-
Balancing Acts
- Behind the Scenes at the National Theatre
- Narrated by: Nicholas Hytner, Simon Russell Beale, Samuel Barnett, Deborah Findlay
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Balancing Acts
Buy for $24.30
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
I Was Better Last Night
- A Memoir
- By: Harvey Fierstein
- Narrated by: Harvey Fierstein
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 971
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 842
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 833
Harvey Fierstein’s legendary career has transported him from community theater in Brooklyn, to the lights of Broadway, to the absurd excesses of Hollywood and back. He’s received accolades and awards for acting in and/or writing an incredible string of hit plays, films, and TV shows.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it
- By Mary Ellen Guadagno on 03-09-22
By: Harvey Fierstein
-
Act One
- An Autobiography
- By: Moss Hart
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
Moss Hart's Act One, which Lincoln Center Theater presented in 2014 as a play written and directed by James Lapine, is one of the greatest American memoirs - a glorious memorial to a bygone age filled with all the wonder, drama, and heartbreak that surrounded Broadway in the early 20th century.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good but not great
- By c on 07-08-17
By: Moss Hart
-
All About Me!
- My Remarkable Life in Show Business
- By: Mel Brooks
- Narrated by: Mel Brooks
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,008
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,538
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,524
At 95, the legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now, for the first time, this EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner shares his story in his own words.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful and nostalgic
- By GAT on 12-07-21
By: Mel Brooks
-
So, Anyway...
- By: John Cleese
- Narrated by: John Cleese
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,314
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,978
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,973
The legendary writer and performer of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame takes listeners on a grand tour of his ascent in the entertainment world John Cleese’s huge comedic influence has stretched across generations; his sharp irreverent eye and the unique brand of physical comedy he perfected now seem written into comedy’s DNA. In this rollicking memoir, Cleese recalls his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town, his early comedic days at Cambridge University (with future Python partner Graham Chapman), and the founding of the landmark comedy troupe.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Too many people reviewing the man, not the book.
- By Barry on 03-14-17
By: John Cleese
-
Love Life
- By: Rob Lowe
- Narrated by: Rob Lowe
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,021
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,650
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,629
Love Life serves up another delicious selection of intimate stories and observations from Rob Lowe's life, told with humor, warmth, and brutal honesty. After writing his acclaimed debut effort, Lowe felt he had more stories to share and many more friends to introduce. The result is a touching memoir about the business and craft of acting, the pitfalls of success, family, love, and much more.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Open, Honest, Sentimental... not quite as Intimate
- By Kelly on 01-07-16
By: Rob Lowe
-
My Life So Far
- By: Jane Fonda
- Narrated by: Jane Fonda
- Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,520
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,304
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,293
She is one of the most recognizable women of our time. America knows Jane Fonda as an actress and an activist, a feminist and a wife, a workout guru and a role model. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, Fonda reveals that she is so much more. From her youth among Hollywood's elite and her early film career to the challenges and triumphs of her life today, Jane Fonda reveals intimate details and universal truths.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
GREAT, GREAT, GREAT!!!!
- By Ludimila on 06-29-13
By: Jane Fonda
-
I Was Better Last Night
- A Memoir
- By: Harvey Fierstein
- Narrated by: Harvey Fierstein
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 971
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 842
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 833
Harvey Fierstein’s legendary career has transported him from community theater in Brooklyn, to the lights of Broadway, to the absurd excesses of Hollywood and back. He’s received accolades and awards for acting in and/or writing an incredible string of hit plays, films, and TV shows.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it
- By Mary Ellen Guadagno on 03-09-22
By: Harvey Fierstein
-
Act One
- An Autobiography
- By: Moss Hart
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
Moss Hart's Act One, which Lincoln Center Theater presented in 2014 as a play written and directed by James Lapine, is one of the greatest American memoirs - a glorious memorial to a bygone age filled with all the wonder, drama, and heartbreak that surrounded Broadway in the early 20th century.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good but not great
- By c on 07-08-17
By: Moss Hart
-
All About Me!
- My Remarkable Life in Show Business
- By: Mel Brooks
- Narrated by: Mel Brooks
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,008
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,538
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3,524
At 95, the legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now, for the first time, this EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner shares his story in his own words.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful and nostalgic
- By GAT on 12-07-21
By: Mel Brooks
-
So, Anyway...
