audiobook Dance with Demons: The Life Jerome Robbins by Greg Lawrence in Arts-Photography

Description

The first biography of the celebrated Broadway and Hollywood choreographer and directormdash;a complex man of extraordinary genius and overwhelming demons. His work on such legendary shows as The King and I; West Side Story; Gypsy; Funny Girl; and Fiddler on the Roof made him one of the most influential and creative forces in the history of American theater. His collaborators; friends; and enemies were among the greatest celebrities of stage and screen; including Barbra Streisand; Bette Davis; Stephen Sondheim; Natalie Wood; Montgomery Clift; and Mary Martin. His brilliant contribution to the American Ballet Theater and the New York City Ballet established him as one of the centuryrsquo;s great choreographic masters of the form. But in 1998; Jerome Robbins died a haunted man. All of his life; he was tortured by private demons: his conflicted feelings about his bisexuality and his Judaism; his bitter relationship with his parents; his betrayals of others during the McCarthy hearings; and a demanding perfectionism that bordered on the sadistic. Now; this groundbreaking biography; based on hundreds of interviews with friends; family; and colleagues; provides the first complete portrait of the man and the artistmdash;a harrowing; heartbreaking; and triumphant work as complicated and fascinating as the legend himself.