Stages: A Theater Memoir

by Albert Poland

“I am over the moon that Albert Poland has written STAGES, a fascinating and revelatory memoir of his life in the world of New York Theater and beyond.” –ALAN MENKEN Albert Poland Legendary Broadway and Off Broadway Producer and General Manager presents STAGES – A THEATER MEMOIR THE SHOWS Little Shop of Horrors, The Grapes of Wrath, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Glengarry Glen Ross, As Is, The Boy from Oz, Steel Magnolias, One Mo’ Time, The Fantasticks, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, The Neon Woman, A Lie of the Mind, Let My People Come, Marry Me a Little, The Waverly Gallery and many others! THE STARS Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Hugh Jackman, Vanessa Redgrave, Uta Hagen, Truman Capote, Sam Shepard, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charles Busch, Charles Pierce, Yoko Ono, Mike Nichols, Arthur Miller, David Mamet, Tommy Tune, Liza Minnelli, Quentin Tarantino, Steve Martin, Lotte Lenya, Divine, and many more. “In STAGES Albert writes about his career as he lived it – with honesty, humor and a spirit of real adventure. It is filled with the camaraderie of great friendships and great times. If you are considering a career in the theatre, I urge you to read STAGES – you will be encouraged." –PHILIP J. SMITH, Chairman, The Shubert Organization

Genres: Nonfiction

452 pages, Paperback

Published September 25, 2019

Reviews

[Russell Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Albert Poland’s Stages: a Theater Memoir paints a compelling portrait of a kid from Indiana who went on to become one of the most successful managing directors and/or producers in New York theater history. His career spanned decades. He was a champion for off-Broadway, and yet his reputation was such that he also worked on iconic Broadway shows. His book, largely about dollars and cents, offers insights into stars like Uta Hagen, Eileen Heckert, Vanessa Redgrave, Frank Langella, and Hugh Jackman, among many others. Enlightening are the battles he fought and won with agents, producers, directors, and actors in his quest to produce successful shows. The book is a treasure trove of theater history. And anyone who is inclined to dismiss the idea that theater is fueled by gays and lesbians can read this book and dismiss no further. I, a gay man and professional theater person, was taken aback at all the people Poland tells about who are or were gay. I knew many, others I didn’t know, and others were those whose names I was just now encountering. It was an eye-opener. Poland writes with a breezy style, and although his job in many cases was to deal with the money, he tells so much about what makes theater theater that we forgive the endless money talks and enjoy the theater narrative. My only complaint is the editing. Poland often eschews the accepted way of writing dialogue—“each time a new speaker speaks, a paragraph begins”—and runs speeches together into single paragraphs, which makes for confusion at times. But I have a theory about that. And I stress it is just a theory, a speculation. Nowhere on the book could I find the name of a publisher. No editor is listed, but in the acknowledgments, Poland thanks a cousin for his editing skills. I believe this book, for whatever reason (I propose so Poland could reap the most money from it because, after all, he is a money man) the book was self-published. And as I counted the number of pages from beginning to end, I counted an exact four hundred pages. Could it be that Poland chose to forego traditional dialogue spacing in order to make his book fit in those four hundred pages? After all, adding pages might run the purchase price up, or more importantly, cut into Poland’s profits. But I can’t prove this, and I stress it is probably just my addled brain looking for a reason why an editor wouldn’t have nixed this practice. Whatever. I highly recommend this book to all and sundry who have interest in the theater. Poland offers insights almost greater than any theater history I’ve ever read, for his insights are very personal indeed.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the best of theatrical raconteurs, Albert Poland has a million backstage stories, many of them studded with the stars, the divas, the merely dramatic. He has a judicious eye for the telling details, distilling many of these tales to the juiciest tidbits. And he meets just about everyone, from downtown doyenne Ellen Stewart of La Mama, to the ambitious young (shirtless) playwright Sam Shepard, to the megastar Hugh Jackman.

His stories have the gentle touch of one who has lived his dream, dating back to starting a childhood fan club for the legendary Judy Garland. With the help of an equally star-struck and thoroughly dedicated phone operator, he manages to get Judy on the phone! (His father's discovery of the long-distance charges entailed in this adventure is yet another hilarious aside.)

