1 comments about Dirty Story and Other Plays.

1. Three excellent plays by the best American playwright of this era (imho). Dirty Story, a parable about the Isreali/Palestinian crisis, Where's My Money, a comedy about the relationships of a few people, and Sailor's Song, which is about a guy who is staying in a small town visiting his ailing Aunt and his Uncle.
   
   They all have that Shanley touch, humor mixed with serious elements, sharp construction, and a compassionate view of humanity.
   
   I would say all of Shanley's recent plays have been good, but these are the best of the best.
   
   Highly recommended.

4 comments about Star Style: Hollywood Legends As Fashion Icons.

1. This book is so pleasing I made sure I bought two copies. Very
   Beautiful fashion summaries for some very beautiful Hollywood leading ladies. My favorite fashion icons are Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and
   Dolores Del Rio. I wish the author would do another book that highlight current fashion icons such as Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry etc.



2. I bought the hardcover edition -- it was my favorite fashion book. But now, the revised edition with the introduction that involves new stars and their photos (Gwyneth Paltrow, Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore and Cher) adds a new dimension to the story. I'm really happy and for a paper back, the quality is EXCELLENT. Thanks Patty Fox!



3. This is a lovely book with wonderful photographs of Hollywood fashion icons. Another thing that is great about this book is that it features those who are not as popularly remebered, such as Delores Del Rio, along with more popular icons such as Audrey Hepburn. Great book! Highly recommended!



4. I think this is the best Hollywood fashion book there is! The photos are great and the stories are fun.

No comments about Stitching (Methuen Drama).

No comments about Exhausting Dance: Performance and the Politics of Movement.

5 comments about Fabulous!: A Photographic Diary of Studio 54.

1. After searching websites and finding some pretty interesting pictures, I expected this book to really contain what it boasts "downright shocking.... astounding", but doesn't show half of what is shown on the internet! Honestly I was disappointed - but DEFINITELY look at Studio 54: A Legend. Absolutely worth it - much more story and TRUELY Fabulous! pictures!!!



2. Gives you a great idea on what the club-life was like in late 70s and early 80s...



3. Bobby Miller is a friend and an artist. That's how I know him. He is a fun and fabulous friend, and his art in uncompromised and unadulterated fun and fabulousness. Let him take you by the hand into the womb of the 70's: smell the smoke, the sweat, the cheap cologne. ( Stained dresses were a dime a dozen, I'm sure.) This book is a pictographic history of the big bang of the Age of Aquarius. It's an authentic item for those culturally inclined, no matter what your persuasion. Give it to yourself and think of it as a history book with lots of pictures (and great writing, too)!



4. What a wonderful work. Clearly, Mr. Miller has a terrific eye and can capture the glit, glam, feels and smells of what Studio 54 must have been like. If only I could have been there too. Alas, I'm too young for that, but at least I can see what life was like in the golden age. Signed, A Fan From Ophir There



5. I found out that this photographic book is really bizarre, however you will enjoy it if you are a Disco-culture lover. Get it!

No comments about Noel Coward Plays 5 (World Dramatists).

3 comments about Rehearsal Management for Directors.

1. Davd Alberts covers it all in this tight volume on stage directing. Insightful advice walks you through the process, outlining pitfalls and suggesting different avenues to avoid them.



2. Great for first time directors and those involved in the community theater atmosphere. Gives pratical advice that will help you spend less time worrying and more time creating!



3. This wonderful book sells itself short with it's title. It offers practical, real-world advice on dealing with the many personalities involved in a production. From walking into a project, pre-planning, negotiating, and scheduling, Alberts uses witty and clear language to describe what you should be doing and encounter.

3 comments about The Madwoman of Chaillot..

1. I find "The Madwoman of Chaillot" contemporary and current. It describes the disillusions, falsness and corruption in a political world gone astray. Anyone who wants to understand the current situation of any government whether a democracy, a republic, a dictatorship, King, Czar, or madmen will identify with this play, and strive to undue the injustices that prevail throughout our modern 21st century world.



