‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: Christopher Jackson, Rita Wilson & Nia Vardalos. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Created by Eugene Pack
Developed & directed by Eugene Pack & Dayle Reyfel
Through August 16, 2026
Shubert Theatre
225 West 44th Street
https://celebrityautobiography.com/

By Scott Harrah

Originally created in 2006, Celebrity Autobiography gained a cult following through recurring engagements at the Triad Theatre Off Broadway after first being developed in Los Angeles, featuring famous actors and show-biz luminaries reading autobiographies, memoirs and poetry by other well-known entertainers. Two decades later, the show has arrived on Broadway with a rotating roster of boldface names. The show’s got a gimmick: Actors read excerpts from celebrity memoirs whose complete sincerity turns them into accidental camp. Since the celebrity lineup changes frequently, audiences should check the website or box office for current casting.

Pulp nonfiction

Bad books, like bad movies, can be unintentionally entertaining. As the late Susan Sontag wrote in Notes on “Camp,” “In naïve, or pure, Camp, the essential element is seriousness, a seriousness that fails.”

As a result, the books selected for the evening offer plenty of examples of the accidental camp Ms. Sontag described, with many of the celebrity memoir excerpts proving far funnier than their authors likely intended.

Celebrities in the readers theater roundup on opening night included morning TV talk-show icon Gayle King; Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz; Tony winner Andrea Martin; former “Saturday Night Live” stars Bobby Moynihan and Kenan Thompson; Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame; actresses Rita Wilson and Jackie Hoffman; Hamilton star Christopher Jackson; comedian Mario Cantone; TV actors Scott Adsit and Emmy winner Jeff Hiller; as well as Celebrity Autobiography creators Dayle Reyfel and Eugene Pack.

The cast at the performance this reviewer attended commits fully to the material and earns steady laughs from passages that often seem unintentionally ridiculous. Mr. Pack pops onstage early in the show to explain that the concept of Celebrity Autobiography was inspired by “Wheel of Fortune” star Vanna White’s 1987 memoir Vanna Speaks, in which she devotes an entire chapter to the grueling task of turning letters on the classic TV game show.

‘Reading’ the stars

Actor Scott Adsit opens the evening by reading a chapter from David Hasselhoff’s 2007 memoir Don’t Hassel the Hoff about the arduous demands of starring on Broadway in the musical Jekyll & Hyde for three months. Theater fans may remember the “Baywatch” star’s performance was savaged by critics and find the passages amusing. However, those unfamiliar with Hasselhoff’s infamous attempt at treading the boards on Broadway might not fully appreciate the unwitting humor.

Highlights include reflections on the late Neil Sedaka’s healthy food choices (and digestive issues). Jeff Hiller gets many laughs reading from one of Cher’s books about why she loves M&Ms and finds eating fruit too much work.

From Dolly to Dion

Dayle Reyfel captures the essence of Dolly Parton’s down-home humor by reading a passage from the country superstar’s memoir Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business about how she eats whatever she wants but only in small portions, chewing and savoring all the flavors and then spitting the food out. To many, this may sound like the country icon has a serious eating disorder, but Ms. Reyfel reads it with winning warmth in Ms. Parton’s bubbly Southern accent, making the concept sound lighthearted and guileless instead of disturbing.

Meanwhile, Rita Wilson is hilarious reading, in a thick French-Canadian accent, an absurd excerpt from Celine Dion’s My Story, My Dream about swimming with a manatee in a canal near her Jupiter, Florida home.

‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: Mario Cantone & Bobby Moynihan. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

Carol, Liza & Oprah

Elsewhere, Mario Cantone is outrageous as ever, reading from Carol Channing’s memoir Just Lucky, I Guess in the late star’s inimitable gravelly voice. He milks every laugh from Channing’s reflections on Barbra Streisand and a particularly memorable moment in Broadway and Hollywood history. Mr. Cantone also does spot-on impersonations of Liza Minnelli and Arnold Schwarzenegger with manic aplomb.

Jackie Hoffman elicits chuckles by reading Oprah Winfrey’s ludicrous literary ruminations about why she loves chai tea.

Kenan Thompson and Andrea Martin crack up the audience by poking glorious fun at two often-ridiculed celebrities and their books containing passages about the Louvre and the Mona Lisa in Paris. Mr. Thompson reads a vacuous, narcissistic excerpt from Justin Bieber’s First Step 2 Forever while Ms. Martin reads an equally silly passage from Kris Jenner…and All Things Kardashian.

Ben Mankiewicz mines Geraldo Rivera’s memoir Exposing Myself for nonstop laughs as the famed journalist and TV talk-show host brags about his romantic exploits. Nia Vardalos clearly relishes delivering gloriously vapid passages from Khloé Kardashian’s memoir and lifestyle book Strong Looks Better Naked. Christopher Jackson wrings every possible laugh from Type A, Ryan Seacrest’s memoir, including reflections on his love of prosciutto pizza and what he describes as the most erotic experience of his life.

‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: Kenan Thompson & Andrea Martin. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

Debbie, Eddie, Liz & Dick

Appropriately, the grand finale revisits one of Hollywood’s most infamous celebrity scandals involving Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Ms. Reyfel draws from Debbie Reynolds’ Unsinkable, Mr. Pack tackles Eddie Fisher’s Been There, Done That, while Rita Wilson delivers excerpts from Elizabeth Takes Off and Mr. Adsit takes on selections from The Richard Burton Diaries. Anyone familiar with the tangled relationships and tabloid frenzy surrounding the stars will appreciate how the production milks the melodrama for wild comic effect.

