ALAN SHAPIRO READING & SIGNING

Shapiro is known in literary circles for his unconventionally honest observations of everyday life, and in Broadway Baby he examines the life of protagonist Miriam Bluestein. As a young girl growing up in Boston, Miriam dreamed of alife on teh stage. But real life intervened, and she went from aspiring star to the role of supporting player when she became a wife and mother. Tjose unattainable dreams both tormented and consoled her in her day-to-day existence with her family, inclusding a short-tempered husband, a cranky mother with failing health, and three demanding children. But when one of her sons, Ethan, shows talent for the stage, it is through him that Miriam strives to hold on to her dreams. Now in the role of an aging stage mom, Miriam puches him to make the most of his talent, to the point that everything else in her life begins to gradually come undone.