2. The Madwoman of Chaillot ( as portrayed by Katharine Hepburn in the movie version) is a two-act play about the destruction of the forces of evil by one older, senile woman - the Madwoman. A group of money-hungry corporation presidents team up with prospectors who claim to have found oil right beneath the streets of Paris's Chaillot suburb, and the Madwoman rallies her bohemian friends and neighbors to stop them from destroying the city. The play is very dramatic and also humorous in parts; it seems primarily a fantasy, but has several fantastic parts for female characters, among them the Madwoman and her group of eccentric, delightful fellow Madwomen. I recommend it highly to any group of adolescent/young adult actors who are looking for a challenge.



3. I believe this is the play in which the role "Countess" appears...and if it is, I would like to write my opinion based upon performing in the role of Countess many years ago. This play is hysterical, entertaining, and a joy for those performing it as well as those seeing or reading it. It involves eccentric, rich old ladies who try to carry on with afternoon tea despite thier various quirky personalities(mainly quirky due to senility and the hallucinations that accompany it). A great play for adolescent through adult actors. It is worth having on your shelf if you instruct drama in any way.

4 comments about Something Wonderful Right Away: An Oral History of the Second City and The Compass Players.

1. Jeff's review may be self serving, but so is mine - my dad, the late Bill Alton, is interviewed in the book. This is probably one of the best books about Second City because it is written in the words of those who created Second City. Don't get me wrong, Sheldon's new book is O.K. but this book is better. Bless Jeff for getting these interviews before we lost too many of the original performers. If you can only get one book about Second City - buy this one.



2. For those not familiar with the Second City, it is basically the granddaddy of all comedy troupes. Started in the mid-'50s as the Compass Players, it transformed into Second City in 1959 and has been going strong ever since, even opening sister theatres in Toronto & Detroit. So many of our current and past comedy stars have started here, it's mindboggling. The Belushi brothers, Bill Murray, Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, Chris Farley, Bonnie Hunt, Ryan Stiles, Richard Kind, David Steinberg, Alan Alda, Peter Boyle, the entire cast of "SCTV Network," Philip Baker Hall, Mike Myers, Bob Odenkirk, Tim Meadows, Dan Aykroyd... the list goes on and on. This book was written in the '70s and is a collection of interviews w/ several of the company's key writer/performer/directors, among them Gilda Radner, Avery Schreiber, & Mina Kolb. A must-read for anyone who loves improv, sketch comedy, theatre technique, and, specifically, the Second City!



3. I read this book when I was first starting out in improv about 12 years ago. It features interviews with many of my heros and is still inspiring to me. I went on to work at Second City years later and found this book essential to my understanding of that place's traditions as well as the fact that traditions are made to be broken--with respect, of course.



4. This is a completely self-serving comment because I wrote thebook. But it occurs to me that it's hard to tell from the listingwhat the book is about. Briefly -- it's an oral history of the Second City, the Chicago-based theatre that popularized improvisational comedy. There are extensive and exclusive interviews here with Mike Nichols, Barbara Harris (her only full-length interview in more than 25 years), Alan Arkin, Alan Alda, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, David Steinberg, Gilda Radner, Del Close, the late, great Severn Darden, Paul Mazursky and the founder, Paul Sills.Being a book about people who created classic comedy, it can't help but be funny. But, beyond that, it and Viola Spolin's Improvisation for the Theatre and Keith Johnstone's Impro offer concrete ideas on how to build theatre of all kinds -- not just improv. I have been told by several people that Something Wonderful helped them decide what kind of theatre they wanted to do. (Mick Napier, founder of Chicago's celebrated Annoyance Theatre, was quoted as saying this in an interview with him in Chicago Magazine.) Certainly, working on the book changes my own ideas about the theatre in general and playwriting in particular. (How is the subject of another book, The Dramatist's Toolkit. Incidentally, I'd be delighted to receive E-mail regarding any of my writing.Jeffrey Sweet -- E-mail: DGSweet@aol.com

No comments about The Faber Book of Monologues: Men.