Rating: 
Summary: A Sad, Attention Craving Woman
Review: I read "Stagestruck" due to the fact that I am a RENT fan and all the hype about her book and the similarities that it has to the story of RENT. Basically this woman hungers for attention and how dare she "bash" a man who isn't here to defend himself! RENT was and is an amazing show that not only won the hearts of millions but was an inspiration to many, including myself. Like her book is the only work of art out there that has a story about people living in NYC and having the same hardships as the RENT characters! Wake up people! I think she gives herself and her book way too much credit. Until Jonathan Larson can say that he "stole" the plot from Ms. Schulman, I don't believe a word of it.
Rating:
Summary: A Sad, Attention Craving Woman
Review: I read "Stagestruck" due to the fact that I am a RENT fan and all the hype about her book and the similarities that it has to the story of RENT. Basically this woman hungers for attention and how dare she "bash" a man who isn't here to defend himself! RENT was and is an amazing show that not only won the hearts of millions but was an inspiration to many, including myself. Like her book is the only work of art out there that has a story about people living in NYC and having the same hardships as the RENT characters! Wake up people! I think she gives herself and her book way too much credit. Until Jonathan Larson can say that he "stole" the plot from Ms. Schulman, I don't believe a word of it.
Rating:
Summary: A Revisit
Review: I read and reviewed this book a while back, but more recently I actually found and bought a copy of Shulman's novel "People in Trouble," while working on a chapter about Rent for a book of my own. While I enjoyed the novel to some extent, it's only slightly above average and I really could see no similarities between Rent and People in Trouble, other than the coincidences that are inevitable from the two books being set in similar times and places. Since the similarity between the two is the basis for Stage Struck, I find this book even more worthless than I did before. Having now compared the two works for myself, I now have even less respect for Shulman, and am even more convinced that this book (Stage Struck) is nothing more than an excuse for a rant and a way to cash in on someone else's success.
Rating: 
Summary: The Book Remains Weak
Review: I submitted a previous review of the book (giving it two stars) and, in the spirit of fairness, reviewed the work again recently.I stand by my previous conclusion: I feel that there is a considerable amount of creativity as well as genuine orginality in Schulman's work (hence two stars and not none)... but I find it a pity that she doesn't develop her thoughts further and that she meanders from point to point. I am not a white male, as a subsequent reviewer has suggested. I am a male who is a person of color. I resent the dispelling of my viewpoint because it disagrees with that of other reviewers, particularly on the grounds of some putative inherent gender/race difference. Schulman's fan appear to share a weakness with Schulman (at least the Schulman who wrote Stagestruck) -- the predilection to assert supposed truths without developing the given thought further. Saying something forcefully doesn't necessarily make it true... rjnjm@yahoo.com
Rating:
Summary: what a load of trollop
Review: it's so sad that this book has become a reality. i feel sad for sarah schulman for her mistaken beliefs about jonathan larson. she has spent a lot of energy on this. jon did not plagirize rent, plain and simple. as someone who has had intimate knowledge of his working process, i can tell you that this show came from his heart, and it finally broke his heart. how wrong to speak out against someone who cannot stand up for himself.
Rating: 
Summary: Sheer genius
Review: Obviously the person here who has given this book two stars TWICE is very threatened by the book. Despite his claims of finding it dull and badly written, he's drawn back to read and review the book again! Sounds like Ms. Schulman struck a nerve! This is a historic book about the commodification and fetishization of marginal experience. It's also a helluva good read -- alternately brilliant, trashy, gossipy, and academic.
