Jack in the Box

by Jack O'Brien

The Tony Award – winning director gathers memories of people, productions, and problems surmounted from his fifty-year career in this one-of-a-kind how-to handbook.

What do directors do ? Jack O’Brien, the winner of Tony and Drama Desk Awards and the former artistic director of San Diego’s historic Old Globe theatre, describes it like “You stand before a situation in which something is presented to you. You’re afforded a challenge. Like catching an enormous ball. And you respond. You come up with a vision of some kind. That is, if you respond to the material at all, and one must, or it’s doomed. You sort of feel that since you relate to the material at hand, you might as well try to be helpful.”

In Jack in the Box , O’Brien’s follow-up to his memoir Jack Be Nimble , the director collects stories from the many productions he has worked on, the great talents he encountered and collaborated with (including Tom Stoppard, Mike Nichols, Jerry Lewis, Marsha Mason, and many others), and the choices he made, on the stage and off, that have come to define his career. With humor, warmth, and contagious excitement, O’Brien takes the reader by the shoulder, pulls them in, and tells them how to become a director―or, at the very least, relates an unfailingly honest story of how he did.

Genres: Memoir, Theatre, Nonfiction, Film

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2022

Reviews

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack O'Brien has had an enviable career in the theater, and here he shares generously. There are tips about directing, what it means to be one and what contributions can be expected. But also there is quite a bit of dish, well, not nasty enough to earn the title dish, but some personal insights into many famous names. I personally found interesting the section on casting, as I've been present at a low level during that process, and found myself projecting different auditionees in different combinations, hoping to achieve that ineffable quality known as chemistry that will result in the best fit.

[James B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. The author hasn’t really written a strictly ‘how-to’ book about the art of directing, but more of his personal education over the decades of being a director and running a wonderful theater company. And the stories are pretty fun, starting with his early mentors, through various directing job, being intimidated by, and then loving, Jerry Lewis as a replacement for the revival of Damn Yankees, staring down a scary, 105 year old George Abbott to see if he’d be open to major changes to Yankees, being intimidated by Neil Simon and slowly winning him over, being fired by Andrew Lloyd Webber while trying to direct a sequel to Phantom of the Opera. And finishing the book with such lovely stories about Mike Nichols and Tom Stoppard. These are great stories by a man who obviously has had such a full life that was fueled by his great love of theater.

[Tom Holehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ignore the four stars if you are not a theatre buff or a director. O'Brien has over 50 years of theatre experience and his rambling memoir has one great story after another. His adventures with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tom Stoppard, Neil Simon and dozens more are revealed here with wit and insight. Just enough gossip to make it juicy, I was never bored reading this memoir. I do wish O'Brien was a little more exact about the specifics of directing and I wonder why he was so shy about his personal life (we get nothing except he loves his dog). O'Brien doesn't even talk about his mega-hit HAIRSPRAY among other hits, but there's enough here to please any theatre lover.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very entertaining memoir of the acclaimed theater director, Jack O'Brien, who has worked with many of the "greats". You'll get stories of Sondheim, Simon, Lloyd Weber, Houseman, Nichols, and many others. This book replicates what it might be like to sit down with a theatrical legend in a restaurant around the corner from the theater and listen to him regale with you with his greatest anecdotes, and, yes, occasional advice on how to make theatrical productions "work."

[Tom O’Leary · Rating 5 out of 5]

JACK IN THE BOX by award-winning director Jack O’Brien is a highly entertaining and also thoughtful reminiscence of his stellar career as a theater director non paralleled. His chapter on interpreting the work of Tom Stoppard is a must read for lovers of the theater and for budding directors out there. I loved every minute of this. Bravo!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any time I see Jack O'Brien as the director of a play, I do my best to see it. His work is always polished, thoughtful, and revelatory. This book balances history, technique and gossip and is a must-read for any theater fans or students. All the players are here.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know enough about live theater to appreciate many of Jack's memories, unfortunately. But I found it interesting that Jerry Lewis on-stage would throw a cane into the air and catch it behind his back.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Neil Simon chapter is the least interesting ... one of the most overrated twentieth-century Americans!

[Lynnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful memoir with quite a few tips on directing too. He is one of the greats in my opinion.

[Bargle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program.

Very interesting. A good look at the kind of things that go on in the life of a director. How you can work very hard on something and the "auteur" decides it stinks, it's all wrong and you have to start all over again. How stars can get the frights and try to abandon things shortly before the premiere. Mainly, you pick it up and go on anyway and try to make something great out it. it happens a lot more than you might think.