Books with category 🎬 Performing Arts
Displaying 5 books

Family Family

2024

by Laurie Frankel

India Allwood grew up wanting to be an actor. From an awkward sixteen-year-old to Broadway ingenue to TV superhero, her journey through the world of acting is as vibrant as it is challenging. Her latest role in a movie about adoption presents a narrative she knows all too well, but one she believes is fraught with stereotypes and misconceptions.

As an adoptive mom in real life, India is determined to dispel the myths that surround adoption, to showcase the love and complexity that comes with it. In a bold move, she speaks her truth to a journalist, criticizing the movie's one-dimensional portrayal of adoptive families. This act of candor catapults her into a whirlwind of controversy, with media storms, public scrutiny, and ideological battles on all sides.

Amidst the chaos, India's twin ten-year-olds realize that they need support. Naturally, they turn to their family. Yet, family is more than a simple construct of blood relations or legal bonds; for India, it's a tapestry woven with diverse threads, each with its own story.

The narrative of Family Family delves into the heart of what truly constitutes a family, navigating the intricate and often messy web of relationships that define our closest connections. At its core, this is a tale of understanding, acceptance, and the universal quest to find one's place in the fabric of family life.

Enter Ghost

2023

by Isabella Hammad

A bold, evocative new novel from the award-winning author Isabella Hammad that follows actress Sonia as she returns to Palestine and takes a role in a West Bank production of Hamlet.

After years away from her family's homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. This is her first trip back since the second intifada and the deaths of their grandparents: while Haneen made a life here commuting to Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia stayed in London to focus on her acting career and now dissolute marriage. On her return, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new.

At Haneen's, Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, and finds herself roped into a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Sonia is soon rehearsing Gertrude's lines in classical Arabic and spending more time in Ramallah than in Haifa, along with a dedicated group of men from all over historic Palestine who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, each want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer, it becomes clear just how many violent obstacles stand before a troupe of Palestinian actors. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home.

A stunning rendering of present-day Palestine, Enter Ghost is a story of diaspora, displacement, and the connection to be found in family and shared resistance. Timely, thoughtful, and passionate, Isabella Hammad's highly anticipated second novel is an exquisite feat, an unforgettable story of artistry under occupation.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won them both legions of faithful fans.

The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)

Revised from the rather long original complete works of Shakespeare, this abridged version is written by three Americans, with no qualifications worth speaking of. The playtext is reproduced here with footnotes which will be of no help to anyone and a letter from the authors to the Queen.

Why We Never Repeat Jokes?

Sit-down comedy? A phenom that should never be a phenomenon. Late great comedians Robin Williams, Charlie Murphy, Joan Rivers, Greg Giraldo, Don Rickles are turning over in their graves with a thorn in their side. Take my word: Share & salvage the little wit being reserved by the only true /real comedian to have ever graced the stage. Otherwise you ought'a be ashamed of yourselves!

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