[NEohioPAL] Performing Arts Books at Cleveland Public Library

[Donald Boozer]

The following books pertaining to the performing arts are just a sampling of the variety available from the Literature Department at Cleveland Public Library. We encourage you to stop by and browse our collection. The Literature Department is located on the second floor of the Main Library, downtown Cleveland, at East Sixth Street and Superior Avenue. Click on the link provided to access the library’s catalog and reserve any of these titles. For more information, visit our location, call 216-623-2881, or email us at literature <at> cpl.org.

The Body in Hollywood Slapstick
Alex Clayton
McFarland, 2007
(PN1995.9.C55 C58 2007)
http://www.cpl.org/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?isbn=9780786430635
(Link includes table of contents)
"Because they rely heavily on physical comedy, many Hollywood slapstick films can be understood as comic meditations on the place and nature of the human body. Focusing on the works of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Laurel and Hardy, among others, this book examines ways that the body represents or interacts with the mind, setting, voice and machines in slapstick films. Also covered are female performances in slapstick and brutality and suffering in the slapstick tradition." -- from book jacket

Film Clowns of the Depression: Twelve Defining Comic Performances
Wes D. Gehring
McFarland, 2007
(PN1995.9.C55 G424 2007)
http://www.cpl.org/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?isbn=9780786428922
(Link includes cover art and table of contents)
"This book examines clown comedy of the Depression-era film. In its detailed coverage of twelve memorable pictures, it reveals the brilliance and ingenuity behind the work of masters from Chaplin to Laurel and Hardy to Joe E. Brown. Their clown characters demonstrated a resilience that was desperately needed during the Depression and can still be greatly appreciated today." "The films discussed are City Lights (1931, Chaplin), The Kid From Spain (1932, Eddie Cantor), She Done Him Wrong (1933, Mae West), Duck Soup (1933, Marx Brothers), Sons of the Desert (1933, Laurel and Hardy), Judge Priest (1934, Will Rogers), It's a Gift (1934, W.C. Fields), Alibi Ike (1935, Joe E. Brown), A Night at the Opera (1935, Marx Brothers), Modern Times (1936, Chaplin), Way Out West (1937, Laurel and Hardy), and The Cat and the Canary (1939, Bob Hope)." -- from book jacket

The Great Radio Sitcoms
Jim Cox
McFarland, 2007
(PN1991.8.C65 C69 2007)
http://www.cpl.org/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?isbn=9780786431465
(Link includes cover art)
"In January 12, 1926, radio audiences heard the first exchanges of wit and wisdom between "Sam 'n' Henry" - the verbal jousters who would evolve into Amos 'n' Andy and whose broadcasts launched the radio sitcom. Here is a detailed look at 20 of the most popular such sitcoms that aired between the mid-1920s and early 1950s, the three-decade heyday of radio. Each series is discussed from an artistic and historical standpoint, with attention to the program's character development and style of comedy as well as its influence on other shows. The work provides complete biographical profiles of each sitcom's stars as well as several actors whose careers consisted primarily of supporting roles in these popular broadcasts. Appendices include an abbreviated summary of thirteen sitcoms beyond those discussed in the main body of the book, and a comprehensive list of 170 radio sitcoms." -- from book jacket

Remember, books highlighted here can be borrowed through any CLEVNET library with the touch of a button. Whether you're from Cleveland, Sandusky, Twinsburg, or Orrville, just place a hold through the link provided and choose your library as the pickup location.
-- 
Donald Boozer
Subject Department Librarian
Cleveland Public Library
Literature Department
325 Superior Avenue East
Cleveland, OH 44114
Phone: 216-623-2881
Fax: 216-623-7050
dboozer at cpl.org
http://www.cpl.org