- By: John Cleese
- Narrated by: John Cleese
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,314
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,978
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,973
The legendary writer and performer of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame takes listeners on a grand tour of his ascent in the entertainment world John Cleese’s huge comedic influence has stretched across generations; his sharp irreverent eye and the unique brand of physical comedy he perfected now seem written into comedy’s DNA. In this rollicking memoir, Cleese recalls his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town, his early comedic days at Cambridge University (with future Python partner Graham Chapman), and the founding of the landmark comedy troupe.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Too many people reviewing the man, not the book.
- By Barry on 03-14-17
By: John Cleese
-
Love Life
- By: Rob Lowe
- Narrated by: Rob Lowe
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,021
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,650
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,629
Love Life serves up another delicious selection of intimate stories and observations from Rob Lowe's life, told with humor, warmth, and brutal honesty. After writing his acclaimed debut effort, Lowe felt he had more stories to share and many more friends to introduce. The result is a touching memoir about the business and craft of acting, the pitfalls of success, family, love, and much more.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Open, Honest, Sentimental... not quite as Intimate
- By Kelly on 01-07-16
By: Rob Lowe
-
My Life So Far
- By: Jane Fonda
- Narrated by: Jane Fonda
- Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,520
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,304
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,293
She is one of the most recognizable women of our time. America knows Jane Fonda as an actress and an activist, a feminist and a wife, a workout guru and a role model. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, Fonda reveals that she is so much more. From her youth among Hollywood's elite and her early film career to the challenges and triumphs of her life today, Jane Fonda reveals intimate details and universal truths.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
GREAT, GREAT, GREAT!!!!
- By Ludimila on 06-29-13
By: Jane Fonda
-
Robin
- By: Dave Itzkoff
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,758
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,493
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,476
From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture and politics while mixing in personal revelations - all with mercurial, tongue-twisting intensity as he inhabited and shed one character after another with lightning speed. But as Dave Itzkoff shows in this revelatory biography, Williams’ comic brilliance masked a deep well of conflicting emotions and self-doubt.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing but worth a read
- By Joe Moore on 05-18-18
By: Dave Itzkoff
-
Blowing the Bloody Doors Off
- And Other Lessons in Life
- By: Michael Caine
- Narrated by: Michael Caine
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,428
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,299
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,291
One of our best-loved actors, Michael Caine has starred in over 100 films in his six-decade career, spanning classic movies like Alfie, Zulu, and The Italian Job (the inspiration for the book title) to playing Alfred opposite Christian Bale's Batman in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Dark Knight trilogy. Caine has excelled in every kind of role - with a skill that's made it look easy. As he says, "Small parts can lead to big things. And if you keep doing things right, the stars will align when you least expect it."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Pleasant Surprise. Pleasure experience.
- By A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. on 10-25-18
By: Michael Caine
-
Patti LuPone
- A Memoir
- By: Patti LuPone
- Narrated by: Patti LuPone
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 409
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 342
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 337
The legendary Patti LuPone is one of the theatre’s most beloved leading ladies. Now she lays it all bare, sharing the intimate story of her life both onstage and off - through the dizzying highs and darkest lows - with the humor and outspokenness that have become her trademarks. From inspired costars and demanding directors to her distinct perspective on how she developed and honed her Tony Award - winning performances, Patti LuPone: A Memoir is as inspirational as it is entertaining.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
LuPone's Memoir Hits The High Notes!
- By Vince on 09-26-10
By: Patti LuPone
-
Poirot and Me
- By: David Suchet
- Narrated by: David Suchet
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 303
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 282
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 279
Actor David Suchet recalls his experience of playing Agatha Christie's world-famous detective, Hercule Poirot, for almost a quarter of a century. In the summer of 2013 David Suchet filmed his final scenes as Hercule Poirot. After 24 years in the role, he will have played the character in every story that Agatha Christie wrote about him (bar one, deemed unfilmable) and he will bid adieu to a role and a character that have changed his life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
If you like Poirot then you will love this book
- By Gudrun on 01-20-17
By: David Suchet
-
Toast on Toast
- Cautionary tales and candid advice
- By: Steven Toast
- Narrated by: Matt Berry - as Steven Toast
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 507
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 444
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 442
In Toast on Toast - part memoir, part "how to act" manual - Steven Toast draws on his vast and varied experiences, providing the reader with an invaluable insight into his journey from school plays to RADA and from "It's a Right Royal Knockout" to the Colony Club. Along the way he reveals the secrets of his success. He discloses how to brush up on and expand your technical and vocal skills, how to nail a professional voiceover, and how to deal with difficult work experience staff in a recording studio....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Glorious performance from Matt Ber-Ray.
