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Jerry Herman: Poet of the Showtune
Stephen Citron
Drawing on extensive interviews with Jerry Herman and his theatrical colleagues,
collaborators, and close friends, this revealing biography tells the full story
of Jerry Herman's life and career. Stephen Citron provides insights into Herman's
music and lyrics -- including voluminous examples from each of his musicals --
in a way that is instructive, edifying and entertaining. Hardcover, 338 pp. $45.00.
Gerald: A Portrait
Daphne du Maurier
Sir Gerald du Maurier was the most celebrated actor-manager of
his day, and was knighted for his services to the theatre in 1922. In Gerald:
A Portrait, Daphne du Maurier captures the spirit and charm of the
charismatic actor who played the original Captain Hook, amusingly recalling
his eccentricities and his sense of humour, and sensitivity portraying
the darker side of his nature and his bouts of depression. Softcover,
254 pp. $18.00.
Secret Dreams:
A Biography of Michael Redgrave
Alan Strachan
Using Redgrave's diaries and archives -- made available for
the first time -- Alan Strachan, who directed some of Redgrave's
last appearances on the stage, has uncovered the full story of
an unorthodox life, with private guilts, demons and tensions 'which
informed the public work with so much of its uniquely troubling
intensity.' Hardcover, 484 pp. $39.95.
Lucille Lortel: The Queen of Off Broadway
Alexis Greene
Lucille Lortel is as enigmatic as she is accomplished. One
of the first major female theatre producers, she was a leader in
the burgeoning off-Broadway uprising in the 50's and 60's. With
her fine-tuned taste for the off-beat, Lortel produced some of
the most fearless and innovative pieces of theatre in New York. The
Queen of Off-Broadway explores the life of this significant
woman, where she began and what she achieved. Hardcover, 374 pp.
$49.50.
Gielgud's Letters
Richard Mangan
John Gielgud wrote letters almost every day of his adult life.
Whether at home in London and later in Buckinghamshire, or acting
abroad or on location, he delighted in sitting down each day and
recounting what had been going on and what he felt about events
around him. Here is his life as seen through eighty years of letter
writing. Hardcover, 564 pp. $50.00.
Time Out of Mind: If I am not myself, then who am I?
Jane Lapotaire
Jane Lapotaire has written an unsparing and splendidly written
memoir about what happens when the 'you' you've known all your life is
no longer the same. In the long haul back to life after she suffered
cerebral haemorrhage, there were some hard lessons to be learned and
her work as an actress took a severe battering. But she has survived,
and in this moving, darkly funny book, she explains why she believes
it herself when people say how lucky she is. Softcover, 303 pp. $18.00.
Kurt Weill On Stage: From Berlin to Broadway
Foster Hirsch
In Kurt Weill On Stage, the focus of the biography is on Weill's
career in the United States, but Hirsch's primal aim is to explore the
truth in the comment made by Weill's wife, the unforgettable Lotte Lenya: "There
is no American Weill, there is no German Weill. There is no difference
between them. There is only Weill." Hirsch is able, in this book,
to give the reader a multifaceted portrait of a man who fought critics,
collaborators and prejudice to ensure that his theatrical vision was
executed down to the smallest detail. Softcover, 403 pp. $32.95.
Beaton Portraits
Terrence Pepper
Photographer, designer, and reporter, Cecil Beaton was also
a facile socialite who's circle of friends included some of the
best and brightest names of the 20th century. His social skills
coupled with his superlative artisty produced a rich body of portrait
photography. This sumptuously illustrated book brings together
many of his evocative portraits in celebration of his remarkable
life and work. Hardcover, 240 pp. $75.00.
Irish Peacock & Scarlet Marquess: The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde
Merlin Holland
Examining the most sensational trial of the nineteenth century,
Merlin Holland has produced an intimate view of Oscar Wilde and the Queensberry
trial. As a work of legal literature, it ranks with Plato's account of
the trial of Socrates. As the drama unfolds, Wilde's downward spiral
into shame and infamy turns one of the most important episodes of his
biography into a kind of art. Softcover, 340 pp. $19.95.
Somerset Maugham: A Life
Jeffrey Meyers
With the same skill brought to his biographies of Orwell, D.H.
