Synopses & Reviews
Review
"An exuberant, entertaining collection." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"John Lahr writes--beautifully--about the theatre and those who make it with an unrivalled blend of enthusiasm, perception, and analytical precision. This book is justly titled--his joy is irresistible." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"100 years from now this is where people will look to see what it was like back then. Bravo!" Nicholas Hytner
Review
"Incisive, exuberant.... Lahr's vivid reportage, trenchant insight, and infectious love of the stage will remind readers just how exciting modern theater can be." Library Journal
Review
"Anyone interested in the history of the American theater and contemporary drama will applaud these thoughtful and critical pieces." Carolyn M. Mulac
Review
"An exuberant, entertaining collection." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Joy Ride throws open the stage door and introduces readers to such makers of contemporary drama as Arthur Miller, Tony Kushner, Wallace Shawn, Harold Pinter, David Rabe, David Mamet, Mike Nichols, and August Wilson. Lahr takes us to the cabin in the woods that Arthur Miller built in order to write Death of a Salesman; we walk with August Wilson through the Pittsburgh ghetto where we encounter the inspiration for his great cycle; we sit with Ingmar Bergman at the Kunglinga Theatre in Stockholm, where he attended his first play; we visit with Harold Pinter at his London home and learn the source of the feisty David Mamet s legendary ear for dialogue.
In its juxtaposition of biographical detail and critical analysis, Joy Ride explores with insight and panache not only the lives of the theatricals but the liveliness of the stage worlds they have created.
"
Synopsis
A collection of John Lahr's profiles and reviews that are "the nearest we get to modern theatre history" ().
About the Author
National Book Award finalist John Lahr is the author of Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh, among other books. He was the senior drama critic of The New Yorker for over two decades. He has twice won the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism and is the first critic ever to win a Tony Award (coauthor, Elaine Stritch at Liberty).