A portait of a real life in the theater
357362
"Acting Foolish" is a unique insight into the life and times of an American actor whose career spans a fascinating period in the theater, and of the heroes and demons he meets along the way. This is not a book about celebrity: this is a book about real life in the trenches of real theater. The intriguing and surprising, often startling, anecdotes are there not to serve up the authors associations with the rich and famous (who, more often than not, fair rather poorly), but to illustrate the professional and personal lives of the people who, I feel, the author would call "real actors": the ones who do the same show 1,000 times, and love, or hate, every performance, yet can't imagine doing anything else.

Mr. Stadlen has written a theatrical memoir for the working actor. At once a world weary sophisticate and crotchety curmudgeon, he is revealed to be, as well, a starry-eyed true believer and optimist (in his way). This frank, honest and sometimes brutal book is a portrait of a very successful man who  seemingly stumbled into a long and interesting career. He spent most of his life hoping that acting would lead him to Shangri-La and yet, somehow, far too often, he woke up in East Lansing.

His hysterical references to his baffling television career are a particular joy. They should be an addendum to Merle Miller's book: "Only You, Dick Darling!".

For the working professional, this book is as wickedly delightful as it might sometimes be infuriating, and for the amateur and student actor, it is a potent antidote for the heady and saccharin books about a life in the theater that are all too often written by people who have not had one.

Mr. Stadlen is among the first rank of American actors, but his life, like his book, is far from glamorous. A life in the theater is complicated, frustrating, glorious and infuriatingly random, and if there is a better document of that than "Acting Foolish", I have not read it.
3646129
This movie followed the Broadway play, which I also saw.  It was (and still is) a fun experience.
1427825
Sandy Lesberg has written a dramatic monologue that has Alma Mahler recount her life by discussing her loves and marriages.  Her childhood and relationships with her parents are barely touched on.  The play unifies her life in terms of the male lovers in her life.
The tone is light, and there are many gently humorous moments in the piece.  The style of comfortably conversational.  The play resembles Tom Lehrer's satirical song.

My criticism is that the play asserts that Alma defined herself I. Subservience to the geniuses in her life.  She presents herself as secondary to those men.  My sense of her is more dynamic and more threatening.  I see her as a radiantly sensual force that attracted geniuses, and her energy both motivated them and exhausted them.

Marlin Thomas
Author of Freud Mahler
1258131
I saw this in the theatre. I especially enjoyed the natural and realistic use of language - French, Moroccan and Hebrew. It was perfect! There was a moment in court when Vivienne begins laughing after so much silence and it is so real, so disturbing. The slow unfolding of the story of their marriage is akin to how we get to know people in life, slowly unpeeling layers of complexity. At the end of the film, there was a crowd of people that stayed in the theatre, complete strangers, and argued about the end of the film. There were 2 camps of thought. One that she goes back to him and one that she accepts his agreement to never be with anyone again in order to get her get. I have never experienced such ferocity of opinion over a movie's ending or such spontaneous need for strangers in NYC to try to understand. It was a wonderful experience. The incredible feat  of actors being able to create such depth in a one room setting was a testament to their talent. One more thing - the handling of the subject was admirable. It did not superficially or expeditiously present the usual treatment of the Jewish divorce dilemma. I appreciated that as well.
I would highly recommend.
3116655
I've seen the hollywood filmed version of Pirates many many times, but the fun of a live stage performance and the actors reacting with each other and the audience etc makes for an enjoyable experience - I'm glad I looked into viewing this
471281
I enjoyed this. She told it with complete honesty which must have been hard to do. But it was history of a life time among the stars of movies, television and theater. She had a lot of confidence that brought her where she wanted to be in life. An interesting read!
3996740
This play is not one which many people perform, and there are several reasons.  First, from an acting/directing standpoint, the hope of finding talented actors in the appropriate age ranges is a challenge.  Second, it can be hard to manage the constant motion and milling about that Albee requires in his work (though to be fair, much of it may have been written by the first director or stage manager for the show).  Albee's other works, "Zoo Story" or "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" being the most famous, usually find audiences much faster than a work like this, which as the title implies, is simply "All Over" the place.
Yet it isn't a bad play.  It deals with familial strife beautifully and treats most of its characters with the fairness and harsh reality for which Albee is famous.  All the characters are named according to their social roles (i.e. The Wife, The Mistress, The Daughter, etc.), and his reasoning is apparent.  By dealing with them in this way, Albee can explore how those relationships change, yet stay the same, without ever over-personalizing them.
So what exactly is this unusual play about?  Well, a rather famous person--who is of course unidentified--is about to die.  Surrounding him are his family, including his Mistress, and his lifelong Doctor with his Nurse.  Each of the children is well into their mid-life, while the Mistress and Wife are both over sixty.  What marks this play as unique is that both of these latter ladies are able to maintain an amiable kindness with one another, because of their shared love for this unseen man.  The Daughter, whose character seems to be both the weakest and the strongest at times, is constantly fighting the presence of the older women, and finding out they have more strength than they let on.
The sweetness of the play is that it knows its subject.  It knows death, and it knows the strain that death can put on people.  At times it is predictable, but then, so is death.  It comes for us all, as the old adage says.  And it comes in this play, bag and baggage unloaded on a cast of characters unable to make room for it, but unable to make it leave.
A sharp, sometimes disappointing, but always engaging text, Albee's "All Over" may not be his best, but it is a testamony to his remarkable skill in rendering human emotion on paper.
2029678
A play with a wealth of opportunities for actors to deep-dive emotionally.  So much personal history and herstory is carried onstage.  I can only imagine that if properly cast and staged this experience would draw its audience into its characters' backstories.
1779612
This was an interesting tale of the theatre and how women playrights were treated during the period.  What was also interesting was the fact the authors had to have their works passed by the government, often with many deletions and alterations, in order for them to have their plays presented.  The rivalry between Covent Garden and Drury Lane was also interesting.  I believe Ciji has done a lot of research to ensure this novel was interwoven with facts and fiction.
4896098
Ron Fassler has gifted us with an up close and very personal account of Broadway Theater.  This memoir is for those who know the Theater well and for those of us who don't.  Not only are his recollections informative and historical but contains  a love and a passion for this art form rarely seen.  This memoir cannot be missed.  A singular joyous read.
626023
PROPHET: THE STORY OF NAT TURNER is a well written play about the life of a man born into slavery. Although a slave, Nat has special gifts that intrigue and intimidate the white people. It isn't until his escape, though, that he receives his real calling in life. This is a well written and dramatic play that gives the reader an interesting glimpse into a piece of history.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
4479525
Even though this is not a documentary, you feel like you get to know a bit of the real person behind the actor. Very entertaining and made me feel very sympathetic toward an actor who is a man who has gone through a lot.
3280609
About 3 years ago, a dear friend and I went to Actors Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky, one of the great theatrical companies in the nation, by the way, to see a production of Glen Berger's play "Underneath The Lintel".  It was a shot in the dark, an unknown one act, one actor play, the kind of play that can be either a great artistic experience, or a catastrophe.  "Underneath The Lintel" is the former.

