Quarantine Recommendations Part 2

We’re back with Quarantine Book Recommendations. Broadway interviews and memoirs often provide the same sort of anecdotes you’d hear in a live interview in a slightly more structured way.

ATTA GIRL

Memoirs by people on the edges of show business, such as Helene Hanff's Underfoot on Broadway, often have stories to tell that are even more interesting than the A-Listers', since they are probably not ghostwritten and the authors don’t have to worry as much about upsetting members of the industry. Peggy Pope’s memoir is deeply personal without being upsetting, and takes us not just into her life, but deep into her psyche. She shares experiences with her father, and in the next chapter talks about Jimmy Durante. Colorful figures have entered her life, and although it’s not a particularly dishy book, it gives a very real sense of what it’s like to become an actor. Pope’s biggest job was as what she referred to as a “boozy Greek chorus” in the movie 9 to 5. But she has also worked on stage with greats like Jimmy Stewart and Buddy Hackett. Read this book for a gritty and real sense of what it’s like to always be on the verge of fame, yet still make a life out of doing the thing you love.

DANCING MAN

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this new, truly sparkling memoir by Tony-winning choreographer Bob Avian, who worked on all fo Michael Bennett’s projects as well as Miss Saigon and the Chorus Line revival by himself. His memoir is concise, but he kept in all the best parts. Whether talking about Katharine Hepburn in Coco or the audience reaction once A Chorus Line became the sensation that it was, Avian’s memoir shows you both his experience and his great talent for painting a vivid picture (whether on stage or in writing, I guess). A fly on the wall for many important events of theater history, Bob Avian has seen it all, and isn’t afraid to repeat it. 

UNCLE MAME

The best researched book I’ve read thus far is Uncle Mame, Eric Myers’ engaging biography of the one and only Patrick Dennis. With the proposed mission statement being not so much a tribute, but simply a remembrance of him and a preventative measure against him slipping into the past, this book has no end of anecdotes from personal interviews with almost every living person who knew him. Whether using snippets of humor columns he wrote while in the army, or quoting his exact opinion of quite a few Mames (“too common,” rather a snooty view to take if you ask me), the author makes you fall in love with Dennis all over again, and it is remarkable how many times in the book his life plays out in a way you thought you would only see in, well, a Patrick Dennis novel. However, this is not merely a tribute, as I said, and Myers doesn’t fail to acknowledge the dark sides of Dennis, like his mental health issues, self-destructive patterns, and suicide attempts. But through this, Myers doesn’t let us lose the “fun” Dennis we like to imagine. For example, he might include a detail about the shoot for Little Me alongside a description of a messy situation with Dennis’ aunt who claimed to be the real Mame, and then started trying to take advantage of the book’s money and success. This is a smart and funny take on the life of one extremely complicated but talented man, and I recommend it highly.

SEE YOU ALL (UPDATED SCHEDULE) TOMORROW AT 3 FOR VIRTUAL EVENT RECOMMENDATIONS, AT 5 FOR PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS, AND AT 8 FOR CDS AND MUSIC.