John Lahr, “the most intelligent and insightful writer on theatre today” (New York Times), has been the senior drama critic The New Yorker magazine since 1992. He is also the author of two novels, two plays, six collections of criticism, and eight biographies of entertainers. One of these biographies, Notes on a Cowardly Lion, is about the author’s father, The Wizard of Oz actor Bert Lahr. Lahr won a Tony Award for his part in writing a one-woman show for Elaine Stritch. Synthesizing theatrical criticism with biography, Lahr’s new biography of Tennessee Williams explores the famous playwright’s tempestuous life and the birth of his famous plays.