Synopses & Reviews
Moss Harts Act One is not only one of the most celebrated American theater books of the twentieth century, it is one of the great American memoirs. This March, Lincoln Centre Theatre will present a stage adaptation of “Act One” written by Tony and Pulitzer-Prize Winning writer/director James Lapine. Harts memoir is a glorious memorial to a bygone age filled with all the wonder, drama, and heartbreak that surrounded Broadway from the 1920s to the years before World War II. Act One influenced a generation of theatergoers, dramatists, and readers everywhere as Hart eloquently chronicled his impoverished Bronx/Brooklyn childhood and his long, determined struggle to reach the opening night of his first theatrical Broadway success, written with George S. Kauffman, Once in a Lifetime. This is a great American success story that will thrill a new generation of readers and theatregoers as we approach opening night of Act One at Lincoln Center Theatre.
Review
"This is the best book on 'show business' as practiced in this century in our time..." -
-The New York Times Book Review"One of the best memoirs of this or any other theatrical generation." --Time
"Thoroughly absorbing and genuinely entertaining... Moss Hart knows how to hold an audience spellbound." --Christian Science Monitor
Review
"Moss Hart's Act One is not only the best book ever written about the American theater, but one of the great American autobiographies, by turns gripping, hilarious and searing."—Frank Rich
Review
"
Act One is legendary in the theatre world for one simple reason: it speaks personally to those of us who have chosen a life on or around the stage. Hart's recollection of his partnership with George S. Kaufman struck a particular chord for me as I too was lucky enough at a young age to have collaborated with a theatre legend, in my case Stephen Sondheim. It has been a thrill to bring this beautifully written memoir to the stage and to introduce the book to a new generation of theatre lovers."— James Lapine "Moss Hart's
Act One is not only the best book ever written about the American theater, but one of the great American autobiographies, by turns gripping, hilarious and searing."—Frank Rich
"Is Act One for you? Only if you know that theater is spelled theatre, cast albums are not soundtracks, and intermission is twice as fun as halftime. In that case, not only is Act One for you -- it is immediate and required reading."—Tim Federle, author of Better Nate Than Ever and the forthcoming Five, Six, Seven, Nate!
Review
"Moss Harts Act One is not only the best book ever written about the American theater, but one of the great American autobiographies, by turns gripping, hilarious and searing."—Frank Rich"Reading Act One is like going to a wonderful dinner party and being seated next to a man who is more charming, more interesting, smarter, and funnier than you ever knew men were capable of being. Moss Hart is alive in these pages, and I am in love with him."—Ann Patchett, author of This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage and Bel Canto"Is Act One for you? Only if you know that theater is spelled theatre, cast albums are not soundtracks, and intermission is twice as fun as halftime. In that case, not only is Act One for you—it is immediate and required reading."—Tim Federle, author of Better Nate Than Ever and Five, Six, Seven, Nate! "Act One is legendary in the theater world for one simple reason: it speaks personally to those of us who have chosen a life on or around the stage."—James Lapine
Synopsis
The Dramatic Story that Capitvated a GenerationWith this new edition, the classic best-selling autobiography by the late playwright Moss Hart returns to print in the thirtieth anniversary of its original publication. Issued in tandem with Kitty, the revealing autobiography of his wife, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Act One, is a landmark memoir that incluenced a generation of theatergoers, dramatists, and general book readers everywhere. The book eloquently chronicles Moss Hart's impoverished childhood in the Bronx and Brooklyn and his long, determined struggle to his first theatreical Broadway success, Once in a Lifetime. One of the most celebrated American theater books of the twentieth centure and a glorious memorial to a bygone age, Act One if filled with all the wonder, drama, and heartbreak that surrounded Broadway in the 1920s and the years before World War II.
Synopsis
Moss Harts Act One, which Lincoln Center Theater is presenting as a play written and directed by James Lapine, is one of the great American memoirs, a glorious memorial to a bygone age filled with all the wonder, drama, and heartbreak that surrounded Broadway in the early twentieth century. Harts story inspired a generation of theatergoers, dramatists, and readers everywhere as he eloquently chronicled his impoverished childhood and his long, determined struggle to reach the opening night of his first Broadway hit. Act One is the quintessential American success story.
About the Author
Born in New York City in 1904,
Moss Hart began his career as a playwright in 1925 with The Hold-Up Man, yet archieved his first major success in the 1930 collaboration with George S. Kaufman,
Once in a Lifetime. In addition to numerous Broadway productions, such as
The Man Who Came to Dinner and
You Can't Take it With You, which was awared the Pulitzer Price in 1938, Hart wrote screenplays for
Gentleman's Agreement and
A Star is Born. Moss Hart also gained universal recognition for his award-winning direction of
My Fair Lady in 1956.