Show and Tell: New Yorker Profiles

by John Lahr

From David Mamet to Ingmar Bergman, Frank Sinatra to Woody Allen, Roseanne Barr to Eddie Izzard, The New Yorker's resident drama critic, John Lahr has had unparalleled access to the most elusive, compelling and irresistible public personas of our time. In SHOW AND TELL, Lahr - 'the most intelligent and insightful writer on theatre today' (NEW YORK TIMES) - reinvents the celebrity profile to find the essence of performance. Lahr's gift is his understanding of both the art and the artist, to show how the work and the life intersect. He has had unusual access to his subjects, who talk to him with rare candour.

Genres: Biography

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

John Lahr is the senior drama critic of The New Yorker, where he has written about theatre and popular culture since 1992. Among his eighteen books are Notes on a Cowardly Lion: The Biography of Bert Lahr and Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography of Joe Orton, which was made into a film.

He has twice won the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. Lahr, whose stage adaptations have been performed around the world, received a Tony Award for co-writing Elaine Stritch at Liberty.

He divides his time between London and New York.

Reviews

[Debra Pawlak · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Lahr is a wonderful writer. The ‘New Yorker’ was lucky to have someone like him as a long-time contributor. The biography (Notes on a Cowardly Lion) he penned about his father, the legendary Bert Lahr, was a joy to read. This book focuses on fifteen profiles about an array of people like David Mamet, Frank Sinatra. Roseanne Barr, etc. The book was interesting, but my one take-away is I would not want to claim any of them as friends. Creatives? Yes. Self-centered? Pretty much. Out of touch with the world around them? For the most part. Published in 2000, some of the people Lahr writes about are dead now (i.e., Arthur Miller, Bob Hope, and Ingmar Bergman). They entertained us, but they really did not walk among us. The last two profiles centered on his parents Bert and Mildred Lahr and they were by far the most enjoyable even though they too, seemed a bit out of touch. I am not sure what made him pick the people he did, but I couldn’t help but wonder who did not make the list. With his background in theater, he knew many of the greats and tells their stories openly—not always in a flattering light. If you are looking for entertainment, you will find it here. If you are looking for friendship, look elsewhere!

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't read all of this, just selected profiles on David Mamet, Ingmar Bergman, Wallace Shawn, Neil Labute, and Frank Sinatra. Lahr has a real gift for capturing the feel of his subjects' personalities, as well as offering brilliant interpretations of their work.
If you're a fan of any of these people you should read these.
Particularly insightful were the ones on Mamet, Neil Labute, and Berman.
But the profile of Sinatra is the single best short overview of his life, music, personal flaws and genius. Truly amazing and a must-read.

[Dan Lalande · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Lahr, critic and biographer, profiles 90's entertainment icons and a few elder statesmen. Expectedly, it's all about the public-private split - but Lahr, to a subject, goes for something deeper: the hard-working craftsman masked by the dichotomy. It's a case study, too, of American individualism, root of deification and destruction.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found at Half Price Books in Houston, September 2007.

[Vivencio · Rating 4 out of 5]

as always, these new yorker pieces inform and entertain.

[Vincent Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Yorker profiles of artists, comedians, actors and movie-makers. My kind of heaven. John Lahr, excellent writer, easy but exact, with some surprises and high-level observational skills.

[Z Bloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some fascinating trivia.
Solid insight.
But I could stop reading any of them at any point, which is telling.

[Itchy]

Woody Allen has been completely misunderstood...
David Mamet is good with a Swiss Army knife...