Joy Ride: Show People and Their Shows by John Lahr
John Lahr must be bored of having it pointed out that he is the son of Bert Lahr, the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz and a Broadway star. He has also been the theatre critic of the New Yorker and devised shows with, adapted plays for and written biographies of a string of famous names: Tennessee Williams, Elaine Stritch, Woody Allen, Joe Orton, Frank Sinatra – the list goes on. The point is that he is an accomplished writer, steeped in theatre. The pieces collected here are impressively researched, perceptive and smoothly written, mostly about playwrights, sometimes on directors, less often on particular productions. So what, as they say, is not to enjoy?
