Customer Reviews

Dazzler: The Life And Times Of Moss Hart

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This book covers the material we enjoyed in Act One, then picks up where Act One left off, at which point things get very interesting indeed. His youth wasn't nearly as grim as he would have us believe, and his later years weren't as much fun as we would have imagined. Bach has certainly done his research. The more interested you are in theater history and the small details of each production, the more you'll enjoy Dazzler. Even if you're not crazy about theater, you might enjoy watching the rise of a genius. It's smooth and insightful and never boring. Keep it with your biographies of Kaufmann. You'll want to come back to it the next time you view The Man Who Came to Dinner and You Can't Take It With You.

Moss Hart was not only a brilliant talent who wrote and/or directed some of the finest plays and musicals of the twentieth century, he also wrote, to my mind, the finest non-fiction book written about life in the theatre: ACT ONE. Unfortunately, he died before he could write the second and third acts. Stephen Bach has taken up the task of writing that book for Hart and he does it wonderfully--if, perhaps, a little more openly and honestly than Hart might have liked.

A successful, leading playwright on Broadway when still in his twenties, Hart could never really reconcile himself to his humble origins nor to his family members, including his parents, who never quite "got" what their son needed or wanted or deserved and who never really found out how to live comfortably in his own skin with decades of huge successes.

Mood swings of manic depression plagued him his entire life as did his confusion over his own sexual identity. He was also a man who could quite easily and conveniently "forget" some of those friends who had helped him when he was struggling, professionally and personally. Bach does not write a gossipy tell-all, but lets his readers know that Hart's life was not as sublime as it must have seemed by outsiders.

The book is filled with myriad examples of what Broadway and Hollywood was like in the first half of the last century: why plays like ONCE IN A LIFETIME were hits and why others like LIGHT UP THE SKY were not. Why Hart's sense of timing most always seemed to serve him well: i.e. YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU coming at just the right time for a celebration of the individuality and originality of the American spirit. Celebrity after celebrity worked with Hart: George S. Kaufman, of course, and Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Lerner & Loewe, Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, George M. Cohan and Richard Rodgers, Judy Garland and Richard Burton. The list is endless.

Bach writes imaginatively and with such great wit and force and strength that the reader is swept up in Hart's life, living it as fast and furiously as he must have. It is un-put-downable.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, especially for anyone with an interest in legitimate theatre as an art.

He was a thoroughly delightful man. Most of us met him in “Act One” his best-selling autobiography published in the late ‘50’s. Apparently, he tidied up his life a mite in that story. But that’s what playwrights do; give us the best story possible.

“Dazzler” is a well-done biography that is a treasure trove of show business history as well as a deep and compelling study of Moss Hart. I would call this a “definitive” biography except for some reason Mr. Hart’s widow, the charming Kitty Carlisle, did not cooperative with the author. Therefore, there are probably many papers that still can be brought to light.

I was a little put off by Mr. Bach’s tone at the beginning of the book, it seemed lightly touched with superiority toward his subject. Yes, Moss Hart was extravagant, a bit of a dandy..., and sometimes—very rarely—forgot to credit the people who helped him on the way up. When the author hits his stride, this tone disappears, and we see Moss Hart clearly as the energetic, generous, brilliant man that he was. He left whatever he touched more colorful and replaced the humdrum with magic.

The description of the complete, astounding success of “My Fair Lady’s” opening night, which Hart directed, is the stuff of which movies are made. This was a pinnacle of life experience for everyone who participated. Reading about the making of “My Fair Lady” alone is worth the price of the book.

When the book was over, I wished there were more triumphs to reveal, and that Mr. Hart lived to write “Act II.” A highly readable book with a dazzling subject.

Most early readers of this new Hart biography are readers who love "Act One." That brilliant book is central to every stage-struck person's devotion to theater, Broadway and glamor. But along comes Mr. Bach, and his portrait only makes us love Hart's version more. Yes, I believe Mr. Bach has researched and read and compiled facts that delineate the real life of a Broadway legend. But by comparison it is also insight into what a creation is "Act One" and the creative process of a playwright and man of the theatre. Hart wrote his own version with the eye of an artist; facts didn't interest him. A great story was in the telling. Facts interest Mr. Bach, and they are very well presented. If any reader is worried that Mr. Bach has been indiscreet, that his palette has too many warts and all, I assure you that he has been careful and admiring. His role as a biographer may have kept him at too much of a distance from the artist, but his book in combination with Hart's is a full-blown, 3-D treatment of a worthy subject. It takes this new book to make you fully appreciate the original, and then grateful for the contrasting study.