Direction & design

The staging is intentionally simple, with minimal set pieces and understated lighting that preserve the intimate feel of an old-school readers theater while keeping the focus squarely on the performers and the absurdity of the material.

Mr. Pack and Ms. Reyfel wisely keep the presentation simple and the pace brisk, allowing the performers and the absurdity of the source material to remain center stage. Not every selection lands equally well, however, and some of the evening’s celebrity references may resonate more with audiences old enough to remember when these personalities dominated tabloids, TV and bookstore shelves. Younger theatergoers, for instance, may be unfamiliar with books by figures like football legend Joe Namath or the late “Three’s Company” star Suzanne Somers and miss some of the humor that comes from recognizing their public personas.

Breezy summer fare

Ultimately, the cast’s total commitment keeps the evening entertaining even when the references feel dated. Much of the comedy comes not from mocking celebrities but from hearing stars describe ordinary experiences with complete sincerity and outsized importance. In that sense, Celebrity Autobiography succeeds by embracing exactly the kind of accidental camp Susan Sontag described: seriousness that somehow becomes funny.

Celebrity Autobiography is not a perfect show, but it makes for breezy, lighthearted summer entertainment for audiences eager to watch celebrities “read” the stars of the past and present.

Published May 23, 2026
Reviewed on May 18, 2026.

‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: Gayle King and Nia Vardalos (top left); Andrea Martin (top right and bottom left); Jeff Hiller (bottom right). Photos: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: Gayle King. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: (left & right) Kenan Thompson. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: Rita Wilson. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: Jackie Hoffman. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: Scott Adsitt & Rita Wilson. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

‘CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY’: Dayle Reyfel, Christopher Jackson, Eugene Pack & Jackie Hoffman. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

The post Celebrity Autobiography: ‘Reading’ the stars appeared first on StageZine.

BROTHERS IN FOUL ‘FISH’: Larry David & Ben Shenkman at their father’s shiva. Photo: FishintheDark.com

FISH IN THE DARK
Written by Larry David
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
Cort Theatre,138 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.FishInTheDark.com

By David NouNou

No one knows better about writing quirky, irreverently nonsensical comedies about dysfunctional Jewish families than Larry David. All you have to do is watch a couple of episodes of “Seinfeld” or HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and you’ll get the gist. However, not even Mr. David can write a sustained two- hour comedy without it skidding off track and becoming a long-winded, sitcom episode with a lot of needless characters used as fillers to fill the allotted time for a Broadway show. With the advent of dramedies, comedic plays are becoming harder and harder to write. Not even the great and prolific Neil Simon, whose staple of comedies regaled us in the 1960s and 1970s, could write a sustainable comedy or even a successful revival of any of his previous hits unless they were jam-packed with stars. Remember his last revival of The Odd Couple, dreadful but a total sellout due to Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, and Brad Garrett in the leads.

As sitcoms tackle every imaginable issue, a comedy about the death of the patriarch of a Jewish family, set in a hospital ward with all the stereotypical family members waiting in attendance to claim the spoils, is nothing new. If you are familiar with Mr. David’s works, it usually means it brings out the worst in people; grieving becomes secondary, avarice, greed, lust, shirking responsibilities, and screaming at each other take center stage. So it is with Fish in the Dark. Mr. David aims to please, but the end product is an unsatisfying half-baked comedy. Not even such a superior director as Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County, Of Mice and Men, and last fall’s This Is Our Youth) can override Mr. David or his clichéd script.

As the constantly competitive and bickering brothers, the older, Norman Drexel (Larry David) and the younger, Arthur Drexel (Ben Shenkman); two people you wouldn’t want in your life in a moment of crisis, for neither one possesses a modicum of conscience, are awaiting the arrival of their mother and the rest of the family members and arguing in a hospital waiting area. They are there weighing the pros and cons of whether it is worth putting their dying father on a respirator and bickering about their father’s last dying wish on who would take care of their mother after he is gone. Needless to say, neither brother wants that responsibility. The rest of the crucial characters are Brenda Drexel (Rita Wilson), Norman’s wife; Gloria Drexel (Jayne Houdyshell), Norman and Arthur’s mother; Fabiana Melendez (Rosie Perez), Norman’s housekeeper; and Diego Melendez (Jake Cannavale), her son. The other 12 characters are negligible and unnecessary but represent stock sitcom characters usually found in television comedies but in general are rendered useless characters in a tightly written, budget-conscious Broadway show.

If you’ve ever seen Larry David, then you know the character he is portraying; no need to go into character analysis, he is Larry David and the cause célèbre of this shows huge advance sale. Ben Shenkman as the younger brother Arthur, is perfect as the self-absorbed, egotistical, competitive schmuck. Rita Wilson, besides being Tom Hanks’ wife, is also a talented actress; alas, she is wasted as the nagging, shrewish wife. Jayne Houdyshell plays the usual put-upon mother and widow. Rosie Perez in another nasally whining Rosie Perez characterization; and as Diego, her son, Jake Cannavale holds his own against these Broadway veterans, and yes, he does his father Bobby proud.

Last fall’s hot ticket was the star-studded, unfunny name-dropping Terrence McNally comedy It’s Only A Play; this spring’s hot ticket is Larry David’s Fish in the Dark. I’ll say this much for it; it does tap into a new audience share that would not be usually going to the theatre. At the preview performance I attended, there were lots of shouts of “We love you, Larry” hurling down from the balcony.

HUSBAND & WIFE: Larry David & Rita Wilson in ‘Fish in the Dark.’ Photo: FishintheDark.com

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