Albert is there at the center of Off-Broadway's heyday as a crucible for the newest, the next, the most daring. Shows with nude casts, outré politics, insane artists. Albert produced, he managed, he refused to tackle some of these shows - all in the days when Off Broadway was still a commercially viable world, theatres filled every night with savvy New Yorkers out to see the latest.

He spent plenty of time uptown on Broadway, as well. His stories of dealings with The Shuberts (my former bosses, and the source of our own long friendship) have the telling details of absolute truth. Gerald Schoenfeld would surely have instructed Albert NEVER to call him "Gerry" in public - especially when dressed as a parrot. (This story is one of the gems of a book filled with them.)

The anecdotes breeze by, one after the next after the next. Albert knows when an old reminiscence requires just a few lines, and those which deserve the full, ripe re-telling.

For theatre history aficionados, this is required reading. For those of us who toiled in the trenches, it's a hilarious compendium of the rumors we heard, the gossip we shared, the stories we wish had involved us. For civilians, it's a marvelous peek at the endless intrigue which is life upon the wicked stage. Albert is the theatrical Zelig of the past 40 years; he was there at everything.

Delicious, delightful, de-lovely. Much like the man himself.

Treat yourself.

[Steve Schmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a theatre nerd with aspirations of opening a community theatre one day, I was intrigued when I saw this book by a man who had been part of the New York Theatre scene for decades. Albert Poland started as the President of the Judy Garland fan club and worked with seemingly everyone in the business after that. His stories aren't just about the shows he worked on, but about all the people he worked with. Even the most average reader will know a lot of the names including, Hugh Jackman, Liza Minelli, and Frank Langella, but most readers won't know the names of the men and women who work behind the scenes producing shows that tug at our heart strings.

I enjoyed Albert's story even if I found it a bit long. A career spanning 5+ decades means working with a lot of people and he names them all. Sometimes they are in multiple chapters and I found myself trying to remember if we had met them before. I kept trying to remember all of the shows he'd worked on as well, but it's impossible, and I'm sure even he has difficulty remembering some of the shows. I do appreciate that he talks about shows that were a success in equal ways that he does with shows that didn't see success. He was always learning from his experiences.

Anyone looking to have a life in the theatre might want to pick this book up and give it a chance.

[Michael McGrinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

While enjoying a long and successful career as an Off-Broadway producer, Albert Poland found time to act and sing Off Off-Broadway, especially in the productions of John Vaccaro.
He is a pioneer of the Off-Broadway movement and seems to have met and/or had commerce with everybody in theatre. His lengthy memoir offers insightful forays into many theatrical backstories as he spins his tales in a relaxed, almost conversational tone.
An important addition to theatre lore by someone who may bleed stage blood, presented in the guise of an easy, entertaining read. And Mr. Poland makes it clear he is very proud that he is the founder of the Judy Garland fan club.
Bravo!

[ElizaBeth Comencant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been rather gorging on theatre books lately, and this came highly recommended. It is truly fascinating to read how a Broadway show gets put together from the business side of things, and be reminded again how truly small the community is. I do with Mr. Poland had delved a little more into the emotions at play as he took on so much work. At times, reading the book was a bit of a dry exercise, more like a business report, which I guess, is truly what this is - a reporting of the business of mounting shows.

[Damon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this extremely enjoyable memoir and highly recommend it. Poland gives you insight into the growth and creativity of the off-Broadway movement as only an insider can. This man was behind some of the most illustrious productions off-Broadway productions of his day including the highly successful LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. I also loved all of the theater gossip that is an under lying narrative throughout the book. Highly readable, informative, and thoroughly entertaining. I just couldn't put it down.

[Chuck Mull · Rating 5 out of 5]

From an insider

This wonderful book by Albert Poland brings you an insider’s take into theater from the 60s to the 90s to the 2000s. I thoroughly enjoyed his stories of the stars who populated so many wonderful shows and the sometimes setbacks of those productions.

[Robert LoBiondo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What theatre was about and what theatre can be again.

[Gaydon Phillips]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Recommend to anyone wanting to know what goes on behind the scenes in getting a show on.

[Ron Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is filled with the colorful cast of characters that created the vibrant off off Broadway, off Broadway and Broadway of the 60s thru the 2000s.

[Brian McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

An honest and sometimes dishy memoir of a longtime career in NY theater.