Lawrence, Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald, Jeffrey Meyers tells the story
of the extraordinary life of Somerset Maugham. From his sad, orphaned
childhood to his luxurious and glamorous old age, this is a fascinating
portrait of Maugham as a brilliant and complex man whose talent has held
and dazzled a cultivated audience from the late Victorian era to the
21st century. Hardcover, 411 pp. $45.00.
The Girl Who Fell Down
A Biography of Joan McCracken
Lisa Jo Sagolla
An overnight sensation for her 1943 comedic role in Oklahoma!,
Joan McCracken established the prototype dancer-comedienne, headlining
in ballet, stage, film, and television productions. This first biography
of McCracken, constructed from extensive interviews with her friends,
family, and colleagues, paints a vivid portrait of a pioneering entertainer
whose spirit and style were cut short by an untimely death due to diabetes.
Hardcover, 304 pp. $45.00.
Oscar Wilde: A Life in Letters
Merlin Holland
How wonderous it would be to have Oscar Wilde narrate the events
of his life, in his own words; alas, he did not write an autobiography. Oscar
Wilde: A Life in Letters is a wonderfully fluent collection of Wilde's
correspondances with friends, family, and many leading political, literary
and artistic figure of the time. What's more, it is perhaps the closest
that we will ever get to an Oscar Wilde self-portrait. Hardcover, 384
pp. $48.95.
The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde
Neil McKenna
Drawing on a wide range of sources, The Secret Life of Oscar
Wilde charts fully for the first time Oscar's astonishing erotic
odyssey through Victorian London's sexual underworld. This dazzlingly
written biography provides an remarkably frank and vivid psychological
portrait of a troubled genius who chose to martyr himself to the
cause of love between men. Hardcover, 535 pp. $54.95.
Jacques Lecoq
Simon Murray
Jacques Lecoq's influence on the theatre of the latter half of
the twentieth century cannot be overestimated. This is the first book
to combine an historical introduction to his life and the context in
which he worked, an analysis of his teaching methods and principles,
practical exercises demonstrating Lecoq's distinctive approach to actor
training, and more. Softcover, 180 pp. $23.95.
Vsevolod Meyerhold
Johnathan Pitches
This fact-filled guide is the first volume to combine a biographical
introduction of Meyerholds life, a clear explanation of his theoretical
writings, an analysis of his masterpiece production Revisor,
or The Government Inspector, and a comprehensive and usable
description of the biomechanical exercises that he developed for
training the actor. Softcover, 162 pp. $23.95.
The Unexpurgated Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Presented here, in their original state (which is to say, uncensored)
are the sharply witted and keenly insightful diaries of photographer,
artist, writer, and designer, Cecil Beaton. With a cast of characters
that includes: Bianca Jagger, Greta Garbo, David Hockney, Truman
Capote, Mae West, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, and countless
others, The Unexpurgated Beaton is a book that is not only
a great read and wicked fun, but a timeless chronicle of our age.
Hardcover, 508 pp. $52.95.
The Unexpurgated Beaton Diaries
Cecil Beaton
In his lifetime Cecil Beaton published six slim volumes culled
from his personal diaries, but rather than hurt anyone's feelings
he decided to censor his own brutally frank entries. Now here,
for the first time, are Cecil Beaton's unexpurgated diaries. Introduced
by his biographer Hugo Vickers, who has made the selection and
annotated the entries, The Unexpurgated Beaton draws on
previously unpublished diaries from the years 1970 to 1980. Softcover,
482 pp. $18.95.
Beaton in the Sixties
More Unexpurgated Diaries
Cecil Beaton
Following the success of the first book of uncensored Beaton
diaries, comes this new collection. Here is Cecil in the second
half of the 1960s, at the peak of his career as a photographer
and designer. The cast of players in this volume include: Katherine
Hepburn, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Greta Garbo, Mick Jagger,
and Diana Vreeland, to name but a few. Hardcover, 434 pp. $50.00.
Conversing with Cage
Richard Kostelanetz
Cage was perhaps the 20th century's most radical classical composer.
From his famous "silent" piece (4'33") to his proclaimation
that "all sound is music," Cage stretched the artistic boundaries
of what could be performed in the modern concert hall. But more than
that, Cage was a provacative cultural figure, who played a key role in
inspiring scores of other artists in the second half of the 20th century.
Softcover, 332 pp. $38.00.
