Isaac Butler

The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act by Isaac Butler is an engrossing history of both the style of acting most of us think of as Method acting as well as of theater and film.

I came to this book as someone who loves both theater and film and have studied some history but also as someone with no artistic ability in these areas at all. So my hope was to gain a better idea of what "The Method" is and how it came about. I also expected some anecdotes and interesting stories. Well, this volume exceeded expectations in every facet. The history was much more detailed than I would have thought, the anecdotes and stories were both plentiful and essential to the telling of the history. It is all brought together in a very engaging and readable style that both informed and entertained me.

I knew almost from the beginning I was in for a treat by the way Butler told the story of Frances McDormand's early experience in Blood Simple. In addition to those interested in the history of film, theater, and/or acting I think the casual reader who simply enjoys reading about the interactions of celebrities (and near-celebrities) will find a lot to enjoy here. While I am by nature a rereader of books, this isn't the type I often reread just for pleasure. Yet I am actually looking forward to revisiting this one in another year or so.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mere)

An oral history of the epic play Angels in America. The book traces the history of the play through conversations with individuals involved in it, some of them from the beginning, some coming in much later. The stories ranged from personal tragedies to amusing anecdotes about trying to stage a complicated play and the reactions to a play based around a world inhabited chiefly by gays and Mormons (and gay Mormons). The directors, actors, producers, and writers who worked on the show have a variety of opinions and experiences, and hearing their interactions with this work was intriguing. I did find it a bit slow going at first; it took me a while to warm to it, which is a risk when it is a 400 page book. It may seem easier to set it aside and move on than to keep going and hope it captures you soon. I pressed on. I was not sorry.… (mere)