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THE SECOND CITY UNSCRIPTED

REVOLUTION AND REVELATION AT THE WORLD-FAMOUS COMEDY THEATER

Not for casual fans, but a light treat for improv aficionados and comedy junkies.

A Chicago Sun-Times staff writer weeds through hours of interviews to fashion an in-depth oral history of comedy’s greatest talent factory, The Second City.

When Bernard Sahlins, Paul Sills and Howard Alk founded a coffeehouse in 1959, they had no intention of starting a comedy dynasty. Sahlins and Sills had produced a few plays around Chicago, but didn’t think of putting together a show at their new club until it was nearly ready to open. They gathered up a few friends—many leftover from the defunct improv group the Compass Players—and started hosting comedy and political satire. A half-century later Second City is still a comedy institution, what many alums believe was “the purest and most fulfilling creative experience of their lives.” Thomas tries to capture the group’s vast history—its hundreds of performers and dozens of success stories, its multiple outposts and massive influence on SCTV and Saturday Night Live—and it proves to be a daunting task. The author focuses on Second City’s early history and its most recognizable—and notorious—graduates, recounting tales of John Belushi’s massive appeal and Chris Farley’s excesses. Thomas capably builds a coherent narrative from all the backstage moments and business dealings, but the interviews often fail to provide adequate depth about what has made Second City so successful. There are also notable absences—particularly Mike Myers and Bill Murray—that create narrative gaps the author struggles to navigate around.

Not for casual fans, but a light treat for improv aficionados and comedy junkies.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-345-51422-6

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Villard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009

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DYLAN GOES ELECTRIC!

NEWPORT, SEEGER, DYLAN, AND THE NIGHT THAT SPLIT THE SIXTIES

An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...

Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.

The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.

An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.

Pub Date: July 25, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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