Providing a fresh overview of the New York theatre world, one which might sit alongside such venerable annual volumes as the "Theatre World" and "Best Plays" series, Martin Denton, the creator of the theatre-based website "nytheatre.com," has recently published "The New York Theatre Experience -- Book of the Year 1998." "This book is about my New York theatre experience in 1998," writes Denton in the preface, "the shows I saw, the plays I read, the performances I admired."
The volume contains nearly one-hundred reviews, all by Denton, as well as features and commentary on Craig Lucas' The Dying Gaul, Terrence McNally's Corpus Christi, Kirk Wood Bromley's The Death of Griffin Hunter, playwright Arthur Miller, actor Matthew Maher, the New York International Fringe Festival and other topics.
The book's reviews are divided into several sections: New American Plays; New Plays from Abroad; Revival; Musicals; and Special Attractions. Productions covered include such high-profile Broadway ventures as Cabaret, Side Man, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Capeman and Parade, and decidedly alternative Off-Off Broadway fare such as W. David Hancock's The Race of the Ark Tattoo and Mark Lonergan's Tenement Vaudeville.
Denton created nytheatre.com in 1996. The book, priced at $29.50, is available through Denton's website or at Drama Book Shop in Manhattan.
--By Robert Simonson
