Full of bright,highly expressive illustrations and loaded with plenty of amusing "the-tah" in-jokes,this is a book that is equally geared to both young and adult readers. A real treat!

For anyone who loves the theatre and is either a kid, or one at heart (and who isn't) PAMELA'S FIRST MUSICAL is wonderful. Not only is the story great fun in an Aunty Mame-meets-Eloise kind of way, but it is filled with many of the recognizable greats of the Broadway stage. A book to read, to keep, and to give.

Wassertein scores! This winning story is full of incredible illustations and a wonderful story. A four-star hit!

Amazingly relevant to present days. Beautifully acted and written.

I enjoyed the play. I liked the way she utilized the use of the anwsering machine to tie together scenes. Definately something to sit down to read. Enjoy!

This is probably the funniest play I've read in years. Quick-witted characters, hilarious situtations - two thumbs way up for Ms. Wasserstein!

I saw this play in person, and just finished the book. Nothing better than great poetry made for our time. Highly recomend for those who who've seen it, or heard a review. Some of the plays are musical so they don't translate well to paper. One drawback.

Love's Fire embodies our perception of language. The spoken and unspoken voices of God, Love, Nature, and Humanity become the essential elements in this collection of one acts. Riveting and powerful, Love's Fire demands to be performed. Not only is the language spoken by the actors and heard by the audience, but the language of our contemporary masters blends with the master of language himself, William Shakespeare. As Love's Fire reinvigorates our grasp of language we come to an understanding that poems, sonnets, books, plays, spiritual songs, or body movements fuel the fire of love. An excellent piece of work by 7 masters who dedicated the collection to the Bard.

Shakespeare's inspired words talk to today's audience through the intriguing interpretations of master American playrights. Especially fascinating is John Guare's "The General of Hot Desire". These original works defy description...so read them...or better yet...perform them...and appreciate these unique literary gems in all their splendor.

I bought this book for light reading while traveling this summer. I understand that most of the pieces were put together for publications like New Yorker, Harper's, etc. But really, I think we could live without all the gratuitous name-dropping and constant self-loathing references to her weight problem. In addition Ms. Wasserstein makes it clear, through her sublimated anger, that she carries a grudge because she didn't realize her true potential as a female until she was grown. Hey, me too! It's the same old song, having to re-learn the rules of life as a woman with brains. Hey, me too! Get over it. If she would just get on with the stories, without the long and tedious set-up they might be amusing. But the road she takes us on is an old one. We women have all been down that road and back. Life goes on... Too bad she uses such references as crutches to prop up a lack of cutting edge wit and wisdom. Dorothy Parker, she ain't. This was a book I had a hard time picking up.

This book contains 25 essays, collected from The New York Times, The New Yorker, and a variety of other sources, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein. The book takes us on a funny yet touching roller-coaster ride from the devestating loss of a loved one to the joy of childbirth. Wasserstein is a very human narrator whose humor and heart allow her to take the most personal situation and make it into a universal truth.

Wendy Wasserstein's essays are thoughtful, smart, poignant, sometimes riotously funny, and kind. Like their author they are approachable and unpretentious. She explains in her Preface, " I seem to write continually about politics, the arts, and women's equality. But I am not ashamed of my concurrent interest in real estate, diet, and my mother." It is at the confluence of her dozen or so passions that one is so helplessly and happily drawn in.

Wasserstein's many concerns - all delightfully described - range from the ridiculous (dieting, Manhattan real estate, Hollywood stars) to the sublime: family (especially Mom and sisters), friends, personal history, New York theater (she adores it, and has since childhood), the importance of art to education and to life. "For children, the arts are not simply icing on the cake. They are a way of including everyone in a joint, and joyous, venture." In addition: love, loyalty, and the terrific inner (and outer) life of their author. She has a lot of great friends, and they say some very funny things sometimes. She has never married, and has a take on that state of affairs that is a pleasure to read.

Wasserstein chronicles the harrowing (because premature and complicated, necessitating many good doctors and a group of supportive friends ) birth of her daughter - and the months following - in " Days of Awe: The Birth of Lucy Jane," a piece that is at once poignant, full of information, and at times, so funny as to provoke a side ache.

The Wasserstein family of origin is a constant source of humor and is reflected upon with tenderness that is never cloying - just full of love.

I loved this collection and marvel at the ability of its author to talk so smartly and passionately about herself, to care deeply about improving the world, and to work toward that end - while at the same time conveying quite clearly to the reader that when she's through, she'll be right there - in order to hear what might be your own very interesting story. A great read.

The Heidi Chronicles is a fabulous play that so many "open the door for yourself" women can relate to. However, this as well as all of Wasserstein's plays miss the point if they are only read. The true nuances in the text lend themsleves to being performed. Without seeing the play performed, you still do not have a true grasp of the story.

