Drama - An Actor's Education is the autobiography of the talented stage and film actor John Lithgow. The subtitle is very apt as he is through and through an accomplished theatre actor, more so than I had realized. Those looking for stories of his movie and TV work should look elsewhere, whereas students of stage work and the actor's life of rehearsals and openings will find it a must read.
Growing up with a father who was an actor, director and producer instilled the love of the craft in John. He moved easily from creative years at Harvard to plays on Broadway, and it wasn't until a breakthrough role in The World According To Garp in 1982 that he became known to most people. Despite many screen successes, and an Emmy award winning run in the TV show 3rd Rock from the Sun, his passion in life will always be the stage. Between stories of the next play, successes, and the parts that got away are interesting asides about trying to break into films with some very odd roles that added to his education.
I like theatre, so stories of working with Liv Ullman and a young Meryl Streep were interesting, but I think you should be a theatre student or actor to fully enjoy this book. It wasn't what I expected, though it was interesting to see his journey that contributed to such effortless acting such as his recent role in The Crown - after a star turn, he left the screen and I stated the obvious - "Here is your Emmy Mr. Lithgow".
2011 / Hardcover / 320 pages
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