Honky-Tonk Parade: The New Yorker Profiles [Paperback]

John Lahr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2006

Here is John Lahr--"the most intelligent and insightful writer on theatre today" (The New York Times)--at his trenchant best, reinventing the celebrity profile. Honky-Tonk Parade illuminates some of the compelling, elusive, and important artists of our time, who talk to Lahr with rare candor. His portraits weave together biography, anecdote, and shrewd interpretation. On the roster of greats are Dame Edna, Steve Buscemi, August Wilson, Cole Porter, Dame Judi Dench, Ang Lee, Billy Connolly, Kenneth Tynan, Yip Harburg, Mira Nair, Baz Luhrmann, Laurence Fishburne, Bill Hicks, Richard Rodgers, and Tony Kushner.

Honky-Tonk Parade, like the icons whose lives and work it so meticulously chronicles, corrupts an audience with pleasure.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

From the distinguished New Yorker critic, a brilliant collection of essays about some of the most provocative cultural icons of our time. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

John Lahr is senior drama critic of The New Yorker. He has written more than eighteen books and numerous plays, including "Elaine Stritch at Liberty," for which he won a Tony Award--the first critic ever to do so. His book Dame Edna Everage and the Decline of Western Civilization won the 1992 Roger Machell Prize for the best book on performing arts. Lahr is also the only two-time winner of the George Jean Nathan award for Dramatic Criticism in the history of the prize. He divides his time between London and New York. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Overlook TP (August 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585677868
• ISBN-13: 978-1585677863
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,382,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Find, August 27, 2007

By 

Scott Kenan (Wilmington, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Honky-Tonk Parade: The New Yorker Profiles (Paperback)

If you haven't read anything by John Lahr, this is a great place to start. You might become addicted. I especially enjoyed Lahr's profiles of Cole Porter, Dame Edna, and Kenneth Tynan, but I was glad I read every one of them. Highly recommended if you enjoy intelligence, insight, and style in your reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, February 21, 2007

By 

A Reader (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honky-Tonk Parade: The New Yorker Profiles (Paperback)

John Lahr is a profoundly talented writer and these profiles may be his best work yet.

In about ten thousand words you get a thoughtful and lively portrait of a remarkable person - but that's obvious. What makes Lahr unique is that he effortlessly achieves something more: the people Lahr portrays are performers, that is to say these folks are masters at hiding who they actually are. Lahr is unrivalled at finding these entertainers and letting them and their work speak. Each profile is full and living, a master-class in the art of the profile.

Especially remarkable are his portraits of Ang Lee, August Wilson, Bill Hicks, Billy Connolly, Dame Edna, Laurence Fishburne, Judi Dench, Tony Kushner, and Mira Nair - there are many more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars John Lahr: Honky Tonk Parade, March 2, 2006

By 

Ben Harvey (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honky Tonk Parade: New Yorker Profiles of Show People (Hardcover)

These are Lahr's insights into show people living and dead, American and otherwise, from Richard Rodgers to Tony Kushner. Lahr's best book remains his full-length biography of Orton but here he's perceptive in short bites about performance and performers. He's assumed the mantle of Kenneth Tynan (profiled here) but not his limitless addiction to the razzle-dazzle: his profile of Judi Dench for one is less flattering than Tynan would have made it. It's Tynan minus the sugar rush. If you're already the kind of person likely to buy the book you won't learn a lot from it - but you'll have a good time anyway.