ON BOOKSHELVES

Broadway Babylon
Boze Hadleigh
Backstage Books, $24.95, hardcover
***1/2

Fittingly subtitled “Glamour, Glitz, and Gossip on the Great White Way,” Hadleigh (author of numerous other show business tomes such as Celebrity Feuds and The Lavendar Screen) has lovingly assembled a trove of dishy nuggets about theatrical royalty of the past century. Nearly every Broadway scandal you’ve ever heard (the tormented lives of gay playwrights Tennessee Williams and William Inge, Ethel Merman’s “scalding tongue,” the legendary tantrums of producer David Merrick) is included, as well as some unfamiliar (Hadleigh speculates on a Boys in the Band curse that led to the premature demise of most of the original cast). Pages of pithy, witty quotes from actors and critics punctuate the succinct chapters, making this a leisurely read. While the stories are often sensational, Hadleigh is never mean spirited and he delivers insider gossip in such a conversational style, including parenthetical asides to the reader, that it’s easy to overlook the occasional misattribution and lack of textual documentation. This is savory reading for any theater buff. —JEREMY KINSER

Ethel Merman: A Life
Brian Fellow
Viking, $24.95, hardcover
****

Theater is one of those ephemeral arts that leaves little of record to explain its magic—except for dated TV clips and pale film versions. It survives in the memories of those who saw legends like Ethel Merman live, but eventually lands in the archives. ‘The Merm’ was a show biz phenomenon: with a trumpet voice—great composers like Gershwin, Porter, and Berlin loved her delivery—and an incredible center-stage self assurance. When asked about stage fright, she would say: “Why should I have it? I know my lines.” She was the Queen of Broadway for decades—until star-driven musicals were replaced by pre-sold packages. The author does a bang-up job of bringing Merman to life, going beyond the usual ‘then she was in this, then that,’ creating a flesh and blood theater Gypsy, a demon for perfection who made sure that cast and crew got credit too (as long as they got out of her way). Married four times— once to Ernest Borgnine, of all people—her biggest love affair really was with her loyal audiences. She never quite delivered her incandescence in films or live TV, perhaps because she was just too big for the little camera. Some considered her stupid, but she actually was theater savvy with little interest in anything more than a stone’s throw from Broadway. We’ll not see anyone like her or what she represented again. —HARRY EUGENE BALDWIN

LIMITED RUN

The Hardest (Working) Man in Showbiz

Blessed with a well-endowed “talent,” Ron Jeremy, starring in recent reality TV shows on VH1, presents and signs his autobiography which provides an entertaining deep insider's view into the porn industry and its emergence into popular culture. Book Soup. Fri., Feb. 1. 7 p.m. www.booksoup.com.

The Savages: Shooting Script

Screenwriter/director Tamara Jenkins presents and signs the official screenplay book tie-in to her film, which shows rival siblings (Oscar nominee Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman) forced to live together as their domineering father suffers from dementia and must live in a senior facility. Book Soup. Sun., Feb. 3. 4 p.m. www.booksoup.com.

I'm Looking Through You

Fleeting images in the mirror, creaking stairs and the whisper of human voices were everyday occurrences at the Pennsylvania home of Jennifer Finney Boylan in the 1970s. She discusses her latest memoir about growing up in a haunted house and making peace with ghosts. A Different Light Bookstore. Mon., Feb. 11. 7:30 p.m. www.adlbooks.com.

Sex for America: Politically Inspired Erotica

Stephen Elliot, who has a taste for the politically erect, discusses provocative stories of sexual freedom, including an encounter between a lesbian and a young man shipping off to war as well as a liberal staffer falling for the wife of a Republican senator. Skylight Books. Fri., Feb. 8. 7:30 p.m. www.skylightbooks.com.

HOMO MUST

The Promising Series

Introducing the next generation of LGBT writers in Los Angeles, series curator Noël Alumit reads his most recent novel, Talking to the Moon, filmmaker Hilary Goldberg discusses her latest documentary, In the Spotlight, and Frederick Smith presents his second novel Right Side of the Wrong Bed. A Different Light Bookstore. Wed., Feb. 13. 7:30 p.m. www.adlbooks.com.