- By Stanley McHale on 11-18-16
By: Steven Toast
-
The Two of Us
- My Life with John Thaw
- By: Sheila Hancock
- Narrated by: Sheila Hancock
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
When John Thaw, star of The Sweeney and Inspector Morse, died from cancer in 2002, a nation lost one of its finest actors and Sheila Hancock lost a beloved husband. In this unique double biography she chronicles their lives - personal and professional, together and apart. John Thaw was born in Manchester, the son of a lorry driver. When he arrived at RADA on a scholarship he felt an outsider. In fact his timing was perfect: it was the sixties and television was beginning to make its mark.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
sad and enthralling
- By Steve on 03-17-12
By: Sheila Hancock
-
Somebody
- The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando
- By: Stefan Kanfer
- Narrated by: Armando Durán
- Length: 14 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Brando is perpetually fascinating, both for the power of the characters he portrayed and for his tumultuous personal life. Best-selling biographer Stefan Kanfer seamlessly intertwines the man and the work to give us the fullest and most illuminating appraisal yet. Kanfer takes us from Brando's troubled childhood to his arrival in New York in the 1940s, where he studied with the legendary Stella Adler and became, at age 23, the star of Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
so boring, made me not like brando
- By A. Garofalo on 02-20-14
By: Stefan Kanfer
-
Putting the Rabbit in the Hat
- By: Brian Cox
- Narrated by: Brian Cox
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 286
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 251
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 251
The incredible rags-to-riches story of acclaimed actor Brian Cox, best known as Succession’s Logan Roy, from a troubled, working-class upbringing in Scotland to a prolific career across theatre, film, and television.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A variety of hats and intriguing rabbits
- By C. A. Cameron on 01-30-22
By: Brian Cox
-
Hamnet
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8,964
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 7,790
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,724
Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family’s land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose career on the London stage is taking off when his beloved young son succumbs to sudden fever.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A masterpiece
- By Molly-o on 08-03-20
By: Maggie O'Farrell
-
The Method
- How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act
- By: Isaac Butler
- Narrated by: Isaac Butler
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
On stage and screen, we know a great performance when we see it. But how do actors draw from their bodies and minds to turn their selves into art? What is the craft of being an authentic fake? More than a century ago, amid tsarist Russia’s crushing repression, one of the most talented actors ever, Konstantin Stanislavski, asked these very questions, reached deep into himself and emerged with an answer.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Where is the Thesis?
- By Frances L. on 07-27-22
By: Isaac Butler
-
Improv Nation
- How We Made a Great American Art
- By: Sam Wasson
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
At the height of the McCarthy era, an experimental theater troupe set up shop in a bar near the University of Chicago. Via word-of-mouth, astonished crowds packed the ad-hoc venue to see its unscripted, interactive, consciousness-raising style. From this unlikely seed grew the Second City, the massively influential comedy theater troupe, and its offshoots - the Groundlings, Upright Citizens Brigade, SNL, and a slew of others. Sam Wasson charts the meteoric rise of improv in this richly reported, scene-driven narrative.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Compulsively listenable historical overview
- By Keith on 03-26-18
By: Sam Wasson
-
Tennessee Williams
- Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh
- By: John Lahr
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Ashley
- Length: 26 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 214
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 196
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 193
Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh gives intimate access to the mind of one of the most brilliant dramatists of his century, whose plays reshaped the American theater and the nation's sense of itself. This astute, deeply researched biography sheds a light on Tennessee Williams's warring family, his guilt, his creative triumphs and failures, his sexuality and numerous affairs, his misreported death, even the shenanigans surrounding his estate.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I was glad when it was over
- By Michal A. Joyner on 10-23-14
By: John Lahr
Publisher's summary
Featuring a selection of play excerpts performed by Nicholas Hytner's handpicked cast including Simon Russell Beale, Samuel Barnett and Deborah Findley!
You start with a vision, and you deliver a compromise. You want a play to be challenging, ambitious, nuanced and complicated. You also want it to sell tickets. You want to make art, and you know you're in show business. These are some of the balancing acts that the National Theatre and this book are about.
