Free for All

Starred review from August 24, 2009
Turan, now the film critic for the Los Angeles Times
, was approached by theatrical producer Joe Papp in the 1980s to develop an oral history of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theater, then blocked the book from publication after reading an early draft. Years later, we can understand some of Papp's reluctance: former colleagues speak frankly about his failure to share credit for success with others, and why the effort to move his radical style of theater into Lincoln Center met with failure. Papp's personality can be prickly, to say the least; one of his first reactions to a surprise birthday party thrown by his staff was to wonder what else they could be doing behind his back. But stories like this, or accounts of the backstage turbulence on plays like That Championship Season
or True West
, never overshadow Papp's creative legacy and his engagement with New York City's diverse society. As dozens of actors, from the late George C. Scott and Anthony Quinn to Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline, share their memories, it's easy to see how the constantly hustling Papp became “larger than life just by being himself.”

Starred review from August 15, 2009
A poignant pastiche of interviews and"soliloquies" by many principals and walk-ons tells the story of New York's most powerful theater impresario.

Los Angeles Times film critic and NPR contributor Turan (Film Criticism/Univ. of Southern California) originally assembled the book 23 years ago with the cooperation of producer and director Joseph Papp (1921–1991), but when the temperamental showman read the result, he pulled the plug. Turan later approached Papp's widow, who greenlighted the project. At first glance, the text is off-putting: snippets of observations, comments and memories from decades ago from a huge cast, some of whom are no longer living. But the cumulative effect is riveting. After dealing briefly with Papp's parentage and struggling Brooklyn boyhood, the narrative follows him into the Navy, then out to Hollywood, where he participated in the Actors' Laboratory. He moved back East to work for CBS-TV and begin his career producing and directing plays. His crowning glories, of course, were the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theater. Papp comes across as a highly persuasive, indefatigable fundraiser and a terrific (if not always enduring) champion of actors and writers, especially playwright David Rabe. The rising, then falling arc of that friendship and professional association is a highlight of the narrative. As time moves on, chapters focus on specific productions. Those involved with A Chorus Line tell of its genesis and surpassing success. There is a sad story about Papp's relationship with Sam Shepard (they fell out over True West), many inspiring ones (about The Pirates of Penzance with Linda Ronstadt and The Mystery of Edwin Drood), tales of failure (Papp's tenure at Lincoln Center) and glorious serendipity (Two Gentlemen of Verona, That Championship Season).

A wonderful book that clearly and powerfully shows that Papp's own story was the most enduring drama he ever produced.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from September 1, 2009
Over 20 years ago, with encouragement and assistance from Papp, Turan (film critic, "Los Angeles Times") interviewed over 160 people (more than 40 are no longer living) for this oral history of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theater. The project was nixed in the end by Papp but later revived with permission from his widow. Beyond an introduction and afterword, the book is made up entirely of interviews, each chapter a mixture of Papp's words and those of other well-known personalities who worked with him as he realized his passion for providing free public access to Shakespeare and modern plays. While sometimes highly critical of Papp's methods, those interviewed clearly respect the man and his achievements. This is reminiscent of Theodore Mann's "Journeys in the Night: Creating a New American Theatre with Circle in the Square" but more oral history than memoir. VERDICT Superb editing and mixing of interviews make each chapter seem as though one is simply eavesdropping on conversations, a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Highly recommended. [See also "Editors' Fall Picks," p. 24.]Laura A. Ewald, Greenville Coll. Lib., IL

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2009
As journalist Turan says in the introduction, this finely crafted oral history of legendary producer and director Joseph Papps life and work almost didnt get written. Culled from interviews with more than 160 people, many of them film and theater luminaries who owe their stardom to Papp, the book, the result of a collaboration between author and subject, languished in a drawer for a dozen years while Papp, already ill with the cancer that would kill him, refused to allow it to be published. Thank the stars, Turan was able to persuade Papps widow, Gail Merrifeld Papp, to lift Papps embargo, and we are all much richer for that. Turan succeeds in delivering a compelling portrait of one of the dynamos of American theater in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s even as he chronicles the rise of a major New York theatrical institution, the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater. Especially fascinating are the chapters devoted to the making of some of the Public Theaters most noteworthy productions, in particular the two that became major Broadway hits, Hair and A Chorus Line.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)