Act One: An Autobiography by Moss Hart - Hardcover

Hart, Moss

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375508600 ISBN 13: 9780375508608

Publisher: Random House, 2002

Synopsis

In the opinion of the publishers, act one is the warmest, most engrossing—and by far the most revealing—book about the theatre that they have ever encountered.
It is, of course, a success story, for Moss Hart today is one of the most brilliant, successful and famous figures in the American theatre, both as a playwright and as a director.
How did it happen? Not easily. His boyhood and adolescent years were spent in two entirely different backgrounds, and the stories of both are fascinating. With the opening of his first Broadway play, Once in a Lifetime, his world changed abruptly. This book concludes with a detailed telling of the complicated steps whereby that play came into being.
“I consider the memories and pledges that were part of the struggle that preceded success the vital ones,” the author says. He has set these memories down with unusual candor, humor and excitement; and the book is an intimate and informative portrait, not only of him self but of the world of the theatre as well.

About this title

Review:

Moss Hart was in the thick of American theater when everyone wore black tie on opening night and the world's most witty people entertained each other around a grand piano at late-night supper parties. It's an era of glamour that will never come again, but we have Hart's words on paper, and that is no small thing. A renowned director and theatrical collaborator, the brilliant Hart died too soon after the curtain went up on Act Two. If you want to know what it was like to be on the inside track in NYC in the '30s, '40s and '50s, here's a good place to find out.

About the Author:

Moss Hart (1904-1961) began his career as a playwright in 1925 and achieved his first major success in the 1930 collaboration with George S. Kaufman titled Once in a Lifetime. With Kaufmann he also wrote such American classics as The Man Who Came to Dinner and You Can't Take it With You, winner of the 1937 Pulitzer Prize. Hart also gained universal recognition for his award-winning direction of many shows, including My Fair Lady  and Camelot.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0375508600
• ISBN 13: 9780375508608
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 456