LIAR, ALLEGED: A TELL-ALL Celebrities, Sex, and All the Rest

Benjamin Koenig laudably creates the vibrant personality of 70-year-old writer/performer David Vass. Listeners first meet Vass as a 7-year-old impoverished, neglected, stuttering child who had already realized he was gay. His charm and wit enabled his early success at such efforts as securing a YMCA for a 1970s gay rights event and learning to work with the entertainment greats (Sinatra, a jerk; Bennett, a sweetheart). Koenig skillfully captures uproarious humor and erotic descriptions. Listeners will marvel at Vass's compassion, his work with the Mafia, and, particularly, his ability to change his promiscuous lifestyle after meeting Paul, his partner of 47 years. Audio showcases his phenomenal life and memories, enhanced by copious notes that helped him create this paean to mid-twentieth-century gay life. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2024]