The Honourable Beast: A Posthumous Autobiography

This collection of diary entries, letters, production notebooks and memos is less an autobiography than a freewheeling journey through the mind of Tony Award-winning stage and opera director John Dexter, acclaimed for such productions as M. Butterfly and Equus . Dexter (1925-1990) was connected with the Royal Court and National theaters in London as well as with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where he had a tumultous tenure as director of productions from 1974 to 1981. His comments on the theater people he worked with show that while he could be ingratiating when it was required by prima donnas, he was generally difficult, bitchy--and inspired. Especially revealing are Dexter's remarks on the state of the theater in the U.S. and England, and his frank accounts of his disputes with the Metropolitan Opera conductor, James Levine, and playwright Peter Shaffer. Nevertheless, this conglomeration of writings assembled after his death will be confusing for readers who are not familiar with Dexter's circle of theatrical personalities and their power struggles. Photos not seen by PW . (Sept.)