Dramaturgs of the World, Unite—and Parse This Text
A collection of 85 essays offers a definitive sampler of views, analyses, and advice about this new, still occasionally mistrusted craft.
Category Archives: Book Reviews
The Performing Arts: Headed for a Perfect Storm?
In his new book, former Kennedy Center impresario Michael Kaiser argues that the future of the arts lies with quality, subsidy, and daring—all of which are in dangerously short supply.
Leonard Bernstein: Behind the Music
Two new books explore the content, and context, of the great composer/conductor’s divided musical character.
Women in Mind: The Muses That Moved Williams and Shakespeare
Tina Packer tracks the Bard’s growth via his female characters, and James Grissom tracks down divas who alternately inspired and frustrated Williams.
5 Books Tell Broadway Tales, Some Fresh and Some Stale
Several books tell the rich history of New York’s commercial theatre district from a variety of angles. What about its future?
Book Review: Sarah Ruhl’s ‘100 Essays I Don’t Have Time To Write’
Michael Bloom reviews two new books by Sarah Ruhl
Tennessee Williams’s Anticlimax
John Lahr’s new biography, ‘Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh,’ sheds an admiring but unflinching light on the playwright’s career and later works, as well as his life and relationships.
‘Wynn Place Show’ Recounts Career of Producer Wynn Handman
Jeremy Gerard’s new bio tells the story of the American Place Theatre founder’s singular vision and influence.
‘The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan’ Keeps the Dialogue Going
Among other things, a new collection of letters from the celebrated and complicated American director show his tough-love devotion to new work and writers.
‘Shakespeare In America’ Remarks on the Bard’s Role in American Culture and Politics
Was Othello a white man? Some patriotic 19th-century Americans thought so.
