A suburban couple take the suite while their house is being paintedandit turns out to be the one in which they honeymooned 23 (or was it 24?) years before and was yesterday the anniversary, or is it today? This wry tale of marriage in tatters is followed by the exploits of a Hollywood producer who, after three marriages, is look

    Somerset Maugham’s “Before the Party” is a novelette first published in the December 1922 edition of “Nash’s Magazine.” After the death of her husband, an alcoholic colonial administrator in Borneo, Millicent returns to England to live with her parents and sister. Did Millicent’s husband die of a fever, as Millicent claims, or was his throat cut? And if the latter, was it suicide or homicide?Sample passage:Mrs. Skinner had thought it very peculiar that her daughter should have no photographs of Harold in her room. Indeed she had spoken of it once, but Millicent had made no reply. Millicent had been strangely silent since she came back from Borneo, and had not encouraged the sympathy Mrs. Skinner would have been so willing to show her. She seemed unwilling to speak of her great loss. Sorrow took people in different ways. Her husband had said the best thing was to leave her alone. The thought of him turned her ideas to the party they were going to.About the author:W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was a British novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. Notable novels are “Of Human Bondage,” “The Moon and Sixpence,” and “The Razor’s Edge.”

    Being an Actor traces his stage journey from the letter he wrote to Laurence Olivier that led him to his first job, to his triumph as Mozart in the original production of Amadeus. This new edition continues to tell the story of his past two decades onstage. Callow discusses his occasionally ambivalent yet always passionate feelings about both film and theatre, conflicting sentiments partially resolved by his acclaimed return to the stage with his solo performances in The Importance of Being Oscar and The Mystery of Charles Dickens, seen in the West End and on Broadway in 2002.Being an Actor is a guide not only to the profession but also to the intricacies of the art, told with wit, candour, and irrepressible verve by one if the great figures of the stage.

    Drilled by prompters who use terrifyingly funny logical and alogical language-sequences, Kaspar learns to speak "normally" and eventually becomes creative "doing his own thing" with words; for this he is destroyed.In Offending the Audience and Self-Accusation, one-character "speak-ins," Handke further explores the relationship between public performance and personal identity, forcing us to reconsider our sense of who we are and what we know.

    How, he asks, did music progress from subordinate status to its present position of supremacy among the creative arts? Mozart was literally booted out of the service of the Archbishop of Salzburg "with a kick to my arse," as he expressed it. Yet, less than a hundred years later, Europe's most powerful ruler--Emperor William I of Germany--paid homage to Wagner by traveling to Bayreuth to attend the debut of "The Ring." Today Bono, who was touted as the next president of the World Bank in 2006, travels the world, advising politicians--and they seem to listen.The path to fame and independence began when new instruments allowed musicians to showcase their creativity, and music publishing allowed masterworks to be performed widely in concert halls erected to accommodate growing public interest. No longer merely an instrument to celebrate the greater glory of a reigning sovereign or Supreme Being, music was, by the nineteenth century, to be worshipped in its own right. In the twentieth century, new technological, social, and spatial forces combined to make music ever more popular and ubiquitous.In a concluding chapter, Tim Blanning considers music in conjunction with nationalism, race, and sex. Although not always in step, music, society, and politics, he shows, march in the same direction.

    Ever been racially slurred in the sack? Ever been subjected to strangers yelling at you at 3am about the most intimate details of your life? Ever been to New York? Six characters from wildly different backgrounds make love, war and hysteria late one night in the cultural, sexual and generational smorgasbord that is Manhattan.

    The musical tale of a domineering stage mother's inadvertent creation of a burlesque stripper, now available in paperback for the first time.

    Book annotation not available for this title.

    Color photographs and drawings by John Napier.

    

    Considered by some to be a traitor to Ireland, and after some seven years of confinement in the County Home, Dunne is a broken man, both mentally and physically. Alone in a barren room, barely clothed and in little control of his faculties, Dunne, at 75, reenacts scenes from his past, taking refuge in the memory of his three daughters and a son who died in World War I. The parallels between Dunne's family life and the political life of Ireland are all too apparent. Chaos and murder resulted from the revolution, and Dunne could only stand watching as his way of understanding the world dissolved. Similarly, he was an aloof father who couldn't tell his son how much he loved him until it was too late. Near the end of the play, the arrival of Dunne's daughter, Annie, puts the last nail in the play's thematic coffin as her anger and resentment over her father's neglect compete with her pity for this elderly man who now needs her the way a baby needs its mother. Bereft of any solution to his life, Dunne recounts a childhood memory about his own father, in which he seems to be asking us for forgiveness and understanding.

    Salford 1970: the Khan children, caught between bellbottoms and arranged marriages, are buffeted this way and that by their Pakistani father's insistence on tradition, their English mother's laissez-faire and their own wish to be citizens of the modern world.

    It has dazzled more than 100 million people in 22 countries, and went on to become a major feature film. This pictorial companion is the definitive account of the award-winning masterpiece.  It traces the Phantom legend from its origins in historical fact through numerous artistic incarnations to the present-day theater production and film. Arranged in three parts, the first introduces the reader to Gaston Leroux’s classic story, while the second part offers a unique insight into the acclaimed theater production, with backstage photos and commentary from the director, designers, and crew. The final section, which contains the original screenplay, looks at the making of Joel Schumacher’s film, introducing the cast and featuring exclusive photos and interviews. A splendid celebration of  a classic story and its many incarnations. This ravishing volume features the complete original screenplay and more than 150 color images from both the film and theater productions worldwide. Now in an elegant and affordable smaller-format edition.

    They sailed far out to sea. The blue one returned to the harbor. The red one sailed home too. But the yellow boat sailed up to the sun." Benjamin always concluded his bedtime ritual by saying, "Mom, you can be the red boat or the blue boat, but I am the yellow boat." This remarkable voyage of Benjamin was extensively developed and widely produced in America for several years, always to ovations. Cast of 4 men and 3 women.THE YELLOW BOAT is based on the true story of David and Sonja Saar's son, Benjamin, who was born with congenital hemophilia, and died in 1987 at the age of 8 of AIDS related complications. A uniquely gifted visual artist, Benjamin's buoyant imagination transformed his physical and emotional pain into a blaze of colors and shapes in his fanciful drawings and paintings. The story of THE YELLOW BOAT Is a glorious affirmation of a child's life, and the strength and courage of all children. Recommended for children of age 8 and older, parents, families and adults.

    Broadway actress Sharon Wheatley reveals an authentic and personal look at the damaging physical and emotional effects of childhood obesity.