DC Theatre Scene

 DC Theatre Scene

Suggested by Tim Treanor

A Confederacy of Dunces
by John Kennedy Toole

My introduction to ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ was a man riding on a city bus, who was reading it and laughing so loudly and so helplessly that when the bus hit a pothole he fell out of his seat.  That man was me. I was on page 6.

 

Suggested by Hunter Styles

What Is What
by Dave Eggers

Magnificent, noble, epic, complex, lovely and touching chronicle of a Sudanese refugee's journey to Atlanta. A true work of humanity, and an impressive hybrid project that is part true non-fiction biography, part novel. Eggers's own flair doesn't undermine the facts. On the contrary, Eggers rings the facts like a bell with his own powerful writing style. Rarely have I made such good friends with a story's protagonist and missed them so genuinely after they're gone.

 

Suggested by Brad Hathaway

Finishing The Hat
by Stephen Sondheim

The acknowledged modern master of music and lyric writing for the stage peppers his first volume of lyrics with superbly readable comments about his craft, his colleagues and theater generally. Not just the best but the most important recent book on theater - musical or otherwise.

 

Suggested by Ben Demers

Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West
by Cormac McCarthy

This stirring tale employs lush visuals and mind expanding vocabulary to chart a young drifter's journey across the antebellum South and into the darkness lurking at the antipodes of society.

Suggested by Jayne Blanchard

Ghost Light
By Frank Rich

Former New York Times theater critic Frank Rich--who knew he had a hear - reveals his soft spot for the footlights, an obsession that began when he was a teenager in Washington D.C. ushering at the National Theatre. For him, theater was more than entertainment--it gave him security and surety that shored him up against an uncertain home life. In this book, you not only see the man, but the little boy, behind the critical judgments. 

Suggested by Susan Galbraith

Mephisto
By Klaus Mann

The story of an actor, Hendrick Hofgen, who possesses such blind ambition that he foolishly turns his back on his friends and family to the point of selling his soul to get to the top of his profession. Mann, an actor in the provincial theatre and cabarets of Germany, wrote the work as a searing indictment of the rise of Hitler's Germany.

Suggested by Lorraine Treanor

Lucking Out: My Life Getting Down and Semi-Dirty in Seventies New York
by James Wolcott

How a young Frostburg College dropout got a job at the Village Voice, hung out with Pauline Kael and others at the New Yorker and went on to become a fearsome critic. This one has a permanent place on my nightstand./p> 

Suggested by our New York critic, Richard Seff

Supporting Player.
by Richard Seff

Richard Seff is an author himself. His most recent book is Supporting Player. We notice you don’t have the book in stock, but Richard would be happy to supply you with a copy or 2 should you wish to display it. It covers his career as a performer, Broadway agent, writer and librettist. Actors Equity presents an award each year in his name to NY season’s best male and female Supporting Player past the age of 50. Here’s how Playbill described his book.

A Confederacy of Dunces (Evergreen Book) By John Kennedy Toole, Walker Percy (Foreword by) Cover Image
By John Kennedy Toole, Walker Percy (Foreword by)
$16.00
ISBN: 9780802130204
Availability: In Stock—Click for Locations
Published: Grove Press - January 21st, 1994

What Is the What By Dave Eggers Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780307385901
Availability: Not On Our Shelves—Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Vintage - October 9th, 2007

Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes By Stephen Sondheim Cover Image
$60.00
ISBN: 9780679439073
Availability: In Stock—Click for Locations
Published: Knopf - October 26th, 2010

Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West (Vintage International) By Cormac McCarthy Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780679728757
Availability: In Stock—Click for Locations
Published: Vintage - May 5th, 1992

Ghost Light: A Memoir By Frank Rich Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780375758249
Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability
Published: Random House Trade Paperbacks - October 9th, 2001

Mephisto (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) By Klaus Mann, Robin Smyth (Translated by) Cover Image
By Klaus Mann, Robin Smyth (Translated by)
$16.00
ISBN: 9780140189186
Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability
Published: Penguin Classics - September 1st, 1995

Lucking Out: My Life Getting Down and Semi-Dirty in the Seventies By James Wolcott Cover Image
$25.95
ISBN: 9780385527781
Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability
Published: Doubleday - October 25th, 2011

Supporting Player: My Life Upon The Wicked Stage By Richard Seff Cover Image
$24.99
ISBN: 9781425739331
Availability: Not On Our Shelves—Ships in 1-5 Days
(This book cannot be returned.)
Published: Xlibris Us - November 28th, 2006