The World Only Spins Forward; The Ascent of Angels in America
James Chiang [photography] New York: Bloomsbury, 2018. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. [10], 437, [1] pages. Illustrations. Footnotes/captions. Cast of Characters. Index. DJ has minor wear, soiling and edge tears. Inscribed on title page by both authors. Inscription reads To! Donna + Art "More Life" I B 2-22-18 [in blue ink] and D 2-22-18 with a heart with wings [in pink ink]. Associated book mark, with the publication date of February 13, 2018, laid in! Isaac Butler is a cultural critic and historian, and a theater director. He is the co-author (with Dan Kois) of "The World Only Spins Forward," an oral history of the play "Angels in America" and its era, which was named one of the best books of 2018 by NPR. A frequent contributor to Slate, Isaac previously created and hosted the Shakespeare and politics podcast "Lend Me Your Ears," and currently co-hosts "Working," a podcast about the creative process. Butler’s writing has appeared in New York magazine, the Guardian, American Theatre, the Village Voice, and other publications. Dan Kois is a writer at Slate. He’s the author of a novel, Vintage Contemporaries, and three nonfiction books: How to Be a Family, The World Only Spins Forward (with Isaac Butler), and Facing Future. "Marvelous . . . A vital book about how to make political art that offers lasting solace in times of great trouble, and wisdom to audiences in the years that follow." Washington Post. Named one of the best books of the year by NPR. The oral history of Angels in America, as told by the artists who created it and the audiences forever changed by it--a moving account of the AIDS era, essential queer history, and an exuberant backstage tale. When Tony Kushner's Angels in America hit Broadway in 1993, it won the Pulitzer Prize, swept the Tonys, launched a score of major careers, and changed the way gay lives were represented in popular culture. Mike Nichols's 2003 HBO adaptation starring Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, and Mary-Louise Parker was itself a tour de force, winning Golden Globes and eleven Emmys, and introducing the play to an even wider public. This generation-defining classic continues to shock, move, and inspire viewers worldwide. Now, on the 25th anniversary of that Broadway premiere, Isaac Butler and Dan Kois offer the definitive account of Angels in America in the most fitting way possible: through oral history, the vibrant conversation and debate of actors (including Streep, Parker, Nathan Lane, and Jeffrey Wright), directors, producers, crew, and Kushner himself. Their intimate storytelling reveals the on- and offstage turmoil of the play's birth--a hard-won miracle beset by artistic roadblocks, technical disasters, and disputes both legal and creative. And historians and critics help to situate the play in the arc of American culture, from the staunch activism of the AIDS crisis through civil rights triumphs to our current era, whose politics are a dark echo of the Reagan '80s. Expanded from a popular Slate cover story and built from nearly 250 interviews, The World Only Spins Forward is both a rollicking theater saga and an uplifting testament to one of the great works of American art of the past century, from its gritty San Francisco premiere to its starry, much-anticipated Broadway revival in 2018. Condition: Very good / Good.
Keywords: Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, Oral History, Meryl Streep, Mary-Louise Parker, Nathan Lane, Jeffrey Wright, Broadway, Kathleen Chalfant, Roy Cohn, AIDS, Eureka Theatre, Oskar Eustis, Ron Leibman, Joe Mantello, Michael Mayer, Stephen Spinel
ISBN: 9781635571769
[Book #85467]
Price: $375.00