READER REVIEWS
CELEBRATION PLAYHOUSE—a theatrical thriller
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent -- if you can handle it!
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2024
Loved “Celebration Playhouse”! In this supernatural thriller-chiller, Gary Cohen takes you into the behind-the-scenes theater world and knocks your socks off. Suspense, strangeness, menace, tension… You’ll enjoy this romp from an acclaimed indie-movie auteur!
4.0 out of 5 stars Celebration PlayHouse - a Theatrical Thriller
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2024
A timely novel highlighting the bigotry and racism that unfortunately exists in this country but with a twist including college students, theater, putting on a play, horror, violence, and the supernatural - all with a sense of humor! A good read!
4.0 out of 5 stars Community theater goes bloody, violent and supernatural!
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2024
Fans of theatre, tech, nasty antagonists and graphic horror, will find Gary Cohen’s, CELEBRATION PLAYHOUSE, A THEATRICAL THRILLER, a rousing ride. For the theatre geek, it serves as a primer on how to open a successful small theatre. The process from finding a suitable space, funding, auditions, rehearsals, tech demands etc. leading up to opening night is cleverly woven throughout the narrative. The reader can’t help rooting for the small cadre of actors and production experts as they tackle each challenge. For the high tech fan, there’s behind the scenes info about lighting, sound and set construction. And the detailed description of how to disable a theatre’s complex alarm system is both complex and worrisomely informative. Mr. Cohen conceives a disturbing group of white-supremacists who are violently bent on destroying the theatre. “A bunch of fairies, dykes, oven-dodgers and spics,” is their portrayal of the troupe and they violently create havoc for the fledgling theatre. But the skin-heads meet their fate in the “monster” eerily taking shape in the theatre basement. On opening night, there’s a climactic scene of graphic, gory horror that should satisfy even the most bloodthirsty reader. The minutiae of familiar products, theatre trivia, music and movie references and the narrator’s personal “asides” add fun, appealing, details. CELEBRATION PLAYHOUSE, A THEATRICAL THRILLER is a satisfying read and I highly recommend it.
CURTAIN CALL FOR A KILLER
First, the most important thing to say about this book is that it is for theater lovers.
It took me a little while to get into the story, but after the few opening chapters, it all made sense. It's a murder mystery and as usual, the murderer is not one of the usual suspects.
The writers use so many theater terms, names, characters, and quotes, it could be difficult for some to understand. For instance, I have no knowledge of the Club 82 which is featured in this mystery. For those of you who know where it was and what it was, you will find it more stimulating than I.
The lives of some the main character characters are revealed in depth, even though not fully to the public, but only to the few, while several of the other characters are unknown until the last chapter.
This makes for stimulating reading, and if you're like me, you want to find out before the end "who done it."
I'm a fast reader, and once I started, I wanted to complete it rather quickly. The dialogue was authentic, which is no easy task to accomplish.
If you want to spend a few hours reliving or learning about New York gay life in the 60s, I can highly recommend this novel.
Dave Keltner
April 12, 2025