Theater buffs have been waiting a long time for this book, and it's been worth it. In an age of tell-all hatchet jobs, Bach presents a sensitive, witty look at a complex man. You get the warts-and-all, but you come away admiring Hart and wishing you'd had the pleasure of knowing him. You also get a fantastic backstage trip through Broadway's most glamorous era, with all the personalities, intrigues and entanglements we love to read about. Many of us who read "Act One" felt we just didn't want the book to end. "Dazzler" made me feel the same way.

Hmmm...where to begin? I looked forward to reading Dazzler based on my love of history, the theatre, and New York in general. In those respects, the book doesn't disappoint. Steven Bach paints a terrific picture of early twentieth century Broadway that really brings it to life as he follows Moss Hart's life and career. It's very obvious that he's done his homework and he fills gaps in his narrative very nicely.

The problem lies in an area that can be very troublesome for biography and I'm afraid that Bach falls into the trap a bit much. First, the individual chapters, while well crafted, seem to lack a cohesiveness that would make the book flow well. It seemed difficult to read more than two or three chapters in a sitting. To give Bach the benefit of the doubt, I'll say that it's because there was so much information to digest.

Second, to echo some of the other reviews that have been posted, in the end Moss Hart is a big name that does not carry a corresponding talent. Yes, he was the co-author of some of the standards of twentieth century theater, but upon the closer scrutiny Mr. Bach provides he doesn't really seem to measure up to the level of greatness that Mr. Bach thinks he deserves (or wants him to deserve to merit this book). A quick sidebar, to label Moss Hart the Neil Simon of his day, as others have, is a disservice to Mr. Simon. Sitcoms may have made us more sensitive to fluff, but there is a distinct difference in the two men's careers.

Lastly, Mr. Bach goes to great lengths to bring Moss Hart's sexuality to light, providing anecdotes and evidence that, if not outright gay, he was at least bisexual. All well and good, except that in trying so hard to prove this particular thesis, Bach loses sight of one very important point, namely that an artist's sexuality (or for that matter their upbringing) does not automatically mean that every piece of work they do is colored by it. It may be true, but it isn't necessarily true. Bach interrupts too many interesting stories to go into this subject, which only applies toward making his point about one-third of the time.

Overall it helps to have some vague form of familiarity with the plays and, since some of them are such mainstays of high school and regional theaters across the country, it will provide some interesting insights. As Bach rightly points out, some of these plays have not held up well over the course of time but, taken for what they are, they are undeniable classics. To a lesser degree, so was Moss Hart.

I was greatly looking forward to reading this book, but, like another reviewer, found it rather slow going. Bach gives a very thorough chronicle of Hart's life, including details about every production, but somehow the essence of Hart didn't come through for me until the last few chapters. Despite Bach's repeated statements that Hart was charming, amusing, full of joie de vivre, etc., I didn't find much to illustrate that. I guess I was hoping for more examples from his work, more quotes from people who knew him personally, etc. I suspect that Kitty Carlisle Hart's refusal to cooperate meant that several of the people closest to the Harts also declined to be interviewed.
The book does pick up steam in the final quarter,when Bach discusses Hart's involvement with "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot." Even so, I thought that Alan Jay Lerner's 10-odd pages on Hart in his memoir ("The Street Where I Live")did more to really bring the man alive.

Picked up on this book after catching the ambivalent review in the NY Times. An insightful, entertaining and well researched account of a complex man.

Dazzler: Life and Times of Moss Hart presents the first full-scale biography of the playwright and director who made such an impact on Broadway's golden age, revealing his changing psychological state, his successes, and his struggles with sexual identity. The depth of examination will delight those who want more than a simple overview of his achievements.

A great subject written in a breezy,informative manner.This book has it all.. heroes,villains,vamp women and life upon the wicked stage.If you can only read one book about one of the theaters great talents...read this one!