The Fabulous Lunts: A Biography of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne - Softcover

Brown, Jared

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1420854704 ISBN 13: 9781420854701

Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2005

Synopsis

Applause for The Fabulous Lunts "Mr. Brown has produced a thoroughly researched study of the Lunts that powerfully evokes a romantic age of the theatre ... A worthy testament to their art." -New York Times Book Review "Their story is an irresistibly appealing one, and Brown's telling of it will help to speed their return to our common consciousness. As darkness threatens to fall on Broadway, we are more than ever in need of the memory of who they were and what they achieved." -The New Yorker (Brendan Gill) "A must for anyone involved with or interested in theatre and a fascinating, well-written book even for the general reader." -Washington Post Book World "For those fortunates who missed seeing them, this book about the Lunts describes their wonder; for those of us who knew them, saw them, and were magicked, it is a surpassing souvenir, a shining memory." -Garson Kanin "I was dazzled by the book ... It almost amounts to an American theatre history from the turn of the century through the fifties and, of course, provides a badly needed sense of heritage for young artists." -Uta Hagen "I can testify that one's theatre library would not be complete unless it included The Fabulous Lunts. This book is a must for all theatre lovers!" -Carol Channing

About this title

About the Author:

Jared Brown is the author of five published books: The Fabulous hunts, A Biography of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne (Atheneum, 1986; reissue: AuthorHouse, 2006), Zero Mostel (Atheneum, 1989), The Theatre in America During the Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 1995), Alan J. Pakula: His Films and His Life (Backstage Books, 2005) and Moss Hart: A Prince of the Theatre (Backstage Books, 2006). The Fabulous Lunts was awarded the Barnard Hewitt Award as the outstanding book about the theatre in 1986. He has also written about fifteen plays, from historically-based dramas to children's plays to musicals, all of which have been produced.Brown taught theatre at Western Illinois University and at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he was Director of the School of Theatre Arts. At both universities, he specialized in teaching theatre history, playwriting and directing. He has directed approximately one hundred plays, both in university and in professional settings. He retired from teaching in 2002 in order to devote himself to fulltime writing.He was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, then received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ithaca College, his Master's in Drama from San Francisco State College and his Ph.D. in Speech and Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota. He and his wife, Judy, now live in Bloomington, Illinois. They have two grown children, both of whom live in California.

From Publishers Weekly:

For 40 years, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne were the most acclaimed stage actors in America. From 1928 (six years after their marriage) until their retirement in 1960, they appeared only togethermost notably in drawing-room comediesperfecting the subtle team playing that became their hallmark. In this comprehensive biography, Brown, theater professor at Western Illinois University, meticulously documents the couple's lives. Describing the perishable art of stage performance (the Lunts made few film or TV appearances) is difficult, but Brown succeeds in explicating the couple's nuanced technique. Though generally adulatory, the author criticizes the Lunts' increasingly "unadventurous" taste in their later years, when they appeared in plays that were little more than star vehicles. Dedicated to their craft, the team rehearsed long hours even after performing a play hundreds of times; their perfectionism continues to inspire theater people. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1420854704
• ISBN 13: 9781420854701
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 628