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JOY RIDE

Name: JOY RIDE
Author: John Lahr
ISBN: 978-0-393-24640-7

SHOW PEOPLE AND THEIR SHOWS

by John Lahr ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 21, 2015

An exuberant, entertaining collection.

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Portraits from a devoted theatergoer.

From 1992 to 2012, Lahr (Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh, 2014, etc.) served as the New Yorker’s theater critic, publishing nearly 1 million words. This collection brings together 16 lively profiles of playwrights and directors, along with reviews of a sampling of their works and assorted other productions. Only two women—playwright Sarah Ruhl and director Susan Stroman—appear in a roster that includes such luminaries as Arthur Miller, David Mamet, David Rabe, Harold Pinter, Sam Shepard, Ingmar Bergman, and Mike Nichols. Wallace Shawn, whom Lahr has known for decades, is a surprising—and delightful—addition. Asserting that criticism “is on the decline” because of media’s focus on lifestyles and celebrity, Lahr aims to provide context, illuminating the goals and artistry of his subjects. “Over time, if all goes well,” he writes, “I can ask the forbidden questions, and get answers.” Not all subjects are forthcoming, although the strongest of these profiles reflect Lahr’s dexterity as an interviewer. Miller talks about the genesis of Death of a Salesman in Americans’ “moral condemnation” of failure. The first performance, Miller told the author, was met with stunned silence until “someone thought to applaud, and then the house came apart.” Mamet reflects on “the helpless collusion of children with their parents’ sadism” in the “emotional hurricane” of his family’s life, which fueled his plays. In deftly crafted reviews, Lahr praises the premiere of Ruhl’s Stage Kiss as a “bright and buoyant thing” and Stroman for her dedication “to banishing gravity from the stage.” The profile of Shepard seems drawn entirely from publications by and about the playwright, resulting in a piece that lacks the intimacy of some others, such as the author’s portraits of the “arch manipulator” Bergman; Pinter, debilitated from esophageal cancer; and the “courtly, unassuming” Tony Kushner.

An exuberant, entertaining collection.

Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-393-24640-7

Page Count: 576

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: June 3, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
ARTHUR MILLER
by John Lahr

- BOOK REVIEW
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
by John Lahr

- BOOK REVIEW
THE DIARIES OF KENNETH TYNAN
by Kenneth Tynan & edited by John Lahr

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.