Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words (play)

Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words is an entertainment created by Eugene Pack, consisting of comically ironic verbatim readings of memoirs of, and a few poems by, celebrities. Critic Charles Isherwood called it "a merry compendium of the witlessness and wisdom of the rich and famous". A later version was titled Celebrity Autobiography: The Next Chapter.

Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words
Written byEugene Pack
Charactersvarious
Place premieredBook Soup[1]
Los Angeles
Original languageEnglish
GenreComedy
Official site

Production history

The show was created in 1998 in Los Angeles and became prominent as a 2005 Bravo Network one-hour television special of the same name.[2] It was mounted off-Broadway at the Triad Theater beginning in 2008 and has run weekly or monthly since then. At the Triad, Pack has served as the host, and the show has featured Will Forte, Kristen Johnston, Tony Roberts and Rachel Dratch, among others.[2][3] The show won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.[4] According to the production's official website, as of 2011 it had run in New York for three sold-out years.[5]

The entertainment has been staged in over a dozen cities. It is currently running in New York City, Los Angeles, London and Minneapolis, and a national tour has been announced.[6] London and Los Angeles runs were sold out.[7]

Description

The show features solo and ensemble memoirs, poetry and other writings by authors such as Ivana Trump, Vanna White, Mr. T, Tommy Lee, Sylvester Stallone, 'N Sync, Madonna, Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson, as well as the lesser-known works of Elizabeth Taylor, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.[3][8] KPBS told its readers to imagine Marion Ross and Paul Michael as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, to get a feel for what the show is all about.[7] At times, related biographies are interwoven, such as passages from Burt Reynolds' and his wife Loni Anderson's memoirs, spiced up with one of Reynolds' assistant's memoirs as well as that of another of Anderson's lovers.[2] The show uses a rotating cast of readers, and it uses material from an ever-growing list of books.[9][10] The New York Times describes the show as a Rashomon-esque playlet.

Awards and nominations
Award Outcome
2009 Drama Desk Awards[4]
Unique Theatrical Experience Won
2010 Bistro Awards[11]
Comedy Series Won

Notes
  1. Celebrity Style
  2. "In Their Own Words: Celebrity Autobiography fine-tunes its satire of the least-accomplished memoirs". JesterJournal.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  3. Isherwood, Charles (September 22, 2008). "The Lives, Loves and Ducks of Luminary Literature". The New York Times. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  4. Cox, Gordon (May 17, 2009). "'Billy' dominates Drama Desk Awards: Musical dances off with ten trophies". Variety. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  5. "About Celebrity Autobiography". celebrityautobiography.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  6. "Celebrity Autobiography: Buy Tickets". celebrityautobiography.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  7. "'Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words'". KPBS. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  8. "Celebrity Autobiography: The Next Chapter". The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  9. "Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words". New York. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  10. "Photo Coverage: Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words". Broadwayworld.com. January 12, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  11. "2010 Bistro Awards". cabaretscenes.org. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
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