Rating:
Summary: Promising but weak and meandering
Review: Oh Sarah you disappoint so! I bought this book after hearing a snippet of an interview with Ms. Schulman on NPR. The prospect of getting the dish on how RENT was plagiarized and how RENT is emblematic of widespread dominant (hetero) culture co-option of homosexuality was too good to pass up. So, I read the book. As a result, I was (1) insulted; (2) befuddled; and (3) bored -- not necessarily in that order. INSULTED: Schulman indulges in repeated bashing of straight males (read: me), which is gratuitous. Name calling gets no one anywhere. She also insults her reader's intelligences. In several instances, she introduces clever and (I believe) original ideas but then suddenly drops them (saving her the difficulty of actualling developing her thoughts beyond the embryonic, bullet-point stage). Doesn't Schulman believe her readers deserve more? Sloppy editing in several areas -- including several typos -- irked me too. BEFUDDLED: I could not sift through the myriad points, remarks, and asides of Ms. Schulman to get to what her message is. What is she trying to say? I found myself asking that question all the time... I found no answer. BORED: In a (worthwhile) attempt to provide theatrical context for RENT, Schulman digresses into page after page after page of unspectacular writing about dull works that she only sometimes adequately brings to life for the reader. She drops unknown names and sprinkles soporific asides into this utterly painful part of her book. Having said all that, I feel that there is a considerable amount of creativity as well as genuine orginality in Schulman's work (hence two stars and not none)... but I find it a pity that she doesn't develop her thoughts further and that shes meanders from point to point.
Rating: 
Summary: Defensive, yet moving...
Review: Sarah Schulman certainly has a lot to be angry about and this book helps to explain why. Viewing another persons supposed "creation" only to learn it is very similar to your own work must be infuriating. Schulman makes very valid points throughout the text. After viewing "RENT" and reading "People in Trouble", I was able to see the similarities between the two. The book was not the script, but a mutation of an excellent piece of literature. Although "Stagestruck..." contained many fascinating and important arguments, the style was very difficult to follow. Schulman appears so engulfed in her anger that she can barely finish one sentence at a time. Grammatically speaking the book was disappointing. However, in Schulmans' defense I can not even begin to imagine the betrayl she felt when not only was an interpretation of her work put on stage, recieving phenomenal reviews, but also having her own work put out of print to seemingly silence her arguments. Having met Sarah Schulman in 1998 at an OUTWRITE conference, I believe she is not a babbling bitter person, but simply a strong, influential woman who has had her dreams squelched by an oppressive society.
Rating:
Summary: Defensive, yet moving...
Review: Sarah Schulman certainly has a lot to be angry about and this book helps to explain why. Viewing another persons supposed "creation" only to learn it is very similar to your own work must be infuriating. Schulman makes very valid points throughout the text. After viewing "RENT" and reading "People in Trouble", I was able to see the similarities between the two. The book was not the script, but a mutation of an excellent piece of literature. Although "Stagestruck..." contained many fascinating and important arguments, the style was very difficult to follow. Schulman appears so engulfed in her anger that she can barely finish one sentence at a time. Grammatically speaking the book was disappointing. However, in Schulmans' defense I can not even begin to imagine the betrayl she felt when not only was an interpretation of her work put on stage, recieving phenomenal reviews, but also having her own work put out of print to seemingly silence her arguments. Having met Sarah Schulman in 1998 at an OUTWRITE conference, I believe she is not a babbling bitter person, but simply a strong, influential woman who has had her dreams squelched by an oppressive society.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and challenging
Review: Sarah Schulman is a pioneer in the world of lesbian fiction. Schulman has written countless articles, novels, and non-fiction, yet still maintains her edge. It doesn't matter whether or not RENT was taken from the pages of "People in Trouble." I think that is beside the point, even for Schulman. She uses her own personal experience to discuss the broader issues that face our society, and the gay movement as a whole. Looking for "proof" for what Schulman suggests in her text? Proof can be found in our own lives as gay people: from the patriarchal system of gender roles and power that dominate our society, to the pandering for gay votes and gay money. Further proof exists in the writings of such scholars as Gayle Rubin and Urvashi Vaid, among others. Schulman's book should be used as a jumping off point for other things. The book itself is call to re-examine our inner homophobia, our subconscious desire to be "normal," and our ability to be manipulated by the mainstream. If one cannot recognize these things in one's daily life, then one is not looking. Schulman shares TRUTH and, although that is hard for some to deal with, who's going to do it, if she doesn't.
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