Rating: 
Summary: Praise in the media for "Stagestruck"
Review: "What Schulman asks is simple: Must we continue sacrificing the memories of those who have died in this epidemic to hawk another album, a T-shirt, and a bottle of Absolut? Her answer in this powerful, provocative work is equally direct: Don't lie about our lives."-The Village Voice"Schulman's books are rife with artists and activists-many are both-whose stories closely mirror the real-life toll on the social and artistic landscape that is her long-time creative base. She offers a visceral description of that culture and its devastation in Stagestruck: Theater, AIDS, and the Marketing of Gay America. . . . She discusses plays about AIDS and those written by gay men, lesbians, and black women, in marvelously lucid, observant prose. I have not read such outstanding commentary about them anywhere. Such criticism, with its intense immediacy and personal investment in the theatrical experience, is sadly rare today. . . . With passionate intelligence, Schulman argues that mainstream images of gay men, lesbians, and AIDS 'pave the way for the selling of a twisted history and dishonest depictions' of all three. . . . In writing Stagestruck, Schulman harnessed deeply personal, painful experiences to elicit an extremely effective discussion of cultural production and visual representation."-The Nation "This fascinating, angry, politically charged, and highly readable account of 'the commodification of ideas about AIDS, homosexuality, neighborhood, artistic production, and theater' paradoxically reinforces 'the superiority of heterosexuality. . . .' Schulman's best work to date, this wise exploration should be used in every gay studies classroom. A wonderful addition . . ."-Choice "In her readable and sure to be controversial new book, novelist and long-time lesbian activist Sarah Schulman offers an impassioned analysis of the packaging and selling of US gay identity at this moment in captialism. Her highly critical assessment of the commodification of gay identity is joined to a discussion of the ways in which homosexuality and AIDS are being represented in popular culture, especially the New York theatre world, which Schulman knows so well. . . . The strongest part of this book, the part that I hope won't get lost in arguments over the charges of plagiarism that launch Stagestruck, is Schulman's demolition of the rhetoric of tolerance and diversity . . . [T]his is a powerful and persuasive exposure and indictment of the work representation does to construct margin and center. . . . I mean no diminishment of Schulman's creative contributions when I say that Stagestruck, with the passionate political and moral convictions that underwrite every page, is a didactic book. May we have more such didactic and even cranky works of art."-The Women's Review of Books "Ok, so Schulman trashes Out in the final pages of her book. So she implies that you're a bad queer if you buy this magazine. Promise not to cancel your subscription if we tell you to read her book anyway? This combination manifesto/exposé is a cracking read. Apparently Jonathan Larson, that famously dead Broadway wunderkind, used a hell of a lot of Schulman's 1990 novel People in Trouble, in his hit musical, Rent. Initially, Schulman thought she'd sue. But after locking horns with the lawyers, she realized that a dyke who wrote a novel some other dykes liked wasn't going to get anything from Broadway big boys. Instead she wrote Stagestruck, which is much more than the story of Schulman's wrongs. She examines the Rent case as representative of a larger epidemic: the dominant culture's systematic harvest of queer experience. Written in outrage, this book is often outrageous, but don't let the bombast get you down-it's meant to get your blood boiling and your eyes flashing in righteous fury."-Out "If Schulman was unable to rescue her rights from the underworld of corporate entertainment, she has not returned from that inferno empty-handed. Stagestruck is a stunning act of courage and political truth-telling."