Razzle Dazzle ’em: New Yorker Profiles of Show-Biz Legends

In Razzle Dazzle ’Em, John Lahr, the lead theatre critic for The New Yorker for 21 years and a multi-award-winning biographer, captures the essence of some of Hollywood’s most influential actors and directors. This compelling collection of pen portraits offers a rare glimpse into the minds of those we see on screen. In this volume, Lahr’s profiles of Helen Mirren, Ethan Hawke, Viola Davis, Sean Penn, Julianne Moore, Todd Haynes, Cate Blanchett, Sam Mendes, Claire Danes, Judi Dench, Mike Nichols, Emma Thompson, and Al Pacino, spanning from 2000 to 2022, are brought together for the first time alongside Lahr’s award-winning essay Petrified, on stage fright. Showcasing the voices of these industry titans, Lahr masterfully explores the triumphs, challenges, and artistic processes that define the careers of these ’show-biz legends’.

John Lahr is a theatre critic and biographer. He was the lead theatre critic at the New Yorker between 1992 and 2013. Previous publications include Prick Up Your Ears: The Biography of Joe Orton (1978), Joy Ride - Show Peopleand Their Shows (2016), and Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh (2014).