Diary of a Mad Playwright: Perilous Adventures on the Road with Mary Martin and Carol Channing (Paperback)

~ James Kirkwood (Author) "Like most people who will read this book, I was eager to get the "dirt" on two of the Broadway theatre's most enduring stars, especially..." (more)
Key Phrases: brownie scene, hashish brownies, subway scene, New York, Mary Martin, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this wild, humorous tale of the theater world, novelist and playwright Kirkwood ( A Chorus Line ) self-indulgently describes his three-year-long roller-coaster attempt to present his play, Legends! Here are vivid accounts of how Kirkwood found, lost and found again financiers, producers, directors, managers, a cast and supporting crew. Although much of the book's zany action centers on the two feuding actresses--Carol Channing and Mary Martin--who played the major roles of two feuding actresses, other gossipy, dialogue-filled sections depict the oddities of opening night and the boffo 32-city tour in 1986-1987 of a play that never got to New York and didn't fully pay back its investors. The book, following Kirkwood's recent untimely death, is replete with the myriad controversies, jealousies and frustrations associated with the theater. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Kirkwood, co-author of A Chorus Line, has written a tour de force in this account of the struggle to get his play Legends on the stage. For the roles of two aging movie star rivals, Kirkwood succeeded in getting two Broadway legends, Mary Martin and Carol Channing. From then on, everything that could go wrong did, beginning with the fact that Martin was no longer able to memorize dialogue. Kirkwood is candid about himself as well as everyone else in this cathartic tale of juggling strong star personalities, an inept director, and a neophyte producer. Despite the problems, Legends had a successful year-long tour in 1986, but did not go to Broadway. This irreverent memoir, showing the inner workings of the theater business, appears almost libelous and is thoroughly entertaining.
- Marcia L. Perry, Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, Mass.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Applause Books; illustrated edition edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557835675
• ISBN-13: 978-1557835673
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #593,280 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for theatre buffs, December 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Diary of a Mad Playwright : Perilous Adventures on the Road with Mary Martin & Carol Channing (Hardcover)

Hilarious yet often sad true tale of the author's incredibly frustrating run of his stage play Legends, starring two honest-to-goodness stage divas Carol Channing and Mary Martin, who in real life gave their stage characters more than a run for their money. Greedy producers, bickering stars, hostile reviewers, backstage manipulations, it's all here, presented in good humor by Kirkwood, a vastly unsung writer, unfortunately long since deceased. This was his final book. A good read in itself, and sure to provoke laughter and empathy from anyone who has been involved in theatre.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Book On The Theater..., August 17, 2005

By	Edwin Graf Diemer (Red Bank, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

Suppose you are a playwright who co-authored a little something called "A Chorus Line"? And just suppose you managed to sign theatrical legends Mary Martin and Carol Channing for your latest play, appropriately called "Legends!"? What could possibly go wrong? Grab this book, and boy, will you find out! For example, Mary Martin could no longer remember lines, so she was fitted with a small radio headset so she could be "fed" her lines. But seemingly every taxi driver in the city was on the same frequency... Hilarious, tragic-a true classic, right up there with "Act One" by Moss Hart.