Writing Wrongs: The Work of Wallace Shawn
W.D. King
Writing Wrongs is a close and personal look into the life and literary
work of Wallace Shawn. W.D. King's incisive critiques of the plays and inquiry
into the life and times of their author develop a portrait of Shawn as a major
figure in contemporary theatre. Hardcover, 242 pp. $51.95.
Design for Living: Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne
Margot Peters
In this new biography, Margot Peters catches the magic of Lunt
and Fontanne -- their period, their work, their intimacy and its
contradictions -- with candor, delicacy, intelligence, and wit.
Hardcover, 394 pp. $45.00.
Eleonora Duse
A Biography
Helen Sheehy
Here is a new biography of the legendary actress who inspired
Chekhov, popularized Ibsen, and motivated Stanislavski. Eleonora
Duse famously stated that her performances came from her life;
it is this life which is painstakingly chronicled within these
pages. Helen Sheehy's supberbly written portrait is a worthy tribute
to the actress who, according to some, was the finest ever to work
on the stage. Hardcover, 380 pp. $48.50.
Arthur Miller
His Life and Work
Martin Gottfried
Drawing on interviews, correspondences, and Miller's annotated
scripts and notebooks, Martin Gottried paints a remarkably detailed
portrait of the esteemed playwright. This critical biography reveals
the man behind the plays, and the the life that shaped his creative
vision. Theatre enthusiasts will not want to be without this important
publication. Hardcover, 484 pp. $46.00.
The Legendary Mizners
Alan Johnston
Born in the 1870's in California, Addison and Wilson Mizner
(the former an architect and real-estate dealer, the latter a
singer, playwright, fight promoter, and con man) ingeniously
rose to prominence during the various booms of the 1920's. Alva
Johnston's joint biography of the brothers is a delightful portrait
of two of the early twentieth century's most clever and infamous
rascals. Softcover, 304 pp. $39.95.
The 20th Century Muse
Annette and Luc Vezin
The artist's Muse -- whether a spouse, lover, model, tormentor,
patron, or fictional character -- has been a source of inspiration
throughout history. This captivating volume explores the impact
of these charismatic characters through a close examination of
some of the most fruitful creative relationships of all time. Softcover,
320 pp. $55.00.
Ghost Light
Frank Rich
Written with humour and eloquence, Rich's memoir is a moving account of a childhood
transformed by a passion for theatre. A joyous and triumphant coming-of-age
story in which the stagestruck daydreams of a young boy blossom into a lifelong
love affair. Cassette Tapes $38.95.
 John
G: The Authorised Biography of John Gielgud
Sheridan Morley
John Gielgud has no place in the history of 20th century British theatre for
the simple reason that he was that history. In a career spanning almost 80
years on stage, screen, radio and television, he effectively reinvented Shakespeare
for the modern stage; he was the first great Hamlet of our time; with his brother
Val he virtually created the BBC radio drama; decades before the founding of
of the National Theatre or the RSC, he pioneered the idea of a resident classical
company in the West End. He made stars of Alec Guinness and Paul Scofield as
well as hundreds of other actors, directors and designers; from Peter Brook
to Peter Greenaway, he worked with all the visionary artists of his time. John
G is the story of one remarkable man in his time, playing many parts across
a lifetime of 96 years, in private and in public. The definitive portrait of
one of the most loved actors of the 20th century. Hardcover, $57.95.
The Diaries of Kenneth Tynan
John Lahr
Irreverent, indiscreet, wildly funny, sad, shocking, and
inspiring, the legendary diaries of Kenneth Tynan are above all
compelling literature. For over three decades, on both sides
of the Atlantic, Tynan was at the epicentre of the film worlds.
These diaries bear superb witness to the fame he courted and
the price he paid for it. Softcover, 439 pp. $21.95.
Stratford Gold: 50 Years, 50 Stars, 50 Conversations
Richard Ouzounian
This unique book is a collection of interviews with fifty performing artists
who had a unique role in the history of The Stratford Festival. Includes discussions
with such luminaries as: Tom Patterson, Timothy Findley, Christopher Plummer,
Maggie Smith, Zoe Caldwell, Alan Bates, Martha Henry, William Hutt, Peter Ustinov,
William Shatner and others.Statford Gold also features interviews with all
of the surviving Artistic Directors: Michael Langham, Robin Phillips, John
Neville, David William and Richard Monette. Softcover, 397 pp., $18.95.
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