Posted: 11/4/15 at 11:59am
That's what you call a "rave?"
Never mind answering; Zinoman and Slate may possibly be even more irrelevant than Riedel (if such is possible).
Posted: 11/4/15 at 12:06pm
Personally, I think it would be no big loss if Riedel the character vanished. I get my gossip from people who know what they're talking about and don't make me want to punch them in the face.
Updated On: 11/4/15 at 12:06 PM
Posted: 11/4/15 at 12:25pm
Riedel thinks that he's a cross between Woollcott and Winchell, but his high-school level writing style and trivial subject matter place him somewhere far below a mix of Cindy Adams and Musto.
Posted: 11/4/15 at 12:28pm
Posted: 11/4/15 at 12:31pm
I repeat: It's the best book on Broadway since William Goldman"s The Season.
Posted: 11/4/15 at 12:32pm
Isn't he more or less irrelevant already?
Posted: 11/4/15 at 12:51pm
No, he started irrelevant and got worse.
The Season is a terrifically written book by a real insider about how commercial theatre in New York really works. Razzle Dazzle is nothing more than regurgitated old gossip and PR for the Shuberts. (That is, judging from the freely-available excerpts; after reading those, I deeply doubt that I could make it through the entire book, even if it were delivered free with a set of Ginsu knives.)
Updated On: 11/4/15 at 12:51 PM
Posted: 11/4/15 at 12:53pm
Too bad Riedel poisoned his own well.
Posted: 11/4/15 at 1:21pm
The Zinoman article mentions a book by Benedict Nightengale called "Fifth Row Center", which I was completely unfamiliar with. Has anybody on here read it? Thoughts? I've been looking for years for another book like "The Season" so I can't believe it was never on my radar. I'm definitely grabbing a copy.
Posted: 11/4/15 at 2:12pm
Here is the Times' review of Fifth Row Center. It is an older book. I found it on Amazon. 35 bucks. Hardcover. Kindle doesn't seem to have it and neither does nook books.
http://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/14/arts/books-offstage-journal.html
Updated On: 11/4/15 at 02:12 PM
Posted: 11/5/15 at 12:56am
I've been reading it and I have no agenda towards Reidel, and I find it interesting. His writing isn't always the most fluid or easy to understand, but I'm interested in the subject matter. I'd SO love to go see the offices upstairs at the Shubert.
Posted: 11/5/15 at 1:12am
RippedMan said: "I've been reading it and I have no agenda towards Reidel, and I find it interesting. His writing isn't always the most fluid or easy to understand, but I'm interested in the subject matter. I'd SO love to go see the offices upstairs at the Shubert.
I'm reading it too... I like it and yes it would be fun to go up to the Shubert offices
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