This is the inside story of 12 years at the helm of Britain's greatest theatre. It is a story of lunatic failures and spectacular successes such as The History Boys, War Horse and One Man, Two Guvnors, of opening the doors of the National Theatre to a broader audience than ever before and changing the public's perception of what theatre is for. It is about probing Shakespeare from every angle and reinventing the classics. About fostering new talent and directing some of the most celebrated actors of our times.
Its cast includes the likes of Alan Bennett, Maggie Smith, Mike Leigh, Daniel Day-Lewis, Michael Gambon and Helen Mirren. Intimate, candid and insightful, Balancing Acts is a passionate exploration of the art and alchemy of making theatre.
Related to this topic
-
Pictures at a Revolution
- Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
- By: Mark Harris
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 576
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 414
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 415
Here is the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde - and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood and America forever.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Would It Be Too Much To Ask?
- By Casey Keller on 12-31-08
By: Mark Harris
-
Something Wonderful
- Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution
- By: Todd S. Purdum
- Narrated by: Todd S. Purdum
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 449
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 380
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 377
They stand at the apex of the great age of songwriting, the creators of the classic Broadway musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, whose songs have never lost their popularity or emotional power. Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fabulous book about Rodgers & Hammerstein!!!
- By BigWally on 06-27-18
By: Todd S. Purdum
-
Robin Williams
- By: Emily Herbert
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 155
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 135
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 135
Through roles in cherished films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Aladdin and Hook, he became the genial face of family comedy. His childlike enthusiasm was infectious, sweeping viewers away. Allied to his lightning-quick improvisation and ability to riff lewdly off any cue thrown at him, Robin was that rare thing - a true comic genius who appealed to adults and children equally. He could also play it straight, and empathetic depth came to him naturally.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good... but too many quotes
- By DDub on 11-09-18
By: Emily Herbert
-
Orson Welles's Last Movie
- The Making of The Other Side of the Wind
- By: Josh Karp
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
In the summer of 1970, legendary but self-destructive director Orson Welles returned to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe and decided it was time to make a comeback movie. It was about a legendary self-destructive director who returns to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe. Welles swore it wasn't autobiographical.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging and human portrait of Welles
- By TrevorTrujillo on 06-20-20
By: Josh Karp
-
The Secret Life of the American Musical
- How Broadway Shows Are Built
- By: Jack Viertel
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 246
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 221
For almost a century, Americans have been losing their hearts and losing their minds in an insatiable love affair with the American musical. It often begins in actors and reaches its passionate zenith when it comes time for love, marriage, and children, who will start the cycle all over again. Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great review lacked music
- By joseph f mcgovern on 10-14-18
By: Jack Viertel
-
Toast on Toast
- Cautionary tales and candid advice
- By: Steven Toast
- Narrated by: Matt Berry - as Steven Toast
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 507
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 444
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 442
In Toast on Toast - part memoir, part "how to act" manual - Steven Toast draws on his vast and varied experiences, providing the reader with an invaluable insight into his journey from school plays to RADA and from "It's a Right Royal Knockout" to the Colony Club. Along the way he reveals the secrets of his success. He discloses how to brush up on and expand your technical and vocal skills, how to nail a professional voiceover, and how to deal with difficult work experience staff in a recording studio....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Glorious performance from Matt Ber-Ray.
- By Stanley McHale on 11-18-16
By: Steven Toast
-
Pictures at a Revolution
- Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
- By: Mark Harris
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 576
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 414
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 415
Here is the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde - and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood and America forever.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Would It Be Too Much To Ask?
- By Casey Keller on 12-31-08
By: Mark Harris
-
Something Wonderful
- Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution
- By: Todd S. Purdum
- Narrated by: Todd S. Purdum
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 449
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 380
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 377
They stand at the apex of the great age of songwriting, the creators of the classic Broadway musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, whose songs have never lost their popularity or emotional power. Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fabulous book about Rodgers & Hammerstein!!!
