Everyone's a Critic

by Paul Ruditis

Book Overview

School's out, but the drama never stops at the superposh Orion Academy. Hartley Blackstone -- the famous director, producer, choreographer, and genuine Broadway icon -- has chosen Orion to hold auditions for one lucky guy and girl to attend his summer theater program in New York City. Naturally, every wannabe-It girl and boy at Orion is going mad, prepping to win Blackstone's approval. With any luck, it could be Bryan and his BFF, Sam, stepping onto...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416933921
• ISBN13: 9781416933922
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Simon Pulse
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Drama Kings and Queens.

Ruditis' sequel to Drama! The Four Dorothy's continues the saga of Bryan Stark, privileged, gay teen, and his search to find himself. In this novel, Bryan and his best friends compete with other drama students during Orion High School's summer drama camp program for a coveted spot in Hartley Blackstone's Acting School. The story is told from Bryan's irreverent and flippant point of view creating a quick read. Bryan interrupts himself with parenthetical asides to clarify himself or explain theatre lore or definitions. While having a gay narrator may turn off some readers, Ruditis includes plenty of heterosexual characters and plot lines to keep a variety of reader's interested. The themes in this novel closely follow those of the first in the series. Bryan complains about favoritism, nepotism, and how the rich and famous get special treatment. He also points out that teachers often submit to the wishes of over-protective parents or face dismissal. Ruditis accurately captures the rhythm and sarcasm often present in intelligent teens' speech; but Bryan and his friends toss about words such as phalanx and plethora that average high school students may not understand. Ruditis includes some out-dated references to Barry Manilow songs ("Can't Smile Without You") and the two Corey's of 1980's TV (Haim and Feldman), which also might be missed by contemporary teens. The Malibu, California setting, the wickedly absurd extravagance, and the sarcasm with which the story is told will appeal to middle and high school girls. A third installment in the series, Encore, encore! is to be published in 2008.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

The cast from Orion is back in a sequel to Paul Ruditis' first DRAMA! story, The Four Dorothys (Drama!). Bryan, Sam, Hope, Holly, Alexis, and Belinda are all prepared for their next "big scene." The school year is over for those at Orion, but just because academics are done does not mean acting is. During summer break a yearly, mandatory two-week theater camp begins, but instead of establishing a play, something new comes along. Hartley Blackstone, a Broadway director, is using the two weeks to test all theater majors for a summer apprenticeship. To get this apprenticeship could be two lucky Orion students' big break. During week one, everyone studies their individual monologues and performs for Hartley. After the performances, Mr. Blackstone critiques everyone's work, leaving nothing but shattered spirits. Now no one wants to go on with auditions. In week two, Hope and her boyfriend are broken up. Done. Over. Which leads Bryan and Sam to hatch a plan to get Hope and her (ex) boyfriend back together. This plan will take a lot of time away from Bryan once group auditions start. Will they be prepared? Who will win the summer apprenticeship? Paul Ruditis' second DRAMA! book is very good. The whole time I was reading I thought, "this is like American Idol meets The Real World" (due to the singing and all of the drama in the book). I felt the story lacked a little in the middle, but was overall interesting to the end. Reviewed by: Jeremey