Drawing on his two-year series of public interviews with top thespians conducted at N.Y.C.'s New School, Tony Award-winning producer Black conveys the work behind theater's ``magic''—the motivation and training of actors, the mechanics of production, and the essential role of the audience. While Black devotes separate chapters to Tony Randall, Eli Wallach, and Liv Ullman, the rest of his text features that special chemistry of intelligent pairing that characterized his interview- series. Subjects include, among others, Joel Grey and Julie Harris; Christopher Reeve and Elizabeth Franz; William Hurt and Lois Smith; Madeline Kahn and Christopher Walken; Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy; Frank Langella and Judith Ivey; and Zoâ Caldwell and Colleen Dewhurst, whose death during the writing of the book inspired an epilogue emphasizing acting as a collaboration between the actor and the audience—which is an implied presence in the interviews themselves. While the topic of Black's series was how actors convince audiences that they are other than themselves (i.e., the nature of theatrical illusion), the discussions here—which interweave Black's personal narrative with his subjects' dialogue and some Q&A—reveal how actors are motivated to become professional; how they train; how they prepare for a part; how they feel about themselves, their audiences, and their fellow actors; and what they think about more philosophical issues, such as the relative merits of talent, technique, training, and teaching. Each discussion is exceptionally articulate and interesting, and Black, representing the audience, conveys winningly how important it is for audiences to believe in the uses of illusion. An insightful psychology of actors and audiences that offers inspiration for young actors and an absorbing read for those who love the theater. (Thirty-four photographs)
Pub Date: June 2, 1993
ISBN: 0-02-511155-8
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1993
PROFILES
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