- By BigWally on 06-27-18
By: Todd S. Purdum
-
Robin Williams
- By: Emily Herbert
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 155
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 135
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 135
Through roles in cherished films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Aladdin and Hook, he became the genial face of family comedy. His childlike enthusiasm was infectious, sweeping viewers away. Allied to his lightning-quick improvisation and ability to riff lewdly off any cue thrown at him, Robin was that rare thing - a true comic genius who appealed to adults and children equally. He could also play it straight, and empathetic depth came to him naturally.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good... but too many quotes
- By DDub on 11-09-18
By: Emily Herbert
-
Orson Welles's Last Movie
- The Making of The Other Side of the Wind
- By: Josh Karp
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
In the summer of 1970, legendary but self-destructive director Orson Welles returned to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe and decided it was time to make a comeback movie. It was about a legendary self-destructive director who returns to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe. Welles swore it wasn't autobiographical.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engaging and human portrait of Welles
- By TrevorTrujillo on 06-20-20
By: Josh Karp
-
The Secret Life of the American Musical
- How Broadway Shows Are Built
- By: Jack Viertel
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 246
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 221
For almost a century, Americans have been losing their hearts and losing their minds in an insatiable love affair with the American musical. It often begins in actors and reaches its passionate zenith when it comes time for love, marriage, and children, who will start the cycle all over again. Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great review lacked music
- By joseph f mcgovern on 10-14-18
By: Jack Viertel
-
Toast on Toast
- Cautionary tales and candid advice
- By: Steven Toast
- Narrated by: Matt Berry - as Steven Toast
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 507
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 444
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 442
In Toast on Toast - part memoir, part "how to act" manual - Steven Toast draws on his vast and varied experiences, providing the reader with an invaluable insight into his journey from school plays to RADA and from "It's a Right Royal Knockout" to the Colony Club. Along the way he reveals the secrets of his success. He discloses how to brush up on and expand your technical and vocal skills, how to nail a professional voiceover, and how to deal with difficult work experience staff in a recording studio....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Glorious performance from Matt Ber-Ray.
- By Stanley McHale on 11-18-16
By: Steven Toast
-
My Song
- A Memoir
- By: Harry Belafonte, Michael Shnayerson
- Narrated by: Harry Belafonte, Mirron Willis
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 156
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 139
Harry Belafonte is not just one of the greatest entertainers of our time; he has led one of the great American lives of the last century. Now, this extraordinary icon tells us the story of that life, giving us its full breadth, letting us share in the struggles, the tragedies, and, most of all, the inspiring triumphs.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing
- By Khafre on 12-30-11
By: Harry Belafonte, and others
-
Furious Love
- Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century
- By: Sam Kashner, Nancy Schoenberger
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 171
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 114
He was a tough-guy Welshman softened by the affections of a breathtakingly beautiful woman; she was a modern-day Cleopatra madly in love with her own Mark Antony. For nearly a quarter of a century, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were Hollywood royalty, and their fiery romance - often called "the marriage of the century" - was the most notorious, publicized, and celebrated love affair of its day.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Paul Boehmer needs more practice
- By Brenda Miller on 06-16-10
By: Sam Kashner, and others
-
Pieces of My Heart
- A Life
- By: Robert J. Wagner
- Narrated by: Robert J. Wagner
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 187
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 144
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
Robert J. Wagner has starred in more than 100 films and television series over the past 50 years. In this deeply personal story, he recalls his rise to stardom. He talks candidly about his relationships with some of the greatest stars of the 20th century, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, and, for the first time, he shares the details of his two marriages to Natalie Wood. Wagner also offers a fascinating look at Hollywood during the last half of the 20th century.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wagner's life, told in a gracious manner
- By Chris on 12-18-08
By: Robert J. Wagner
-
Rebel
- My Life Outside the Lines
- By: Nick Nolte
- Narrated by: Nick Nolte, Christian Baskous
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
In a career spanning five decades, Nick Nolte has endured the rites of Hollywood celebrity. Rising from obscurity to leading roles and Oscar nominations, he has been both celebrated and vilified in the media; survived marriages, divorces, and a string of romances; was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine; and suffered public humiliation over his drug and alcohol issues, including a drug-fueled trip down a "long road of nothingness" that ended in arrest.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great read! No fooling.
