One can't help but laugh from beginning to end.Yet the argument is very sombre,and could have been the argument of the most grim drama of a German playwriter. It's the wit of Coward, his genius of combining the petty ridiculous whit the dramatic that makes this drama just perfect.Coward's practical views on the supernatural are absolutely irresistible. A must for the occult believer and for the skeptic as well!

The performances are top-notch in this hilarious British comedy. When the ghost of a dead wife is unleashed on his household by a wacky clairvoyant a man must struggle to meet the demands of all wives, both dead and alive. Noel Coward's comedy is fill with plenty of laughs. The sound quality of this cassette is excellent. If you like books on tape you should try all that L.A. Theatre Works has to offer.

Moon Over Buffalo, is a refreshingly hilarious script. Once I began to read it, I could not put it down. It is a fast paced, farce that captures the attention of anyone reading it. It is just as fast on stage, and was a wonderful production. With a simple set, and a great varity of characters any group from a college theatre club to a community theatre can pull it off. It was a joy to direct, and I was told it was a joy to act in. I highly recommend it. Read it, Watch it, or Perform it, anyway you are promised a hit.

When you are reading a book or a script, do you find yourself bored, or rarely interrested? Well, I never laugh out loud while reading and I about died from it after reading this script. It is THE funniest play I have EVER read and I reccomend it to any theater company... except maybe a children's company. There is no lack of raunchy sex jokes and misunderstood situations. George and Charlotte Hay, a famous acting couple, are doing Rep. at a sham theater in Buffalo, New York. They are horribly upset that director Frank Capra in Hollywood has not chosen them to star in his new movie, "The Twilight of the Scarlet Pimpernel."
In the mean time, Charlotte finds out from Richard Maynard (a lawyer friend of the Hay's who continually tries to sweep Charlotte off her feet) that their company isn't making the payroll and their financial situation is quite serious. In the meantime Paul, Charlotte and George's stage manager, tries to find George and tell him that he has impregnated Eileen, an actress in the company. In the midst of all the chaos, Rosalind, George and Charlotte's daughter, has come to tell the family that she is getting married and has brought her fiancee (the rather nerdy weather man, Howard.) to meet the family (who unfortunately meets him, first. Ethel, her slightly deaf grandma, for example). Paul happens to be an old flame of Roz's. In fact, they were almost married, but Roz wanted to lead a normal life. Charlotte finds out that her husband has been sleeping with Eileen and all hell breaks loose when George disappears, then shows up drunk as a skunk a half hour before the matinee. This play is an absolute riot. It's a big audience pleaser, and good for a laugh if you just need something funny to read.

Move over Kate and Leo! Why go all the way to the Titanic when all the really interesting English romances occur at the Milford railway junction? "Brief Encounter" was simply meant to be a small art house film but instead it struck a certain chord in both England and America. Written by Noel Coward ("Mad Dogs and Englishmen") and directed by David Lean ("Doctor Zhivago," "Lawrence of Arabia"), the film represents the ascetic, upright, emotionally restrained lives of the people living in pre-WWII Britain (1938-1939). It concerns the doomed love affair between a married, suburban housewife, Laura, and an equally suburban and married doctor, Alec. Unlike "Madame Bovary," both characters hold no illusions: they know that they are middle-aged and unimpressive people, unable to be drawn to the extremes of emotion enough to defy society. It is a story of two undistinguished, but unhappy people who found each other but could not have each other. With its simple plot, drab setting, but intricate dialogue, it was honored with an Oscar nomination in 1947. If you just cannot refuse an art film, a classic film, or a foreign film, this screenplay deserves more than just a brief encounter.

Life and its twists and turns at its best. I loved Annette Bening in this play.

This sophisticated and revealing comedy supposes a middle-age reunion in as Vegas between Noel Coward and Esme Wynne-Tyson, his real life, oldest, closest, and most exacting female friend. I strongly recommend it.

This book not only takes a fresh and thoroughly readable look at two extraordinary lives -- it also includes some excellent assessments of their songs. I've read most everything published on these two men and found this book worthwhile and highly enjoyable. If only all composer bios were so intelligently handled!

