Now that the Christmas season is done, it's prime time for serious theater. However, if it's nasty cold or snow is bucketing out of the sky, or both, it might be better to curl up with a book about making theater. Here are some memoirs of lives lived on and behind the stage.
Nicholas Hytner is getting rave reviews for his memoir of his time at the head of the National Theatre in London, Balancing Acts, and it's easy to see why. It's not just, "And then Helen Mirren said to Maggie Smith..." although that is in there, but Hytner also discusses the how and the why of theater with his trademark insight and wit. A must-read for anyone with an interest in theater and how it is done.
Theodore Mann has been instrumental since its inception in the Circle in the Square theater, whose contributors are every bit as lauded as those of the National Theatre. Mann's memoir is titled Journeys in the Night, riffing on both the crucial role CITS had in presenting Eugene O'Neill as well as the voyage actors and audience undertake at every performance. Once again, it's more than, "So James Earl Jones said to Nathan Lane..." but also a memoir of the influence of this highly influential company.
Sarah Caldwell had an almost unparalleled career in opera, which she recounts in Challenges. Not content to found the Opera Company of Boston and be the first woman to direct at the Met, Caldwell was known for her highly imaginative takes on both the classics and new work. Like the above books, Caldwell discusses how a production comes together amidst challenges including decrepit buildings and tetchy autocrats.
I would be negligent if I didn't mention Chicago. In Days and Nights at the Second City, Bernard Sahlins recounts how in the very late 50s, a group of funny people came together to form the Second City. Sahlins was part of their meteoric rise, and directed many of their revues. He, too, goes into the how of theater, but also discusses what makes something funny. Perhaps not as introspective as some of the other titles here, but if you want hilarity to ensue, read this book.
Got more memoirs of arty folks you'd recommend? Tell us about them in the comments.
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