All posts in "Reviews"

Menken Rides Again



San Francisco Gate, by Leah Garchik, December 24, 2012 : After seeing the San Francisco Symphony‘s “Barbary Coast and Beyond,” I got interested in Adah Isaacs Menken, a notorious bad girl who performed all over the country and in Europe;…

Adah in the Advocate



The Advocate August 13, 2012 21 LGBT Biographies or Memoirs You Should Read Now. . . From German counts to Utah cave-dwellers, there’s something for every reader on this list. “Like her friend George Sand, Menken “adopted what were considered…

TWIT magazine: Adah’s Gay Friends



TWIT finds a friend in ADAH MENKEN: In New York of 1860, 150 years ago, when aspiring actress Adah Isaacs Menken met the already notorious poet Walt Whitman, being a gay man was entirely hidden from public view. Because Whitman’s Leaves…

SF Gate: Tilson Thomas loves Menken



Billy Rose, Mark Twain, and Alexander Dumas are not the only greats who loved Adah Menken, today’s musical genius Michael Tilson Thomas also appreciates her daring .  

Nudity in America



  April 6, 2012: Michael Foster and Barbara Foster are interviewed in this podcast by radio personality Mike Rosen, who hosts Denver’s most listened-to radio talk show on 850 KOA from 9:00 a.m.-noon, Monday-Friday, now in its 25th year. Rosen…

MoviePie: Menken the Great



MoviePie book review 2/2012: You’ve probably never heard of Adah Isaacs Menken, but this pioneering free spirit could be considered America’s first true Superstar (with a capital “S”).  By fearlessly defying convention, Menken achieved things in the 1800s that are…

The Wrap: Adah Menken “The Original Naked Lady”



The Wrap, 2/7/2012 Adah Isaacs Menken: The Original Naked Lady Tina Fey: “Betty White once told me, ‘Never let anyone tell you, you are not good enough to pose nude.’” For better or worse, in the movies, on television, on…

L.A.’s the Place for Adah Menken



As Academy Awards Time approaches the authors of A Dangerous Woman remember superstars of the past. Here is a great article about the first American superstar who was Jewish, part black, part Irish, and all rebel–Adah Isaacs Menken.

Adah at History.net



Adah Menken took History.net by storm. “Entertainment is a sadly neglected aspect of America’s Civil War. Its outstanding performer was Adah Isaacs Menken, aka “The Naked Lady,” whose life, celebrity, and writing epitomize the inner tensions of a war that…

Market Watch: “It All Started with Menken”



Adah Menken was the first media celebrity, who was known around the world as “The Naked Lady” because her stage show featured her nude (in a sheer body stocking). Her star power inspired poets like Walt Whitman and writers like…