Attack of the Theater People (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: finest drama school, Marian Seldes, Edward Zanni, The Music Man (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

PRAISE FOR HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE

“Acito has fantastic narrative chops....This is a book for mature readers that reminds us what a blast immaturity can be.” —People


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review

PRAISE FOR HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE

“Acito has fantastic narrative chops....This is a book for mature readers that reminds us what a blast immaturity can be.” —People

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; First Edition edition (April 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767927737
• ISBN-13: 978-0767927734
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #123,086 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like a cold glass of Tab on a hot summer afternoon!, April 30, 2008

By	WRG "Webstercat" (California) - See all my reviews

Okay, I admit that since discovering Marc's work when a copy of his marvelous first novel, "How I Paid for College" floated past me, I have become a fan. I've learned over the years, that some folks need their literature grounded firmly in the real world, and I suppose this book is not for them. For those of us who can't help but twirl our umbrellas when caught in a storm, and like to trek to the top of the Empire State Building so that we can belt a few lines of "New York, New York...", this book is a gift. A hilarious tale of inspirations and espionage. A delightfully wacky roller-coaster of a novel which causes eruptions of laughter...nay, guffaws and cackles at almost every page. A book that gives us a break from the tedium and depressing sogginess of the daily news. I bought six and sent them to friends who need a bit of tonic. Until somebody invents Mulliner's-Buck-U-Uppo, we need to books like this to keep the divine silliness that is life in a proper perspective.
In short, it's pure comic gold!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WARNING: You May Break into Song Reading This Novel, April 24, 2008

By	Bart King (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Maybe you've heard Marc Acito on NPR. It's possible that you've even heard the guy sing; after all, he is both an opera tenor and "mental for Yentl." But most likely, you know Marc Acito from his first novel, How I Paid for College. As the blog entries above reveal, Marc has a bright wit, and this book amply reflects it.

Acito's novel relates the further adventures of Edward Zanni and his affiliated theater geeks. Having succeeded in their quest to get Edward into the Juilliard School, we now fast-forward to 1986, and Edward is sitting on his "jazz hands" after getting booted from the school of his dreams.

What follows are a series of (dare I write it?) zany misadventures that together, resemble the plotline of a well-done musical comedy. That is, the characters do break into song periodically, and the results are actually funny. As this vehicle suggests, there's plenty of ba-ba-ba-bing zingers and, it being the 1980s, there is even an insider trading scandal. Good stuff. REALLY good stuff.

Fun Fact: Marc was at a Chuck Palahniuk reading (Fight Club) when Palahniuk remembered reading Acito's byline on a humor column. He then recommended Acito to his literary agent, and a star was born... er, referred.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hillariously over-the-top comedy of errors!, August 21, 2008

By	Bob Lind "camelwest" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Edward Zanni is a gay 20 year old aspiring actor, who is thrown out of drama school for being ... well ... too dramatic. With his professor's advice to "experience life" for a year, then reapply, he takes a series of strange jobs, ranging from personal office assistant to a sadistic tyrant, to a host for preteen parties (masquerading as a Brit host of the UK's version of MTV, which doesn't exist), as an usher at a Broadway theatre, and as a party facilitator for fancy corporate events. In the context of that last one, Edward gets involved in an insider trading scandal, feeding overheard conversations about companies to a securities broker he develops a serious crush on.

Although Acito provides enough background info for this to stand on its own, this is essentially a sequel to his hilarious "How I Paid For College," and is best enjoyed if you read that other book first. Back are his colorful friends, including the conniving, nerdish Natie, the outgoing student thespian Kelly, and Edward's straight-but-not-narrow (and soooo hunky) crush, Doug (who is now headlining a Bruce Springsteen cover band.) Like that first book, "..Theatre People" is a delightfully "over the top" comedy of errors, involving the Shah of Iran, a 13 year old stalker, the SEC, a high speed chase across a Broadway stage, a politically charged staging of "The Music Man," posing as a dead man to rent an apartment, the wrath of Edward's insane stepmother, and a flamboyant wardrobe designer known as Hung (That's a name, not an adjective!)

Suspend all normal channels of belief, and hang on for the ride! Five "jazz hands" (stars) out of five!