Theatrical Seekers and True Believers
New books document the processes and productions of 2 major New York companies.
Stories by Michael Bloom
The Showman and the Raconteur
New memoirs by British directors Nicholas Hytner and Dominic Dromgoole run the gamut, and the Globe.
Streep and Shepard: 2 Straight Arrows Ascending
Sam Shepard and Meryl Streep both made defining marks on New York stages before wandering afield.
By Playwrights Possessed, Namely Sam and Eugene
An O’Neill biography puts the drama centerstage, while a tantalizing compendium of Beckett-iana largely elides it.
Mary Martin and Barbra Streisand, Divas With a Difference
Two new bios examine the lives and careers of two musical-theatre giants: one most at home onstage, the other too big for any single medium.
Tummler Aches and Growing Pains
A pair of new books reveals how Joel Grey and the Yiddish theatre both drew on Jewish stage traditions of gravitas as well as schmaltz.
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.
On Being With and Becoming
Two new books on Alexander technique demonstrate both the power and the pitfalls of conveying a hands-on practice in written form.
Book Review: Sarah Ruhl’s ‘100 Essays I Don’t Have Time To Write’
Michael Bloom reviews two new books by Sarah Ruhl
The Life, Career of Bob Fosse Resurrected in Sam Wasson’s ‘Fosse’
Michael Bloom examines the latest biography on Bob Fosse