
Somewhere
The Life of Jerome Robbins
Amanda Vaill(Author)
Weidenfeld & Nicolson (Publisher)
Published on 8. February 2007
Book
Hardback
720 pages
978-0-297-84797-7 (ISBN)
Description
This is the first full-scale biography of what Time Magazine called a 'made-in-the-USA genius' Jerome Robbins (1918-98) helped change American theatre forever with his choreography for Leonard Bernstein's musical On the Town (the one about the three sailors during the course of twenty-four hours in New York City). On Broadway, Robbins virtually invented the concept musical in which music, action and dancing are woven into a seamless whole. His life reflects the creative format of the post-war years, intersecting with the likes of Arthur Miller, Irving Berlin, W.H. Auden, Leonard Bernstein and George Balachine. His work includes The King and I, Pajama Game, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy and, most famously, West Side Story. Robbins was part of other important 20th century narratives: the grim drama of the McCarthy blacklist; the emergence of gay culture; the epic of immigrant assimilation. A guarded and secretive man, Robbins had virtually no magazine profiles and no biography in his lifetime, but in 1998 Amanda Vaill was given unprecedented and unique access to Robbins' letters, diaries and meticulously kept journals.
This has resulted in a detailed, densely populated narrative with a strong and charismatic central figure - a book that makes readers feel that they are experiencing an extraordinary time for themselves.
This has resulted in a detailed, densely populated narrative with a strong and charismatic central figure - a book that makes readers feel that they are experiencing an extraordinary time for themselves.
Reviews / Votes
'lovingly researched... It would take Woody Allen at his most acerbic to do justice to Robbins's life' LITERARY REVIEW 'absorbing biography of the choreographer Jerome Robbins' -- Rupert Christiansen THE SPECTATOR 'the in-depth biography of the man who changed musical theatre... a phenomenal career at an extraordinary time in American history.' DAILY EXPRESS 'Vaill is an elegant writer... she presents her detailed account sympathetically but does not shy away from [Robbins'] faults.' IRISH NEWSMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Orion Publishing Co
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 50 mm
Weight
1120 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-297-84797-7 (9780297847977)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition

Book
Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
€44.78
The article will not be published
Person
Amanda Vaill's first book Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy - A Lost Generation Love Story was a New York Times bestseller and was nominated for the National Book Critics Award. Formerly Amanda was an executive editor at Viking Penguin in New York.