Taken to the Stage

Actress Mimi Kennedy's face may be more familiar than her name, but she has racked up over 20 years of show business credits, including a stint in the original production of Grease and lead roles in several TV shows. Kennedy knew early on she wanted to be an actress, and it didn't hurt that her cousin by marriage was actress Ruth Warwick (Phoebe on the soap All My Children). After graduating from Smith College, Kennedy followed the usual rocky road to New York. This isn't just a gossipy film memoir, though there are plenty of humorous anecdotes involving "names." It is the candid, self-effacing story of an American girl of the Baby Boom generation who just happened to want to be an actress, and there is much here beyond the theater that anyone of that generation can appreciate. This is an especially well-written, funny, and insightful work, especially regarding the machinations of breaking into the theater.