Other People's Money: The Ultimate Seduction (Paperback)

by Jerry Sterner (Author) "Stage is dark..." (more)
Key Phrases: Wall Street, New England, Center Stage (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Here's the script to the winner of "Best Off-Broadway Play of 1989" as voted by the Outer Critics Circle. "Funny, serious, suspenseful, involving, disturbing, and above all, expertly crafted...It concerns the intended hostile takeover of a deserving but obsolescent Rhode Island family business, New England Wire and Cable, honorably and not unprofitably run, that provides jobs for an entire small town's population...Epic grandeur and intimate titillation combined. It is the most stimulating kind of entertainment." - John Simon, New York magazine. Hardcover.

Product Details

• Paperback: 94 pages
• Publisher: Applause Books; 1st edition (April 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557830622
• ISBN-13: 978-1557830623
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #754,485 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the movie, June 23, 2006

By	J. Yang - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have seem the play at the Minetta Lane theatre. It was much more pungent than the watered down movie version. The next best thing is actually reading the script.

The off-Broadway play properly casted actors suited for the parts rather than glitzy film stars. You will also find that the movie heavily "sanitized" the storyline and dialogs. This resulted in a cartoonish movie rather a serious theatrical drama that just happened to be funny.

If you saw and or read the play first, you may find the movie rather disappointing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Snap, Crackle & Pop, October 25, 2005

By	Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Other People's Money" appeared Off-Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre in February 1989 with Mercedes Ruehl as Kate Sullivan. It is a gripping economic drama that is well written and rides like a bullet train to its fascinating conclusion. The story traces the fate of New England Wire & Cable Company that has been in business 73 years with its CEO Andrew Jorgensen at the helm for the last 38 years. His secretary Bea Sullivan has been at his side for that entire time. Now in an era of fiber optics, the company finds iteself occupying an increasingly larger share of a fading market.

Corporate raider Lawrence Garfinkle sets his sights on the company and begins buying up shares. His goal is to demolish the company and sell of its assets for profit. He proudly proclaims that they are worth more dead than alive. Bea Sullivan enlists her attorney daughter Kate with Morgan Stanley to come to their aid. They plot strategy and try to counter the takeover, but find that Jorgensen is very much an ethical old-style president who refuses to bend to these new methods. William Cole is the president of the firm and sees the handwriting on the wall and tries to negotiate a golden parachute retirement package. Failing that, he makes a deal for $500,000 to let Garfinkle vote his shares. The play climaxes as Jorgensen and Garfinkle address the board of directors. Jorgensen talks about the jobs the company provides to the community while Garfinkle appeals that he will make them money by selling off the company at a higher return than they'll get for hanging onto it. In the end, the company is demolished. Kate Sullivan marries Garfinkle and has several rich little kids. It's a corporate tale where it's not enough to work hard; American businesses must also work smart. Dramatically, it has a strong punch and the characters are interesting and the dialogue peppers back and forth with snap, crackle & pop. This would be an interesting show to see on the stage. Enjoy!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, September 28, 1999

By A Customer

I never got to see the off-Broadway production but I loved the film and reading this play is the next best thing!

In many ways, this is a better written story than "Wall Street" or "Barbarians at the Gate." It is technically accurate and really gives you a flavor of high finance in the 1980s. Like "Glengarry Glen Ross," it really gets at the heart and mind of the people in the business.