Theatre is all about storytelling.  So in the spirit of storytelling, we’ve put together our staff’s list of favorite books to read; whether it’s historical fiction, self-improvement, or of course…scripts!  Enjoy!

Sean Murray
Artistic Director
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic by Gordon S. Wood
“After seeing Hamilton, I realized that I really didn’t have a good sense of how this country formed itself after the Revolution. This is a thick and thorough history and totally absorbing and fascinating.”

Rob Lutfy
Associate Artistic Director
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
“It’s set in the marshes of the North Carolina coast and Reese Witherspoon recommended it. I found it an enjoyable murder mystery thriller. The author’s unsurpassed knowledge of the natural world is more than matched by her beautiful descriptive poetic prose. Her insightful observations on our society, on relationships, love, prejudice, racism and sexism are intermingled with a fast paced and gripping story which takes us on an emotional journey that is set in the 30’s through to the 70’s.”

AND

A Giacometti Portrait by James Lord
“This was the perfect book to read before sleep at night. Every chapter is a different sitting between one of my favorite painter’s and his subject. The artist painted, and the model recorded the sittings and took photographs of the work in its various stages. What emerged was an illumination of what it is to be an artist and what it was to be Giacometti. It’s a quick read, but an honest peek into what every artist struggles with when creating.”

Autumn Doermann
Marketing Director
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
“I’m a huge fan of Lisa See’s work and this book was no exception. A beautifully written historical fiction novel, it’s the wonderful, bittersweet story of Li-Yan,a young Chinese woman from the minority Akha tribe in the mountains of Yunnan Province in China. I was reading this during our production of The Great Leap which made it even more special.”

Laurel Withers
Development Associate
The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish.
“An excellent book!  I read a lot, and this is one I really enjoyed.  It is historical fiction, and has great characters too.  And one interesting thing about it is that a brief part of the story takes place during the Great Plague in London.  It actually makes you appreciate the situation we’re in now—that was REALLY an epidemic!  Makes this pale in comparison, but it does make you think.”

Rigo Vasquez
Office Manager
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
“This is an awesome book. I love it because it talks in detail about what we call ‘intuition’ and how people can hone that skill to make good snap decisions with limited details.”

John Olchak
Marketing Insights and Data Analyst
Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick
“A great character story of two Russian brothers, one accused of murder and one on an educational exchange in the United States trying to prove his brother is innocent. I met the author at a benefit luncheon and she told me she spent some time in Russia in the late 80s/early 90s so she wrote it from direct experience in the country.”

Jill Jones
Patron Services
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
“It’s a wonderfully funny and powerful book that I read at least once a year to help keep things in perspective. I highly recommend for the textbook over-thinkers or anyone who might be looking for a light pressure self help book. :)”

Not into books? We’ve got some alternate suggestions here!

Bill Schmidt
Executive Director
“I read Flipboard which is a magazine style app on my phone that pulls stories from NYT, Washington Post, The Atlantic, etc.  I read the MarketWatch website and financial magazine Barron’s.  I have subscribed to the LA Times to keep posted on what’s happening in CA regarding Covid19.  I also have coffee with Cuomo every morning and watch Newsom’s live press conference at noon.”

Craig Campbell
Production Manager
Scripts
“Mainly I have been reading plays.  Some are more current, others are older ones, that I’ve never had an opportunity to read. Three Tall Women by Edward Albee, The Paris Letter by Jon Robin Baitz, Stop Kiss by Diana Son, and Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen.”

Nil Noyan
Outreach and Events Manager
“I’m obsessed with TED Talks Daily Podcast on Spotify. News Break app keeps me informed with local as well as international news. During this quarantine Instagram Live interviews, mini concerts, chats, etc. are very entertaining to watch/listen!”