{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20261010T034321Z-reviewed-full-unique-works","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1559364424?tag=bookfrontie00-20","asin":"1559364424","authors":["Lynn Nottage"],"book_id":"9781559364423","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/by-the-way-meet-vera-stark-9781559364423","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781559364423.jpg?v=7ddecc30cdf1af9e","description":"In her first new play since the critically acclaimed Ruined , Lynn Nottage examines the legacy of African Americans in Hollywood in a dramatic stylistic departure from her previous work. Fluidly incorporating film and video elements into her writing for the first time, Nottage's comedy tells the story of Vera Stark, an African American maid and budding actress who has a tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold onto her career. Stirring audiences out of complacency by tackling racial stereotyping in the entertainment industry, Nottage highlights the paradox of black actors in 1930s Hollywood while jumping back and forward in time and location in this uniquely theatrical narrative. By the Way, Meet Vera Stark premiered in New York in 2011 and received subsequent productions at Los Angeles's Geffen Playhouse in fall 2012 and Chicago's Goodman Theatre and The Lyric Stage Company of Boston in spring 2013.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781559364423","publication_date":"20131015","publisher":"Playwrights Canada Press","slug":"by-the-way-meet-vera-stark","subtitle":"","title":"By the Way, Meet Vera Stark"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"DRA001010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"African American Plays","score":0.7467,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"PER011030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Playwriting","score":0.6853,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"PER011020","confidence_band":"low","label":"Theater History & Criticism","score":0.6617,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"DRA001010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"African American Plays","score":0.7467,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"PER011030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Playwriting","score":0.6853,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"PER011020","confidence_band":"low","label":"Theater History & Criticism","score":0.6617,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"DRA001010","confidence_band":"high","label":"African American Plays","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"DRA019000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Plays by Women","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"African American Plays","score":0.7467,"slug":"african-american-plays"},{"label":"Playwriting","score":0.6853,"slug":"playwriting"},{"label":"Theater History & Criticism","score":0.6617,"slug":"theater-history-criticism"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in racial stereotyping in the entertainment industry","Readers drawn to stories about Black actors in 1930s Hollywood"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Jackie Sibblies Drury"],"book_id":"9781559369527","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781559369527.jpg?v=75e042cced4f6fed","score":0.6033,"title":"Fairview","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781559369527"},{"authors":["Dominique Morisseau"],"book_id":"9780573701962","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780573701962.jpg?v=faba8674d5b0955c","score":0.5972,"title":"Detroit '67","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780573701962"},{"authors":["Lily Anderson"],"book_id":"9781250370396","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250370396.jpg?v=16f283f094bb3fe0","score":0.5861,"title":"Showstopper","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250370396"}],"topics":[],"what_you_get":["Themes: Racial stereotyping in entertainment, Black actors in 1930s Hollywood, Hollywood career and power dynamics.","Reading lane: African American Plays and Playwriting.","Publisher: Playwrights Canada Press."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.91,"pacing":"unknown","reader_fit":["Readers interested in racial stereotyping in the entertainment industry","Readers drawn to stories about Black actors in 1930s Hollywood"],"themes":["Racial stereotyping in entertainment","Black actors in 1930s Hollywood","Hollywood career and power dynamics"],"tropes":[]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":433,"goodreads_reviews_count":44,"quality_score":0.8892}}