Title: Family Acts
Author: Louise Shaffer
Summary: The author, who is an Emmy-Award winning soap actress for Ryan’s Hope and screenwriter, turns her love of the theater inot a delightful novel set in the Old South. Katharine ‘Kate’ Harder, a New York scriptwriter and Miranda ‘Randa’ Jennings, a Hollywood business writer, seem to have little in common, except names from Shakespearean plays and a thespian parent. A letter from a lawyer brings them the news that they have jointly inherited the Venable Opera House in Massonville, Georgia. After traveling to see the crumbling century-old theatre, the two women, with the help of Randa’s precocious 11 year-old daughter, delve into the lives of the owners who struggled to keep the theatre alive.
The story alternates betwen the present and flashbacks to tell a family epic that is rich in its theatrical setting. The ending links this book to Shaffer’s other two novels: The Three Margarets and Ladies of Garrison Gardens.
Who will like this book? Definately a women’s read, especially lovers of the theater and soaps.
If you like this, try this: Shaffer’s previous novels: The Three Margarets and Ladies of Garrison Gardens.
Recommended by: Sandy, Technical Services