- By Action Joe on 05-31-18
By: Nick Nolte
-
Street Gang
- The Complete History of Sesame Street
- By: Michael Davis
- Narrated by: Caroll Spinney
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 179
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
When the first episode aired on Nov. 10, 1969, Sesame Street revolutionized the way education was presented to children on television. It has since become the longest-running children's show in history, and today reaches 8 million pre-schoolers on 350 PBS stations and airs in 120 countries. Street Gang is the compelling and often comical story of the creation and history of this media masterpiece and pop culture landmark.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
An important subject, but hardly gripping
- By Scott T. Hards on 09-24-10
By: Michael Davis
-
Empire of Self
- A Life of Gore Vidal
- By: Jay Parini
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
The product of 30 years of friendship and conversation, Jay Parini's Empire of Self probes behind the glittering surface of Gore Vidal's colorful life to reveal the complex emotional and sexual truth underlying his celebrity-strewn life. But there is plenty of glittering surface as well - a virtual who's who of the American Century, from Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart through the Kennedys, Princess Margaret, and the creme de la creme of Hollywood.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well done!
- By Christopher on 03-22-16
By: Jay Parini
-
Can I Go Now?
- The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood's First Superagent
- By: Brian Kellow
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 57
A lively and colorful biography of Hollywood's first superagent - one of the most outrageous showbiz characters of the 1960s and 1970s, whose clients included Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine, and Candice Bergen. Before Sue Mengers hit the scene in the mid-1960s, talent agents remained quietly in the background. But staying in the background was not possible for Mengers.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A little long.
- By Doris on 11-29-15
By: Brian Kellow
-
Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted
- And All the Brilliant Minds Who Made the Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic
- By: Jennifer Armstrong
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
Mary Tyler Moore made her name as Dick Van Dyke's wife on the eponymous show; she was a cute, unassuming housewife that audiences loved. But when screenwriters James Brooks and Allan Burnes dreamed up an edgy show about a divorced woman with a career, network executives replied: "Americans won't watch television about New York City, divorcées, men with mustaches, or Jews." But Moore and her team were committed, and when the show finally aired, in spite of tepid reviews, fans loved it.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
An Interesting Story That Never Quite Gets Told
- By S. Blythe on 07-26-13
-
High Society
- The Life of Grace Kelly
- By: Donald Spoto
- Narrated by: George K Wilson
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 63
In just seven years---from 1950 through 1956---Grace Kelly embarked on a whirlwind career that included roles in 11 movies. From the principled Amy Fowler Kane in High Noon to the thrill-seeking Frances Stevens of To Catch a Thief, Grace established herself as one of Hollywood's most talented actresses and iconic beauties.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Find a better Grace Kelly biography, I'd skip this
- By Daniel on 08-20-12
By: Donald Spoto
-
American Rebel
- The Life of Clint Eastwood
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 114
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 88
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 89
From the New York Times best-selling author Marc Eliot comes the definitive biography of one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful actors, producers, and directors in the history of American motion pictures. Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often tumultuous arc of Eastwood's life and career, from his days as a disaffected college dropout, to his rise to fame as the archetypal loner, to his acceptance into the pantheon of the Academy as a multiple Oscar Award winner.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I learned the hard way.
- By Ty Pritchard on 07-23-10
By: Marc Eliot
-
Not Young, Still Restless
- A Memoir
- By: Jeanne Cooper
- Narrated by: Jeanne Cooper
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
The long-awaited memoir from one of daytime television's most celebrated and beloved actresses.
Three or four days a week, Jeanne Cooper drives from her Hollywood Hills home to the job she's held for more than three decades: bringing life to the character of Katherine Chancellor, the outspoken, powerful, and insanely wealthy force of nature who, along with Jeanne herself, has become a legend in the world of daytime television and its number-one show, The Young and the Restless. Now, for the first time, her fans will get to know the woman behind the iconic character.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Grand Dame of soaps
- By Harry R. on 01-07-15
By: Jeanne Cooper
-
The Sound of Music Story
- How a Beguiling Young Novice, a Handsome Austrian Captain, and Ten Singing Von Trapp Children Inspired the Most Beloved Film of All Time
- By: Tom Santopietro
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Now Tom Santopietro has written the ultimate Sound of Music fan audiobook with all the inside dope, from behind-the-scenes stories of the filming in Austria and Hollywood to new interviews with Johannes von Trapp and others. Santopietro looks back at the real-life story of Maria von Trapp, goes on to chronicle the sensational success of the Broadway musical, and recounts the story of the near cancellation of the film when Cleopatra bankrupted 20th Century Fox.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A must for super-fans
- By Simone on 07-29-17
By: Tom Santopietro