Title: A Dancer in Depth: Paragraphs from a Theatre Life
Author: Stanley Howard Mazin
Publisher: PageTurner Press and Media
ISBN: 978-1638719588
Pages: 262
Genre: Memoir
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Pacific Book Review
A Dancer in Depth: Paragraphs from a Theatre Life is a delightful look at the behind-the-scenes world of entertainment. Dancing veteran and author Stanley Howard Mazin shares many tales about his life of dancing with the stars and his dalliances along the way. Mazin’s memoir is an unforgettable book that pulls back the curtains on Broadway and Hollywood.
A Dancer in Depth starts with Mazin writing about his talent for dancing and acting as a child. While he’s clear about wanting to be in show business, he has conflicting emotions about his sexuality growing up in the 1950s. He gets work on Broadway and in Hollywood dancing with legends like Chita Rivera, Lena Horne, and Carol Burnett in the 1960s and 1970s. While he’s working with many celebrities and living his dream traveling the world, he has many romances with men and some women. However, he meets his match with Dom, a handsome Italian man who becomes his on-and-off partner of over 40 years.
Mazin’s writing is so personable, it’s easy to see why so many people, famous and non-famous, loved him. His carefree and adventurous spirit comes through in his stories about dancing with legends and having romantic rendezvous. When he writes about Dolly Parton being scared to dance in one of his dance numbers or surprised by the shyness of seemingly outgoing comedic actors like Tim Conway, readers see that celebrities are just regular people with extraordinary talents. He makes the celebrities he met relatable, and his writing is as well.
When he writes about his insecurities in his love life or his worries about his career, readers can glimpse into Mazin’s real feelings behind the gossip about his life and famous people. He even delves more into his life and philosophy about happiness with a self-interview at the end of the memoir. The book is also accented with the pictures of Broadway and Hollywood legends he performed with, his partners in life, and even his adorable dogs.
A Dancer in Depth would be best for readers who want to know more about the golden days of theatre and variety TV in the 1960s-1980s. The book would also be best for LGBTQ readers who want to learn more about how difficult and exciting it was to be sexually fluid in the early days of the queer-rights movement of the 1960’s. A Dancer in Depth is a must-read for people who want to learn about life, love, and happiness while navigating the unpredictable world of show business.
