After the death in 2004 of American theater actor and monologist Spalding Gray, director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) pieced together a narrative of Gray's life to create the documentary AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE. Brilliantly and sensitively assembled entirely from footage of Gray, taken from interviews and one-man shows from throughout his career, it is a rich, full portrait, and autobiography of sorts, of a figure who was never less than candid...

"A definitive biography of the iconic actor and Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney (1920-2014) and his extravagant, sometimes tawdry life, drawing on never-before-seen excerpts from Rooney's diary and exclusive interviews with Mickey, and with those who knew him best, including his heretofore unknown mistress of sixty years"--

"A biography of Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the Broadway blockbuster Hamilton"--

"Born with severe asthma and enormous dreams, James Gardiner began his life in conflict with himself. Little Jimmy wanted to reach for the stars like his science-fiction icons and become a sports superstar like the paper heroes that adorned the walls of his childhood bedroom. But as a frequent visitor to the local hospital, viewing the world through the plastic walls of an oxygen tent, such dreams seemed like they would always be firmly out of reach....

"Wild and Crazy Guys opens in 1978 with Chevy Chase and Bill Murray taking bad-tempered swings at each other backstage at Saturday Night Live, and closes 21 years later with the two doing a skit in the same venue, poking fun at each other, their illustrious careers, triumphs and prat falls. In between, Nick de Semlyen takes us on a trip through the tumultuous '80s, delving behind the scenes of movies such as National Lampoon's Vacation, Beverly Hills...

"Lisa Schwartz's stories and musings are all about watching her friends adult like pros, while she tries to understand why she doesn't want or can't seem to find all the things they have for herself. Like a big sister who's already seen it all, Lisa will take readers through her own life experiences to say that one thing we all need to hear: you are so not alone. Unabashed and unfiltered, Schwartz's voice and candor will appeal to anyone in their...

"With a single shot from a pistol small enough to conceal in his hand, John Wilkes Booth catapulted into history on the night of April 14, 1865. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned a nation that was just emerging from the chaos and calamity of the Civil War, and the president's untimely death altered the trajectory of postwar history. But to those who knew Booth, the event was even more shocking--for no one could have imagined that...

"This is the first biography of one of the most versatile actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. A recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors award in 1985, Dunne's acting highlights include five Best Actress Oscar nominations, occurring in almost as many different genres: the western Cimarron (1931); two screwball comedies, Theodora goes Wild (1936) and The Awful Truth (1937); the romantic comedy Love Affair (1939); and the populist I Remember Mama (1948). Her...

"Over ten years ago, I had an idea that brings me to this very moment." So wrote Colleen Dewhurst, as she began - finally - to recall the stories that would fill these pages. Three years later, Dewhurst, acclaimed as one of the greatest tragic actresses of our time, died on August 22, 1991, leaving unfinished the autobiography she had been writing for nearly two decades. The partial manuscript, notes and untranscribed tapes sketched the complete...

"Whether creating Broadway musicals, experimental dramas or outrageous comedies, the performers, directors, playwrights, designers, and producers profiled in this collection have contributed to the representation of LGBTQ lives and culture in a variety of theatrical venues, both within the queer community and across the US theatrical landscape. Moving from the era of the Stonewall Riots to today, notable scholars in the field bring a wide variety...