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Title: INVALUABLE PHOTOGRAPHS, NOT TEXT
Review: Sure, Jerome Robbins was one of the few genius innovators in theatre and ballet. But, perhaps, a book written by someone interested in the man's flaws as well as his accomplishments, his failures as well as his triumphs, might have been better reading. Cristine Conrad says in her author's note that she was Robbins' friend for more than 30 years. To my way of thinking, her friendship gets in the way of good reporting. I'm not necessarily looking for a hatchet job on Robbins, but a writer less interested in (what we used to call) brown-nosing, would, most likely, have written a richer book.Why did I give it even four stars? The huge, varied collection of photographs in this book is fascinating and invaluable for anyone interested in Musical Theatre or 20th Century American Ballet.The real, full version of Robbins' life is yet to be written/published.
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