I picked the play for my friend based on one criteria:  It was about a librarian.  She was a librarian, so my goal was to create a special event.  I realized the risk involved, but at least she would see the play as chosen with thought just for her.  If nothing else, we would get an interesting experience, and we could leave if it was an atrocity and enjoy a nice dinner.

What we got was more than interesting, it was a theatrical experience, an emotional, philosophical, intellectual journey that has been to this day one of my great experiences as a live performance.

There is so much in this play, tragic, existential, emotionally moving and touching, a drama of existance told through the story of one aging man's search for either a great mystical breakthrough, or an old man going a bit daft, depending on how you view it, but either way, a search that is unforgettable as a wonderful heart rending recounting of the madness and the miracle of existance. I want the book now...this is the only play I have seen I would like to somehow fund or stage further productions of.  Such does this story inspire daft searches of great meaning and importance in aging men, and hopefully in all of us.

Roger Conner Jr.
2107126
Follows the book to the T great cast and real life incidents.
2148341
really enjoyed when seen in the theater, but nicer to be able to really see, hear, stop and enjoy some scenes in more detail.
2983230
All the worlds a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.

Francine Proses latest, Mr. Monkey, illustrates Shakespeares point beautifully with her cast of characters who are all involved, in some way or another, with a low-brow, Off Broadway musical about the redemption of an orphaned, larcenous chimp.

Like actors, we see how each member of the large cast presents him or herself to the world, but we also get the back-story that informs their "performance" (as the book is broken into chapters that are seen through the various characters points of view).  Not only do we understand how they wish to be perceived, but also how they imagine they are actually being perceived (with all the attendant comic paranoia) in addition to what they think of the actions of the others.  This is an often hilarious, occasionally poignant, examination of interpersonal relationships and human frailty in the "seven ages of man."

Although Ive heard of the prolific and lauded Prose, Id never had occasion to read any of her work.  So this was a delightful introduction.  I think theres a copy of her National Book Award nominated Blue Angel somewhere on my shelves.  I suspect the tone is somewhat different, but its definitely moved up on my To-Read list.
1256802
First, my fear; then, my curtsy; last my speech. My fear is your displeasure; my curtsy, my duty; and my speech, to beg your pardons.

This was an interesting capsule of Shakespeares life in the year 1599. In that year, he wrote Henry V, As You Like It, Julius Caesar and Hamlet. It was a very productive year.
Besides tracing Shakespeares life we are also treated to a history lesson for that year which includes Essexs army fighting in Ireland and the Queens worry that Essex may be plotting a coup. If you know what is happening in a historical context you can better understand the plays Shakespeare wrote.

Shakespeares troupe was also moving their theater to outside of London by taking the boards apart and rebuilding the theater in their new spot. What I enjoyed most about this book was the insights on the boys joining the theater and Shakespeares sponsorship of these young men playing female parts. He wrote some wonderful lines for these young men because he was pleased with their acting ability.

I found this book slow at times but for the most part I was engrossed in the way the theater worked in Shakespeares time and how precarious an actor/writers life could be in Elizabethan rule.

If you enjoy Shakespeare as much as I do, I recommend this book for deeper insight than I ever got from high school English class.