-Lambda Book Report "The surprise is how sweeping a punch Schulman packs into this little book. What begins as a j'accuse regarding the plagiarism by composer/playwright Jonathan Larson of Schulman's 1990 novel People in Trouble, which she says was the source for his blockbuster 'rock musical' Rent, evolves into a broad-based analysis of the mainstreaming and marketing of gay culture. Schulman's vocabulary has visionary clarity, and her cultural and political analysis has implications far beyond the gay community she is speaking for. When Schulman is offering her own readings of the broad range of theater that opened during the first season of Rent (from star-packed Tennessee Williams revivals to off-off Broadway basement productions), or analyzing the content of ads and feature articles in gay and mainstream glossy magazines, or deconstructing media depictions of gay life and the AIDS crisis, I'd put her on a par with some of our most provacative cultural critics, gay or straight. Her work here belongs beside the media and advertising criticism of Mark Crispin Miller and Leslie Savan and the pop-culture analysis of Todd Gitlin and Greil Marcus."-The Boston Phoenix "Stagestruck is an attack on commercialism in an age when such critiques are unfashionable. Schulman's breadth of experience-twenty years in New York's theatrical community and almost as many years in the feminist, gay, and mainstream publishing worlds-gives her an unusual range of reference. Her analysis glides seamlessly from Jonathan Larson to Ntozake Shange to Tennessee Williams, from The Wall Street Journal to The Village Voice, from theater to television, and enables the reader to understand the connections among these cultural phenomenal. In only 151 pages and without any academic jargon, Schulman powerfully challenges queer readers to re-think-and change-our relationship to art and consumption in America."-Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review "Schulman, a lesbian activist and 1997 winner of the Stonewall Award, joined ACT UP in 1987. Shortly thereafter, she completed her fourth novel, People in Trouble, which featured a group of East Village artists struggling with homelessness and AIDS and was based on her personal experiences. After attending a performance of Rent in February 1996 and writing a review of it, Schulman realized that the storyline of this mega-hit was, in fact, taken directly from her novel. Stagestruck is an engrossing narrative of Schulman's mainly futile struggle to gain recognition and legal restitution for the use of her material, but more than that is an exposé of how mainstream theater has twisted gay and lesbian culture and themes such as AIDS to make it more palatable to mass audiences. Schulman also provides a look at some off-Broadway plays and performance pieces by gay and lesbian artists that give a much more authentic depiction of gay life and issues. As the struggle continues for gays and lesbians to gain acceptance and to see themselves portrayed accurately in literature and drama, Schulman clearly comes out a winner with Stagestruck. Highly recommended."-Library Journal "Stagestruck showcases Schulman's persuasive voice in all its energy and eloquence. . . . Schulman is persuasive and passionate as she guides the reader to her final indictment of our entire consumer culture, one that has reduced the gay community to a marketing niche. A."-Girlfriends "Whether you are familiar with People in Trouble, Rent, or recent gay and AIDS plays on Broadway, Stagestruck is worth reading. The politics are progressive, the jokes give chuckles, and Schulman's creative spirit flourishes throughout."-Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco, CA) "This could easily be the most philosophically compelling, compulsively queer book I have reviewed in months."-Community News (Salem, OR)
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and Cathartic
Review: Also, as I've come to expect with her books, Ms. Schulman manages to find the words to explain things I've always sensed but not been able to articulate. The section on marketing to gays (who, as she puts it, are still struggling with post-traumatic stress as a result of being raised in this society) was brilliant, and funny. An instance where she really stopped me in my tracks: when she compared gays and lesbians to a older relative of hers who was freed from a Nazi concentration camp and shortly afterwards had a small breakdown when trying to choose what color drinking glass to buy from a shelf of glassware that came in too many colors, sizes and shapes.
Rating: 
Summary: Whiny and contradictory.
