Julius Caesar"] a reality which I think might fool the Bard himself." He measures the erudition on his side of the proscenium: "It has been estimated that the average powers of discrimination in a matinee audience would not quite fill a demitasse." And he disabuses the reader who expects High Criticism: "Sometimes the symbolism was so strong that it didn't seem as if it could be borne any longer. In fact, several people had to leave early. Others covered their eyes with their hands and had to be roused when the thing was over."

If you suffered through Shakespeare as a student, you have an ally in Benchley. The Great White Way of the twenties and thirties was paved with countless Shakespeare revivals, and Benchley, never a great fan of the Immortal Bard, took a dim view of the proceedings. Opined Benchley: "We remember seeing Booth at the age of four (when we were four; Booth was naturally older) and the memory of that performance has lingered with us ever since. After it we were taken to Maillard's and had our first chicken salad. Those were the days!"

Though Benchley bared his critical teeth when offenses on either side of the footlights were committed, he was quick to forgive and even quicker to reassess the professional cynicism that comes with the job of critic. On a jaunt to a P. T. Barnum circus with his son, Benchley notes that the "scales of sophistication are struck from your eyes," concluding that the experience, aided by the marveling of his five-year-old companion, helps "keep you in your place."

In short, Benchley at the Theatre is acute, devastating, and entertaining criticism, a model that Brendan Gill, Robert Brustein, and others would do well to emulate. --Robert Luhn

[...] It's a collection of theater reviews by Robert Benchley--that much is obvious. Most of the reviews (oh, let's say ALL of the reviews) are from the Golden Age of American Theater. With our current historical amnesia that could be an epoch situated anywhere from between 1066 AD (the year of the founding of our nation by President Paul Bunyon and General "Johnny" Appleseed) to the present time.

What isn't obvious is that Benchley is a very rare bird: a first-class writer with a first-class sense of humor. Since his writing is from a few years back and he makes frequent mention of steam trains (A jacuzzi service once provided by Amtrak), Al Smith (The Smith brother on the left side of the cough drop box), and bootleggers (Thigh-highs favored by Twiggy), he is too easily dismissed as a "horse and buggy" writer with little relevance to our modern sophisticated culture. In fact, he's about as timeless as Mark Twain--a currently fading great--and he writes about as well. He's also funnier and has better judgement than that American Icon. Robert Benchley would never have written "Innocents Abroad."

The point of all this is if you've come here looking for MORE Benchley you don't need me or any other reviews. This is "more Benchley" and you're fully aware of what that means. Have fun. If you're here for other reasons or you just stumbled across this page while doing an Internet search for something else--"Theater Benches" perhaps--then here's your big chance to recover lost gold. If you're 21 years old, ended up here because you passed out on the keyboard, and lack the attention span to get through an Ogdon Nash poem without medication, then just move on and be cheered by the fact that the future is yours.

Additionally, if you're a foreigner and you've ended up on this page (probably due to a missed flight) I strongly encourage you to buy this book and sample the wonder that once was, and maybe still could yet be again, American Culture. No halfway intelligent outlander could rummage through a collection of this type and come away sincerely describing the US as a "Great Satan." Stuff like this, unlike Dick Cheney or Andrea Dworkin, does not come from Hell.

A final heartbreak: I bought a nearly mint used copy through a dealer listed here and only paid about 3 bucks for it. When it arrived it had another discount sticker still on it. This wonderful and deeply funny book was sitting around some shop marked ONE DOLLAR! I imagine there was some awful point toward the hind end of the Roman Empire when collections of, say, Cicero's speeches were languishing un-bid upon on Ebay (They called it Ebus back then) for [...]

Great read. As old Berkeley native it explained how and why we are what we are. Learned the origins of my artistic and academically stimulating youth. Appreciation for the plethora of early talent in establishing our community. Great gift material.

Berkeley, California is well known today for its liberal and free thinking student atmosphere, but what is less well known is its longer history for early radicalism and innovation in the late 1800s and early 1900s - a time when the city was quite conservative. This portrait of artists and visionaries who introduced new ways of thinking and living makes for a vivid blend of art and biography - a 'must' for any California history collection.

Bertolt Brecht has acquired the same status as those other artists whose work is known, but not appreciated. Like Faulkner, Joyce and Proust, he has become transmuted into an adjective; even worse, he has followers who describe themselves as "Brechtian" and who are happy to discuss his theories of drama instead of the dramas themselves. But things get even worse when you get closer to the man himself, for there is a wealth of evidence that "der arme B.B." was, in fact, a conscienceless thief who stole credit from everyone with whom he worked and, in particular, from the women he charmed into professional and emotional liaisons. Add to this his craven attitude towards Stalin, and his theories of epic theater seem to be, at the very least, a gross exercise in self-deception. All very off-putting. But his poetry is a different matter. Brecht approaches the reader without the arrogance of a theorist interested in instructing the audience how to think. He is more candid, both personally and politically, willing to condemn his own weaknesses and, in his later years, those of the movement that he had defended at any cost. And, most importantly, his poetry is fresh, direct, cutting and beautiful, even in translation. This is a volume that those who are interested in writing poetry should have.

These poems are brilliant and inspiring because they were written by a socialist. They were written to make you think about the system.

Questions by a Worker Who Reads is one of my favourite poems. The freeways, offices, electricity system and everything else in our civilization were not built by politicians or company executives - they were built by workers.