I've never read Marc Acito's first novel How I Paid For College to which Attack Of The Theater People is a sequel. But reading the first one does not seem to be a requirement to enjoy this delightful novel of young people in the city that never sleeps.
It's the mid-1980s. Edward Zanni has just been expelled from Julliard, having been too "jazz hands" for the prestigious drama school, and is now in need of employment. Through a series of truly hilarious moments, he find a job pretending to be a VJ for British MTV at Bar Mitzvahs. That leads him to spying for a hunky insider-trading stockbroker, which eventually gets him and his roommate in trouble with the feds. All the while, he's getting in trouble with thirteen-year-old stalkers, being pursued by an amorous Asian and lusting after his high school crush who has become the lead singer for a Bruce Springsteen cover band.
The plot of Attack Of The Theater People is completely ridiculous, but that's not really a problem. It's consistently hilarious, peopled with the kind of characters that are at once real and really funny. I was never distracted by the ludicrous nature of the circumstances that continually happen, like putting on a guerrilla theatre production of The Music Man starring a deaf guy or the chase scene towards the end which requires Edward to stage-crash Starlight Express. The joyful exuberance of gays in New York, and the snappy dialogue is enough to distract you, even if there were any plot holes in sight. But it's a really tightly written novel, even under the layers of insanity. Plus, Edward's so AIDS-intimidated he's celibate through most of the novel, which avoids the trappings of soft-core porn one usually finds in gay fiction.
Occasionally the 1980s references get a little obvious but all together this is a breezy read with a million laughs. And most importantly: a lot of heart.
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