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Book Summary and Reviews of Free for All by Kenneth Turan

Free for All by Kenneth Turan

Free for All

Joe Papp, The Public, and the Greatest Theater Story Ever Told

by Kenneth Turan

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  • Published:
  • Nov 2009, 608 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Free for All is the irresistible oral history of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theater - two institutions that under the inspired leadership of Joseph Papp have been a premier source of revolutionary and enduring American theater. To tell this fascinating story, Kenneth Turan interviewed some 160 luminaries - including George C. Scott, Meryl Streep, Mike Nichols, Kevin Kline, James Earl Jones, David Rabe, Jerry Stiller, Tommy Lee Jones, and Wallace Shawn - and masterfully weaves their voices into a dizzyingly rich tale of creativity, conflict, and achievement. And at the center of this incredibly engrossing account of artistic daring and excellence the larger-than-life figure of Joseph Papp reigns supreme.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. As dozens of actors, from the late George C. Scott and Anthony Quinn to Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline, share their memories, it's easy to see how the constantly hustling Papp became 'larger than life just by being himself.'" - Publishers Weekly

"Superb editing and mixing of interviews make each chapter seem as though one is simply eavesdropping on conversations, a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Highly recommended." - Library Journal

This information about Free for All was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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