Give My Regards to Nowhere: A Director's Tale (The Dwayne Finnegan Series) - Softcover

Engling, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0977661075 ISBN 13: 9780977661077

Publisher: Polarity Ensemble Books, 2023

Synopsis

Welcome to Chicago theater—where the egos are huge, the budgets are tiny, and everything that can go wrong, does.

In this “rollicking ride through the underbelly of the acting world” (Midwest Book Review) director Dwayne Finnegan is just one brilliant production away from Broadway. His plan? A radical reimaging of Shakespeare’s least-favorite play with bold choreography, Jimi Hendrix guitars, and the hottest cast in the city of Chicago.

But when the show’s producer cuts out with the cash, Dwayne decides to produce it himself. Putting his marriage, his career, and his sanity on the line, Dwayne oversees a cascade of backstage disasters and hilariously bad decisions.

Give My Regards to Nowhere is a sharp, funny, and heartfelt novel about ambition, creativity, and the beautiful chaos of making live theatre.

Perfect for fans of:

• Backstage comedies and satire
• Smart, character-driven humor
• Chicago-set fiction
• Authors like Carl Hiaasen and Christopher Moore
• TV and movies like Slings and Arrows, Mozart in the Jungle, and Waiting for Guffman

“absurd comic hi-jinx”
– Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

“lively, fun, and welcoming…a pleasure to read”
–The BookLife Prize

“a delightful satirical journey through the trials and tribulations of producing a play…hilarious”
–Chicago OnStage

Book One of the Dwayne Finnegan Series

About this title

About the Author

Richard Engling's writing career began in high school when his coffee shop theatre group needed material to perform, and he was elected to write it. He's spent a lifetime writing and performing, paying his bills as a teacher, truck driver and copywriter, while performing as an actor, a drummer in a jazz quartet, and working as a director and playwright. He founded Polarity Ensemble Theatre in Chicago in 2004 and served as its Artistic Director for twelve long and confusing years.His books include BODY MORTGAGE, VISIONS OF ANNA, and the first Dwayne Finnegan novel, GIVE MY REGARDS TO NOWHERE. His plays have been produced in the US and England, and he continues to work as an actor, novelist, and director.

From the Back Cover

A comic novel of love, lust, and life-threatening electrical shocks.

"Richard Engling knows Chicago's famously chaotic and glorious storefront theater scene like the back of his hand."
- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, author of Rise Up!

"A scrappy, big-hearted backstage comedy layered with mordant wit..."
- Adam Langer, author of Cyclorama

"...very funny, briskly written, and often touching..."
- Mark Larson, author of Ensemble

"...thoroughly entertaining from start to finish."
- Karen Topham, Chicago OnStage

"An immensely readable tale..."
- Vicki Quade, author of Late Nite Catechism

"Hilarious, witty, touching, intelligent, and spot-on. Entire chapters are laugh-out-loud funny."
- Nadeem Zaman, author of The Inheritors

"No doubt, the best examination of the theatre trade I've ever read."
- Darren Callahan, dramatist for the BBC and SyFy

"...a magic trick performed in plain view...comic, wise, and riveting."
- Liam Heneghan, author of Beasts at Bedtime

Chicago director Dwayne Finnegan has a long shot at the big time and only two obstacles: himself and everyone he knows. Dwayne's got an idea of how to direct Shakespeare's least-favorite play that could set him on the road to Broadway. We're talking Bob Fosse choreography, Jimi Hendrix guitars, and the hottest cast in the city of Chicago. But when the show's producer cuts out with the cash, Dwayne decides to produce the show himself, putting his marriage and his meager finances at risk. What could go wrong?

Edition details

• Publisher: Polarity Ensemble Books
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0977661075
• ISBN 13: 9780977661077
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 282