Review: As a self-professed RENThead, I'll be the first to admit that I may be biased. However, I did actually borrow this book from the library with a fairly open-mind. I started perusing the details of Jonathan Larson's alledged plagiarizing of "People In Trouble", a novel by Sarah Schulman, with the idea that it wouldn't matter to me if Larson DID steal the plot of RENT, the way the show reached me was enough. However, after reading halfway into "Stagestruck", I realized the absolute futility of keeping an open-mind: I didn't need to. Schulman presents her case in this book as well as she probably could. Not only does she point out the similarities between "People in Trouble" and "RENT", she also relates the "fact" that straight writers cannot write about gay people; it is evident that all heterosexuals are deeply homophobic. She points out the virtues of gay playwrights and always bashes the white, straight, and male ones. In fact, Schulman's original review of RENT, though not the best, was positive to a certain extent ("Larson's heart is clearly with the queers" she wrote) but after finding out that Larson was NOT gay and did not die of AIDS, well, then of course RENT contains many obvious homophobic themes, among them, allowing the Angel, who is gay, to die but allowing Mimi, who is straight, to live. But even if Schulman's allegations that RENT is gay-bashing and homophobic seem preposterous, there must be something said about her other, and more "important" belief. RENT is a blatant rip-off of her book, right? Well, maybe but not conclusively. While Schulman presents her case in such a way as to make it sound like the plot of RENT is exactly like "People In Trouble", in reality the similarities she points out are almost always just vague passing references in the actual novel and very often simply incorrect. Such mistakes may seem ridiculous, but there are enough misquotes from RENT and even characters who are named incorrectly in "Stagestruck" that make it seem obvious that Schulman has seen the show about once (if even) and did not bother to even find a copy of the script. While there are many other preposterous allegations in "Stagestruck", they are too much to list here. Schulman's whiny prose is hard to sustain the reader, and her theory is trivialized by contradictions and bitter prejudice. The basic premise of the book is not ridiculous- Jonathan Larson may have lifted a few of the more unimportant details in "People In Trouble"- but Sarah Schulman's angry presentation of it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Bold look at a tough topic!
Review: Blunt, well written, and not afraid to step on some toes! Ms. Schulman gives us a front-row view of the way our profit-crazed popular culture operates at the turn of the century. With all the sycophantic praise that has been heaped on RENT, it was high time someone looked at the darker side of what this show represents. This is crucial reading for anyone interested in the commercial arts (theatre, film, publisheing, etc.)and the way they can cynically co-opt a minority's viewpoint to fit their needs.
Rating:
Summary: Get Over Yourself Schulman
Review: First off, I am not ashamed to say that I loved RENT. Ms. Schulman is obviousley trying to make anyone that has seen the show and liked it ashamed of themselves. I found this book to be one long whinning rant. Why is it that everything has to be made into an "issue"? It is clear to me that the only that Ms. Schulman will bash ANY piece of work on the gay/lesbian culture except hers or other gay people, maybe not even them. While their may have been some similarities between 'People in Trouble' and RENT, they are obviousley not the same work. And incase Ms. Schulman doesn't realize, she is not the first to write about the gay culture and AIDS, nor will she be the last. This woman is obviousley some self-rightous flag carrier believing she is the only one who has the right to do work on such topics.
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS SAD REALLY SAD
Review: I bought this book knowing it would disgust me. I knew Larson for years having gone to school with him and struggling with him. This man lived hand to mouth to the day he died, believing in what he wanted to accomplish more than anyone else I've ever known. I read PEOPLE IN TROUBLE years ago. It wasn't a great book. It isn't RENT. There are so many generalizations in this book {Lesbians are the poorest population, I'm paraphrasing). I don't know it just makes me so sad that Jon is dead and everyone is trying to bash him. He worked really hard. He didn't have one minute to enjoy his new found fame. Think about that. The man has given so many joy and left many of us bereaved. Let it go. He didn't steal anything. He was filled with passion, creativity and respect for everyone. And if his work was commercial, it was only commercial after The New York Times deemed it so. I wish I didn't read this book, because it made people like Jon's parents and sister to be villians. The only villians here are the two hospitals who misdiagnosed Jon and left us without his talent and left him without a moment to enjoy all the success that was due him for YEARS!
Rating:
Summary: not the story that makes Rent so good
Review: I can't believe this lady trying to take credit for Rent. What makes Rent great is the music, and Larson sure didn't copy that from Schulman. He could have used a Jack and Jane story and the musical still would have been great. That woman needs to get a life.
