Book Review -- "On Stage and In Shadows"

[Midnite]

Ack, I have a handful of items I've been meaning to post and will begin with this one:

This review was published in the San Francisco Bay Area Reporter in September and is posted here with the permission of its author.


"A Life Well Lived in the Theatre"

On Stage And In Shadows
by Marie Wallace
iUniverse Press

     To millions of baby boomers who grew up in the 1960s, Marie Wallace is fondly remembered for the three roles she played on the spooky daytime soap opera Dark Shadows. But her career, and her life, encompass so much more.

     Marie Wallace grew up in a New York City that no longer exists, a city that can still be viewed in magical black and white images on Turner Classic Movies. The Broadway Theatre District was only a few miles downtown from home, and her love of the theatre began at an early age.

     In her new book, On Stage And In Shadows, Wallace shares her memories of a lifetime. A life of hard work, and of dedication to her craft. A life lived to the fullest. A life she greatly enjoyed.

     What's most noticeable about the book is how warm and personable it is. It's as though the author were inviting the reader over for a cup of coffee. It's a beautifully written, almost conversational book, a delightful read from start to finish.

     On Stage And In Shadows is also an educational work. Anyone who might be considering a career in the theatre should read this book, as it will tell you just how hard a working actor's life can be, and what it takes to succeed in the often cuthroat theatre world. It's a life of constant travel, constant rejection, and constant change. Not a life for those with weak constitutions.

     But Marie Wallace was a resourceful and determined girl, and she made the theatre world work for her. She shares her memories or her early days as a print and runway model, and of her first Broadway show, in the chorus of Gypsy with the great Ethel Merman. During this period she also supported Jimmy Durante in his nightclub act. Her memories of working with such theatre greats are a delight, and a hint of what was to come.

     Marie Wallace's credits are impressive. She toured the country in dozens of shows, and, after Gypsy, appeared on Broadway seven more times. She played Ursula in Sweet Charity, directed by and starring the legendary Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. Also in the cast was a young unknown comedian named Ruth Buzzi (Laugh In) who became a lifelong friend. Wallace shares her warm memories of sitting backstage with Buzzi, sewing, laughing, engaging in "girl talk" And she gives us insight into the working lives of Fosse and Verdon, who created so much magical theatre.

     In one of the book's most moving passages, Wallace also displays the true meaning of the old adage "the show must go on". In the early 1970s, while appearing on the soap opera Somerset, her husband took ill. She rushed from the studio to his bedside. He passed away in her arms. A few days later, she dried her tears and returned to work.

     Dark Shadows fans will not be disappointed. An entire chapter of the book is devoted to the two years she spent on that groundbreaking daytime drama, and includes her technical approach to the three characters she played on it. She also includes her backstage memories of the Dark Shadows cast, many of whom are no longer with us.

     At the time, Dark Shadows was a wildly popular show, with a daily viewership of 20,000,000. It was Wallace's one dose of true fame, and she delighted in the support she got from fans, a few of whom she corresponds with to this very day!

     One wonders why Marie Wallace didn't become a bigger name. She is a superb actress who worked constantly for three decades. In the 1970s she played Crystal, the Joan Crawford role, in a Broadway revival of The Women, and followed that as Jackie Gleason's leading lady in a touring company of the play Sly Fox.

     But Wallace took her career, and her life, in stride, and went wherever fate took her. More recently she has put acting on the back burner to concentrate on her new love, photography. Currently the staff photographer at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, she has also exhibited many of her New York landscape photos at art galleries throughout the city.

     Marie Wallace is a survivor and a trouper. Her superb book is a must read for anyone with more than a passing interest in the theatre. Illustrated with many photos from the author's private collection, it is a time capsule of a wonderful time and place that will never be again.

     For more info, please visit MarieWallace.com

----------------------David Nahmod    

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[Mary Elizabeth]

That was a good review. I'll have to go pick up the book!!

[PennyDreadful]

Nice review!  Thanks for sharing it!

[Nancy]

Lovely review, thanks for posting it Midnite.

My only comment is that common thinking does equate being a "big" name with the ultimate success.  However, I would submit that loving what you do and being able to do it is the ultimate success career-wise, not necessarily everyone in the world knowing about you.

Nancy

[michael c]

thanks midnite,

i'll look for the book as well.when i met marie at the fest last year i found her to be delightful.i always enjoy her characterizations even when i don't love the storyline(adam/eve).

it's funny when one's interest in d.s. spills over into other areas of one's life like choice of reading material.
this past year i read 'the bennetts an acting family' which is certainly not something i would have read if not for joan's participation in the show as i've seen few of joan's and none of constance bennett's movies.
the same goes for diana millay's book on the history of halloween.it's not really a subject i'm terribly interested in but the fact that it was written by ms.millay made it a 'must read'.

the same will go for marie's book.theaters' not my thing...but a book written by 'mad jenny collins' certainly has it's appeal.