Razzle Dazzle 'Em

John Lahr was the lead theatre critic at The New Yorker between 1992 and 2013. He is the only biographer to have won the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism twice and was awarded a Tony Award for his Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which he co-authored. Previous publications include Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography of Joe Orton (1978) and Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh (2014), which won The National Book Critics’ Award for Biography.

• Introduction; 1 The Reign of Helen Mirren; 2 The Shape-Shifter: The protean career of Ethan Hawke; 3 Act of Grace: Viola Davis aims to alter how African-Americans are seen; 4 Citizen Penn: The Many missions of Sean Penn; 5 The Sphinx Next Door: The Julianne Moore Paradox ; 6 The Director’s Cut: How Todd Hayes rewrites the Hollywood playbook; 7 Disappearing act: Cate Blanchett branches out; 8 Showman: Sam Mendes and the art of directing; 9 Varieties of Disturbance: Where do Claire Danes’s volcanic performances come from?; 10 The Player Queen: Why Judi Dench rules the stage and screen; 11 Making It Real; How Mike Nichols re-created comedy and himself; 12 Acting up: Emma Thompson’s third act; 13 Caught in the Act: What drives Al Pacino?; Epilogue