The twenty stories contained within the 630 pages of this, mostly entertaining, collection were typically about life in, and around, the theater. Some were of a personal nature concerning Noel's philosophy of life: which was something of being an Ockhamist's and he was also anti-altruistic. He seemed influenced in a proginal sense by Saki; a dialectical sense by Wilde; and an antagonistic sense by Waugh. The stories ranged from being very good (Bon Voyage and What Mad Pursuit) to very bad (Traveler's Joy and Stop Me if You've Heard It). The most personal, concerning the purpose of life, was "Nature Study" which was enlightening and Noel gave a very simple definition of his philosophy there. The, perhaps, most personal account of his own life was "A Richer Dust" the meaning of which may only be known by Noel and was not a great story. I give the book as a whole four and a half stars. I really hated some of the stories, others were too schmaltzy, but half of them were pretty funny.

BEVIS HILLIER - The Spectator: "In the LYRICS something close to genius flares out;it is his songs that make Coward immortal...This collection is illustrated with a pleasing choice of photographs of Coward and his friends,song-sheet covers and programmes. The effect is of a personal scrapbook...The second merit is the formidably good editing by BARRY DAY. His notes to often rather-light songs are so learned...it is useful to get sorted out,once and for all,the extent of Coward's collaboration with Kern and to hear from different artists about auditioning for Coward or the premieres of his songs."

These short stories have aged quite well, and are still enjoyable even as they approach being one hundred years old! My personal favorite: "The Interlopers" --- one of the greatest short stories ever written! Saki captures life in late Victorian England exceptionally well, and his humor is evident in nearly everything he writes. I love this book!

The short stories of Saki are brilliantly written, exercises in prose art. Most stories are short and intricate pieces, and often _very_ humorous. The stories that feature Reginald and Clovis are among the funniest; other stories ('the mappined life') are almost gruesome in their ferosity and intensity. It is a real shame that the author did not make it through World War I, he could have written so many more fine stories. As it is, we will have to do with the 130+ stories in this book, which I can read over and over. Recommended to the extreme.

Saki's short (and, in general, they are VERY short) stories are masterpieces of wit and social comment. Although they are all set in the Europe (in general, England) that existed prior to the First World War (in which the author was killed), they remain fresh today; the period and location can usually be identified, but the point of the humor is timeless. The overall high quality is illustrated by the fact that, if you ask two dozen Saki aficionados to name their one favorite story, you'll probably get a dozen different answers.

Saki is one of those authors who was a master of the short story, but not of longer genres. The novels and plays lack the tight construction of his stories. The collection still gets five stars, however, because the stories alone would be a bargain at twice the price of this volume.

I read and reviewed this book for my on-line theater magazine -- The new off-Broadway musical about Coward's friendship with Gertrude Lawrence draws much material from this book as well so I found myself referring back to it for my write-up of that show -- both show and book are particularly timely as the Coward centennial celebrations get into full swing.

coward's longtime companion graham payn probably comes as close to coward as anyone ever will. he manages to artfully weave the details of his own life with a plethora of new anecdotes -- and old -- about sir noel. the added bonus is the appendices containing previously unpublished coward works, including a tenth play [!] written for "tonight at 8:30".

well worth your time...

"An engrossing portrait of this world famous and immensely gifted man,chronicled so frankly by his closest friend...A most vivid account of his career after the Second World war" - JOHN GIELGUD"I greatly doubt if anything written about the Master will ever be as fascinating,as perceptive,as amusing or as touching as Graham Payn's loving portrait." - RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH"It's simply terrific !...So funny and so sensitive." - ELAINE STRITCH"Stories I never heard before bringing Noel vividly to life." - LAUREN BACALL"I greatly doubt if anything written about the Master will ever be as fascinating,as perceptive,as amusing or as touching as Graham Payn's loving portrait." - RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH"It's simply terrific !...So funny and so semsitive" - ELAINE STRITCH"Stories I never heard before bring Noel vividly to life." - LAUREN BACALL