Heidi is the girl we all want to grow up and be or for our daughters to grow up and be. She has the strength of character that in no way makes her sacrifice charm and romance. A head turning, thought-provoking, ideal story for all of us. It is something we can achieve even if life passes us a hard lot. This shows that life can be fun at any age.

Having read this book, I can certainly understand why Wendy Wasserstein has made an established name for herself. The three plays are a testament to Ms Wasserstein's talent, with each play exhibiting more insight and depth. Would love to see these plays performed.

Reading a play by Wendy Wasserstien is always a delight, but even though all of her writings are to be savored, The Sisters Rosensweig exhibits an important mark in the author's maturing style. In spite of this maturation, however, the story line never grows stale and Ms. Wasserstein never fails to draw from her reader a smile and a laugh, and give to give us a refreshed sense of the type of person we want to be--it's self-help through fiction!

The Sisters Rosensweig follows the reunion of three Jewish sisters who come together for a visit in Queen Anne's Gate, London, and the joys and struggles they share concerning romance, careers, childhood, and family--joys and struggles with which we all identify, not only as women but as human beings. Thank you, Ms. Wasserstien, for another delightful treat!

There were certainly some insightful essays in this book. The problem was I expected more humor, and it just wasn't there. As a result, the book doesn't have alot of value as something I'd reread over again. With the exception of two essays - one about a bar mitzvah she attended, and one about the Balkans, most of the book just wasn't all that interesting. Well written, technically, but somewhat dull. And I got tired of some of the self-congratulatory remarks and stories about her plays.

This book is a very fast read because it is a collection of twenty-nine short episodes from a "bachelor girl's" life. Wasserstein speculates on these episodes in an informal manner, as if she's writing in her journal, but her language carries a somewhat academic tone.

This book is intellectually amusing in some places because of Wasserstein's clever insights, but it certainly isn't laugh-out-loud funny. Most "bachelor girls" will probably be able to relate to a couple of her experiences, but I found a lot of the episodes and insights to be unique to Wasserstein's life and not exactly universal in their appeal.

"Bridget Jones's Diary" is a much more humorous and satisfying read, but "Bachelor Girls" does have its virtues. Brevity is one of them. Also, "Bachelor Girls" does tend to inspire a reading "bachelor girl" to think about her own experiences and bounce them off the insights provided by Wasserstein.

Overall, this is a good read to pass the time with, but it is about 2 stars short of my desirable standard. I expected it to contain more humor, more universal appeal, and more cohesive chapters.

I enjoyed this novel. The chapters are very humerous and honest - Ms. Wasserstein clearly enjoys laughing at herself. My best friend read my copy, as did my sister, mother, and grandmother. Everyone reported rave reviews for Wasserstein's talent. My copy of Bachelor Girks was last seen with my college professor, and I hope that it continues to circulate.

There are two storylines in this play, both set at an old mansion in Manhattan. One occurs in the present (they're putting on a party at the mansion), the other occurs in the early 1900s. The people in the present are supposedly rude and unrefined, those in the past are portrayed as better bred, etc. Both stories are about the same old family and could be said to be woven together because scenes from each occur side by side and the characters in each are played by the same actors.

Most of the plays I read are in French, so I was interested in sticking my nose into an American drama. Unfortunately, I chose OLD MONEY. I don't know how this play would come across when acted out, but on paper it is totally confusing and yawn inspiring. People from the past hop on stage to chat with people in the present, but wait -- perhaps they're also in the past. Or they're in both the past and the present. Or neither. But take heart, it often appears that the characters themselves don't know -- they ask each other, "Are you really here?"

Well, dear reader, I no longer am, and I strongly suggest that you don't show up in the first place.

"Old Money" might be a great play when you see it but it certainly doesn't come across as one when you read it. Set physically in a mansion in New York, temporally it jumps back and forth from the days of WWI to the end of the 20th century. Both story lines are occurring during a summertime party. Each actor plays a role in the contemporary story and another one in the historical plot. While times may change people stay the same, the 'in' crowd tries to keep their underlings down be it those without money (modern times) or those without breeding (the past). Youth rebels against age and non-conformists must be shown the error of their ways.

Sounds confusing? Don't worry it isn't just you, it really is confusing. This is a nifty idea that was badly written in the play and comes of as a theatrical trick more than as a telling reminder of the stability of human nature. The fact that one character actually knows the people from both eras and often talks to the past while in the present is even more annoying. Sometime the people from the present respond as if they were in the past and some times they just seem confused themselves.

All in all I read the pay but I would not suggest that anyone else do the same.