Books by "John Adams Lee"
4 books found
Stephen Sayre’s career was far more remarkable for its diversity than for its success. At one time or another, Sayre was a soldier, merchant, banker, shipbuilder, politician, speculator, propagandist, diplomat, and inventor. He was also considered by some, as John Alden relates, “a wicked schemer, a fool, a madman, an embezzler, and a traitor.” Following the dizzying course of Sayre’s career, this biography reveals a vast panorama of life, both high and low, in the era of the American Revolution. Sayre frequented the polite society of England, Europe, and New York; twice married into a wealthy English family; and was elected for a term as sheriff of London. He also consorted with the actress Sophia Baddeley, one of the most notorious women of the time; was arrested and confined in the Tower of London for allegedly plotting to kidnap the king; and spent twenty months in a debtors’ prison. If there was one constant in Sayre’s life, it was his involvement in revolutionary politics. He was a fearless advocate of colonial rights in England, and after the outbreak of war in America he traveled to Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia to seek support for the revolution. Years later, he was an enthusiastic supporter of France’s revolution. Working as an agent for the new French regime, he tried to secure it financial aid, promoted a scheme to purchase American weapons for the French army, argued for a French attack on Spanish Louisiana, and was active in diplomatic efforts to stave off war between Britain and France. Eventually, the turmoil of events in Paris drove away even as devoted a supporter as Sayre. He returned to America, where he continued to argue the cause of the French Revolution and quickly gained a reputation as an extremist. Engaging in the politics of the new American republic, Sayre assailed conservative forces in the nation, in particular the emerging Federalist party. He devoted much of his energy in later years to a persistent but unrewarded attempt to secure a post within the federal government and to somewhat more successful attempts to obtain payment for his past services to his country. In time he moved to Virginia to live with his stepson; he died there in 1818. From the beginning of his career, Stephen Sayre aspired to wealth, social position, and political influence. At various points in his life he achieved each of these goals, but finally they all eluded him. An outstanding patriot, Sayre was far too erratic in his behavior, far too mercurial a personality ever to be counted as a father of his country. He is better remembered as a kind of principled rogue, an adventurer in the service of his own ambitions and those of his country.
(Theatre World). Highlights of this new Theatre World , now in its 58th year, include Mamma Mia! with Louise Pitre; Thoroughly Modern Millie starring Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster; the downtown-moves-uptown triumph Urinetown starring Sutton's sibling Hunter Foster and John Cullum; the one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty ; the Tony Award-winner for Best Play, Edward Albee's The Goat ; Topdog/Underdog , the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Suzan-Lori Parks, the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer for drama; the revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives ; and Sweet Smell of Success starring John Lithgow. Some notable Off-Broadway productions of the season include Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things with Gretchen Mol, Paul Rudd and Rachel Weisz; Richard Greenberg's (Take Me Out) The Dazzle ; Jason Robert Brown's notable musical The Last Five Years ; tick, tick ... BOOM! , a musical by the late Jonathan Larson ( Rent ); Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul ; and Sam Shepard's The Late Henry Moss with Ethan Hawke. Theatre World, the statistical and pictorial record of the Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway seasons, touring companies, and professional regional companies throughout the United States, is a classic in its field. The book is complete with cast listings, replacements, producers, directors, authors, composers, opening and closing dates, and song titles. There are special sections with autobiographical data, obituary information, a longest runs listing, an expanded awards listing, and much, much more. "Nothing brings back a theatrical season better, or holds on to it more lovingly, than John Willis's Theatre World ." Harry Haun, Playbill " Theatre World commemorates the history and excitement of the theatre like no other publication. John Willis and his book are indispensable." Alec Baldwin