For David: Kazan's autobiography was a great source for the sections during the Group Theater days in the 30s. Kazan came to the Group as an apprentice, knowing next to nothing about acting. Stella had been doing it all her life, and unlike most of the other members of the Group, she was a veteran. ...

I love that you found that picture of Stella. She looks so sweet, not the indomitable matriarch she would become. If I recall it was taken in the early 30s though she doesn't appear that young. I'm attaching my favorite photo of her from the Yiddish Theater from 1920-21 when she would have been nine...

Sandy, your question about method acting is the crux of why it became so important to write this book. Even lay people know the name Lee Strasberg, but outside of the theater, people don't recognize Stella's name. As you know, "the method" became a label journalists gave to the type of act...

I have a treat for the SSO. I created this homage to Stella (although this is an edited down version) for my book tour when Stella! released. This is the first time I'm sharing it online:
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For Christy: The pleasure is mine and thank you for hosting me. I became interested in Stella through her father, Jacob Adler, who unsurprisingly reminded me of my own father though I didn't know it when I fell in love with him. Tall, robust, charismatic, Adler - as everyone referred to him - could ...