The Midnight Show, Lee Kelly and Jennifer Marie Thorne (Review by Rachel Taran)
Rating: 5.0/5 Stars
From the very first page of this book, we learn that rising comedy star Lillian Martin has been dead for 40 years. What slowly unravels next is a deep dive into the history of a fictional late night sketch comedy show through interview scripts, emails, journal entries, and magazine clippings. The way this story was told was super unique and had me captivated the entire time. It was a slow burn, but the payoff at the end was perfect.
To get the story started in modern times, a Rolling Stone writer named Madeline has an idea to dig back into the mystery of Lillian Martin and what happened not just the night of her death (as has often been the focus), but the entire story leading up to it and the immense talent and potential that was cut short too soon. Through Madeline’s interviews with former cast members and friends, we enter a world under the nostalgia of the 1980s in the backdrop of New York City. We learn about Lillian’s humble beginnings and quirky comedy style in an improv troupe with a few of her friends, a quick rise to fame that none of them expected, and the disorientation that can come from this whirlwind experience. Throw hard drugs, late nights partying, bruised egos, and ever-changing relationships into the mix and something bad was bound to happen.
What prevails through this story until the very end is the power of female friendship, the plight of women in comedy, and the dangers of fame when everyone around you is an enabler. This story was so well-written that I had to double-check multiple times that it was, in fact, fiction. It read like a nonfiction account of a real event and all the players involved. I was not at all surprised to learn from the Acknowledgements at the end that the authors did immense research into the history of Saturday Night Live, New York City in the 1980s, and the female comic experience. Their research surely helped build this fictional narrative so deeply that it could be easily confused for nonfiction.
If you have ever enjoyed an episode of Saturday Night Live, love reading about celebrity life in People magazine, or generally enjoy behind-the-scenes looks into showbiz, I highly recommend this book. You will not be disappointed!