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Loading... The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Music Theaterby Norman Mathews
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Impressively candid, exceptionally informative, deftly written, organized and presented, "The Wrong Side of the Room: A Life in Music Theater" is an extraordinary memoir that will have special and particular appeal for anyone with an interest in show business. While very highly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary American Biography collections, it should be noted for personal reading list that "The Wrong Side of the Room" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99). "Norman Mathews delivers a riveting memoir with The Wrong Side of the Room that opens with a contentious genesis and powerfully surges through to its finale. This is the ultimate tale of a man who is knocked down seven times and gets up eight, except in this case our tenacious narrator is struck to the ground far more than that. . .Mathews is the consummate phoenix and, much like he displays in the writing of this book, skillfully maneuvers the trajectory of his life's own narrative into a story that we are fortunate enough to have shared in The Wrong Side of the Room.” The author, now 76, clearly delights in detailing his life story, starting with his Sicilian ancestry and beginning with his grandparents, who arrived in America via Ellis Island. He goes on to present his distinguished life on Broadway with all the glow of center stage and the nerve-wracking thrill of opening night. Overall, he delivers an alluring autobiography of a man “who wore enough hats to fill a millinery shop,” thanks to a highly varied career that included editing, dancing, and musical composition. . . the book’s second half is fully stocked with accounts of stage shows galore—not to mention impressive name-dropping (Barbra Streisand, Betty Grable, Dorothy Lamour, Gene Kelly). These anecdotes from the theater’s social scene glide alongside vivid imagery from the author’s performances and other successes. The book also has a delightful, chatty sense of humor with moments of wry wit that make it exciting to read. In the end, it effectively celebrates a life of artistic inspiration alongside the giddiness and glory of live theater.
Born in the wrong town, the wrong era, and with the wrong name, Norman Mathews was forced to conjure a more enticing, if imaginary, world to better navigate the perils of childhood. In this world, he didn't suffer from a lack of self-assurance that dashed his dreams of romance and fame. He wasn't psychologically abused by a priest nor did he endure ludicrously funny psychotherapy over his sexuality. And he didn't attempt suicide, nearly shattering his promising future. But in the real world, he survived all of this and more, and in his autobiography details with stark honesty and humor how Mathews' resolve to build a meaningful life led him to the life of his dreams.From the ashes of near-calamity rose the existence Norman Mathews always dreamed of. Beginning as a magazine editor and eventually becoming a Broadway and film dancer he worked with Barbra Streisand, Gene Kelly, Dorothy Lamour, and Michael Bennett. His star was on a consistent upward trajectory. But an injury cut short his career as a performer and forced him to seek creative fulfillment elsewhere. He reinvented himself as a pianist, composer, and playwright and as such created award-winning works for the concert stage, Tony-Award winners, and opera luminaries.This passionate and inspirational autobiography is steeped in dark humor, celebrity gossip, and backstage intrigue. It not only shines a light onto musical theater, it goes so far as to recount the grisly murder of a Broadway conductor, provides an inside look at the embezzlement of a famed Broadway producer, and details a never-reported rehearsal row involving a famous choreographer. Mathews brings his colorful Sicilian-American family, his triumphs and heartbreaks, and his mine-strewn path to love vividly to life. This riveting drama is a paean to all late-bloomers - proof that no matter how many wrong cards you are dealt, it's possible, with hope and tenacity, to come up with a winning hand. No library descriptions found.
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