Serviceable biography of a noted Broadway and film lyricist/librettist. Born the son of a department store mogul, Lerner had the luxury to pursue a life in the theater. Luck brought him into contact with Viennese-born composer Frederick Loewe at New York's legendary theatrical hangout, the Lambs Club, in the mid-'40s. Loewe had had some minor hits, but success had eluded him; he was looking for a new partner to pump some life into his work. The two worked together on a series of shows, hitting pay dirt with the 1947 fantasy Brigadoon. Lerner was a compulsive worker, while Loewe was happy to enjoy his newfound success; over the next decade and a half, the two would collaborate on two more successful shows, My Fair Lady and Camelot, while Lerner filled the gaps by working (less successfully) with other composers, including Kurt Weill and Burton Lane, as well as keeping himself occupied writing scripts in Hollywood. After Camelot, Loewe happily went into semi-retirement; confounded, Lerner worked on a number of ill-begotten projects, beginning with the overblown On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. The failures kept coming through the '70s and '80s, while Lerner's personal life followed its rocky path, marked by a series of quickly consummated and ultimately unsuccessful marriages. Lerner succumbed to cancer in 1986. Jablonski (Gershwin, 1987, etc.) is an able writer and knows how to hold a reader's interest. Realizing that Lerner's life story is less uplifting than the story of his hits, he wisely focuses on the shows, glossing over the more troublesome aspects of the biography. Jablonski offers salient critiques of the major Lerner productions, including close readings of the songs, the libretti, and a complete run-down of the production histories. However, he relies on the standard literature in retelling Lerner's life, barely moving beyond a handful of well-known sources for further insights. (32 b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Feb. 9, 1996
ISBN: 0-8050-4076-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
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
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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