Master of Ceremonies: A Memoir by Joel Grey (Audio book)

Joel Grey, the Tony and Academy Award-winning Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret, finally tells his remarkable life story.

Synopsis -

Born Joel David Katz to a wild and wooly Jewish American family in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1932, Joel began his life in the theater at the age of nine, starting in children's theater and then moving to the main stage. He was hooked, and his seven-decades-long career charts the evolution of American entertainment - from Vaudeville performances with his father, Mickey Katz, to the seedy, gangster-filled nightclubs of the '40s, the bright lights of Broadway and dizzying glamour of Hollywood, and juggernaut musicals like Cabaret, Chicago, and Wicked.

Master of Ceremonies is a memoir of a life lived in and out of the limelight, but it is also the story of the man behind the stage makeup. Coming of age in a time when being yourself tended to be not only difficult but also dangerous, Joel had to act both on and off the stage. He spent his high school years sleeping with the girls next door while carrying on a scandalous affair with an older man. Romances with to-die-for Vegas showgirls were balanced with late-night liaisons with like-minded guys until finally Joel fell in love and married a talented and beautiful woman, started a family, and had a pretty much picture-perfect life. But 24 years later, when the marriage dissolved, Joel had to once again find his place in a world that had radically changed.

Drawing back the curtain on a career filled with showstopping numbers, larger-than-life stars, and even singing in the shower with Bjork, Master of Ceremonies is also a portrait of an artist coming to terms with his evolving identity. When an actor plays a character, he has to find out what makes him who he is - his needs, dreams, and fears. It's a difficult thing to do, but sometimes the hardest role in an actor's life is that of himself. Deftly capturing the joy of performing as well as the pain and secrets of an era we have only just started to leave behind, Joel's story is one of love, loss, hard-won honesty, redemption, and success.

Review - 

I was looking for the next interesting memoir to read when I stumbled across actor Joel Grey's 2016 memoir - Master of Ceremonies. As always, I prefer an audio book for memoirs as I love hearing the author's voice. So much emotion and personality come through that isn't as easy to hear in a print book. 

I knew so little about Grey other than his role in the movie version of Cabaret.  Fortunately he is a great story teller, creating pictures with his words that make you feel like you are there with him.  I loved the moments he choice - both fabulous and hard - and the honesty he brought to his story telling, right down to admitting his faults and missteps. As a man, he was a product of the times he grew up in - the attitude towards men and women's roles, anti-Semitism, and the need to hide your sexuality if outside the norm to assure acceptance, a career, and personal safety.  All he craved was a wife and children (a route most gay men took at the time), and a successful career on stage. He achieved both, but it wasn't easy.

His road to stardom was long and winding, with many highs and lows.  Breaking through seemed impossible at times. Then Cabaret came along and instantly his life changed. His career took off, and somewhere along the way his marriage fell apart. Times had shifted and he slowly began to embrace his sexuality, starting with a role in a play.  

Fascinating, honest, and a great look back at how things were, as well as how they shifted. 

Buy the Book:  Amazon US ~ Amazon CA

Meet the Author - 

Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret on Broadway and in Bob Fosse's 1972 film adaptation. He has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award for his performances in the Cabaret stage musical and film. He earned the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award at the 76th Tony Awards in 2023.

Grey's Tony-nominated roles include for the musical George M! (1968), Goodtime Charley (1975), and The Grand Tour (1979). After portraying Amos Hart in the Broadway revival of Chicago (1996), he originated the role of the Wizard of Oz in the musical Wicked (2003) and played Moonface Martin in the 2011 revival of Anything Goes. He co-directed the 2011 revival of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart with George C. Wolfe, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play.

He earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture nomination for his role in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985). His other film roles include in Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976), Kafka (1991), The Music of Chance (1993), The Fantasticks (2000), and Dancer in the Dark (2000). He earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Brooklyn Bridge (1993). He also acted in Oz (2003), Alias (2005), House (2006), Nurse Jackie (2011), and The Old Man (2022).