Rating:
Summary: not the story that makes Rent so good
Review: I can't believe this lady trying to take credit for Rent. What makes Rent great is the music, and Larson sure didn't copy that from Schulman. He could have used a Jack and Jane story and the musical still would have been great. That woman needs to get a life.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling Yet Annoying
Review: I find Schulman's story completely fascinating: what it must have been like to summarily ignored and dismissed by people form several communitites in and around the RENT phenomena is nothing short of amazing. I also find her radical politics incredibly invigorating. Schulman really puts herself out on a limb, seemingly careless of whom she might offend. However, Schulman's tone (I just can't think of a better word for it) throughout the book creates a great amount of distance between author and reader (well, at least this reader). While reading, I couldn't help but think: "No wonder no one came to your defense---you're completely annoying." Now, that might sound pithy (or even personal if I actually knew her), but Schulman simply doesn't make it easy for me to empathize with her. Furthermore, she tends to contradict herself at it suits her particular argument. When discussing critical responses to lesbian theatre/performance, she complains of a period in time when there were no papers hiring lesbian critics (who would, ostensibly, be truly qualified). The next page (the VERY next page) sees Schulman complaining that when papaers sent lesbian critcs to lesbian theatre/performances, they were invariably "marginalizing" her work and the work of other lesbian artists. I applaud Schulman for her brave text, but I ultimately feel that the work as a whole is contradictory, lacks specificity (examples would help the section on marketing immensely), and suffers from her (though entirely justifiable) wronged/angered/violated tone.
Rating:
Summary: Witty and insightful
Review: I often read a book and then, once I've seen the author read from his own stuff, had to go back and read it again with a different tone of voice. That applies to this book. It's much funnier and rueful than I realize the first time. It's also not recommended unless you have a dark sense of humor, and understand that it's not about Rent or Broadway really, but about some of the subtle ways that history gets revised by the winners. It's a brilliant book and I often had those moments of recognition where I got goose bumps reading a paragraph. Then I would laugh at the next paragraph. I think that people who read this ONLY because they are fans of Rent will be mystified or offended. Rent is a moving show, but it IS sort of odd for urban gays - it's kind of like reading a Hitler biography devoted solely to his being a wonderful father and compassionate family man. . . It may be true, but you have to scratch your head and wonder how the author managed to completely avoid mentioning the holocaust even once in 1000 pages, and just what was his agenda in doing so. It is clear that Ms. Schulman's book was completely stolen by Larson. However! As she points out, the theft of the plot is not really a problem, cause plot borrowing and character theft is common practice; what she regards as the sore spot is that, in stealing those elements, Larson inadvertently did the same thing that bigots and the media often deliberately do to gays and lesbians: in the same way that the winning side of a war gets to decide what version of the war goes down in history as the TRUE version, Jonathan Larson's made-up version of the AIDS epidemic will be written on most people's hearts as the true version, when in reality it is a powerful distortion of who and what actually happened - unfortunately wrapped in some excellent theater so it is more likely to burn into people's brains as the truth. I didn't expect so much humor from a book that makes those sorts of points. I laughed repeatedly when reading this book, starting with the introduction. Also, as I've come to expect with her books, Ms. Schulman manages to find the words to explain things I've always sensed but not been able to articulate. The section on marketing to gays (who, as she puts it, are still struggling with post-traumatic stress as a result of being raised in this society) was brilliant, and funny. An instance where she really stopped me in my tracks: when she compared gays and lesbians to a older relative of hers who was freed from a Nazi concentration camp and shortly afterwards had a small breakdown when trying to choose what color drinking glass to buy from a shelf of glassware that came in too many colors, sizes and shapes. My advice to potential readers: Schulman is more like Sondheim than the Sound of Music. If you're a Broadway boy with a good heart and not much critical faculty, don't read it and you'll live happy. If you're a Broadway fan with a brain, you'll find it's not really about Broadway but rather an interesting tap dance on the subject of how things get twisted around. If you've got a political sensibility of any type, and maybe you're much older and wiser -- and you read the book with a tone of voice that's rueful and ironic much more than just angry, you'll love it. It brings out all the humor, which appears on every page, and makes me laugh even in public places. People in Trouble were not one of my favorite novels of hers, but having read stage-struck, I now enjoyed it much more. Empathy is her funniest novel, but most experimental, and Rat Bohemia a truly angry ranting novel (and I mean it in the best Victor Hugo-if-he-were-a women sense of the word). I'd recommend Shimmer as a more 'traditional' linear story line sort of novel - it's quite beautiful. I give this book 4 stars not because it's not wonderful, but because I liked Empathy better and so needed to keep one star extra if I ever review that book online. :-)
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