Light Fantastic

In his introduction to this new collection, Lahr--biographer, novelist and theater critic for the New Yorker--pointedly calls what he writes ``essays'' rather than ``reviews'' and describes himself as a theater historian. Both observations are apt. Lahr is an inspired and insightful appreciator, able both to put his finger on what is valuable in what he sees and to put it in the context of theater history. Although some of the 41 pieces (arranged under the headings Comedians, Playwrights, Musicals, Productions) are reviews of specific performances (Ingmar Bergman's Madame de Sade, Ralph Fiennes's Hamlet, Anna Deavere Smith's Under the Skin, Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia), others are profiles of artists at work (Bill Hicks, Jackie Mason, Tony Kushner, Julie Styne, George and Ira Gershwin), and some are full-blown essays. For anyone who has not read Prick Up Your Ears, Lahr's biography of murdered playwright Joe Orton, the long review of Orton's life included here makes this collection worth taking seriously. Few reviewers (or historians) quote from their subjects quite so much as Lahr does, or quote from them to such effect. It is an indication of the priority he assigns to the backbone of the theater: the words themselves. (Feb.)