The Impossible Musical : The "Man of La Mancha" Story

Rating:
Summary: "Impossible" but True
Review: I saw "Man of La Mancha" in, probably, its second night of previews in New York. I had cajoled a group of friends into coming based on my fandom for its star, Richard Kiley. I was a bit worried that they, or indeed I, might not like the show. What was a big musical like this doing opening in a rickety, "temporary" theater W-A-A-y off-broadway? I couldn't get any reading on my friends' reactions during the show (which was performed without intermission) but, as the lights came up at the end, I saw that I had done good. There wasn't a dry eye along the row we had commandeered. We stood by our seats and raved as the audience filed out. It turned out to be a damn good thing that we did, too, as we were just one row in front of Kiley's wife! All of which is to say that I pride myself on having loved the show longer than most. Thus, I was thrilled to hear that this book was coming out. Then I got worried. What if it didn't live up to its subject? What if it told me things I didn't want to know? Sure, Dale Wasserman is a superior playwright/screenwriter, but that's not a BOOK (and if you think writing is writing, try some of David Mamet's novels... not his essays, which are brilliant, his novels). Anyway, I needn't have worried. This is the book "...La Mancha" deserves, and the one any lover of the play or the theater will cherish.

Rating:
Summary: Relishing the "Unreachable Star"
Review: This riveting romp of a read is as deep as the reader is prepared to probe--a rollicking airport diversion, or an insightful examination of man's condition.
For those who crave celebrities in unusal positions--naked Kirk Douglas raging at the staff of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (the stage version)for example,this will delight. For those who hunger for universal timeless truths, this will be a feast.
For theater aficionados as well as for history buffs this is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Relishing the "Unreachable Star"
Review: This riveting romp of a read is as deep as the reader is prepared to probe--a rollicking airport diversion, or an insightful examination of man's condition.
For those who crave celebrities in unusal positions--naked Kirk Douglas raging at the staff of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (the stage version)for example,this will delight. For those who hunger for universal timeless truths, this will be a feast.
For theater aficionados as well as for history buffs this is a must read.