Fans of John Leguizamo's smash-hit one-man shows (Mambo Mouth, Spic-o-rama, Freak, and Sexaholix) have already gotten a glimpse into his life, but this book tells the whole story, carrying readers along on a wild journey from his childhood in Queens to his current home at the top of the Hollywood pyramid. An acclaimed director, producer, and play-wright, and one of the highest-paid Latin actors in the world, Leguizamo shares the stories behind his many roles—what inspired them and what transpired as he created them—while dishing on his personal relationships with his family, friends, and celebrity colleagues. Here is both an intimate self-portrait and a unique behind-the-scenes look at the magic and chaos of stardom, a keenly intelligent and insanely funny book that celebrates a remarkably talented artist's greatest achievement: growing up Latino in America and succeeding on his own terms.

This volume collects all four of the writer-performer’s legendary, award–winning solo shows. John Leguizamo rose to stardom with a series of critically acclaimed solo shows in which he embodied a diverse cast of unforgettable characters. Now all four of these classic theatrical works—Freak, Spic-o-Rama, Mambo Mouth, and Sexaholix—are available in this one essential volume. Mambo Mouth Leguizamo’s first show was an Off-Broadway sensation. In it, he portrayed seven different Latino characters in a bravura performance that earned him both Obie and Outer Critics Circle awards. Spic–O–Rama A “dysfunctional family comedy,” presents 24–hours in the life of one family. It enjoyed a sold–out run in Chicago before relocating to New York where it won its creator a Drama Desk Award. Freak Leguizamo’s Broadway debut tells his own coming–of–age story. A “demi–semi–quasi–pseudo–autobiography,” which went on to become an Emmy special on HBO. Sexaholix: A Love Story Leguizamo’s “raunchy-yet-sweet comic solo performance”—a hit on both Broadway and HBO—explores his own coming of age as he transforms into a father and family man (Washington Post).

In this hilarious coming-of-age story--an adaptation of his autobiographical Broadway show--Leguizamo returns to the Queens of his youth, where a boy's feet had to be as quick as his mouth.

Wrongfully imprisoned and desperate to regain his freedom, Max Gomez agrees to become a subject in an underground government experiment. When the trial gives him phenomenal shape-shifting abilities, Gomez learns his new “freedom” requires surviving a superpowered war fought on the streets of NYC.

The graphic novel adaptation of John Leguizamo’s award-winning Broadway play—revised and expanded in paperback In this graphic-novel adaptation of his award-winning Broadway memoir, John Leguizamo lays bare his life story, sharing memories of his early years as an actor on stage, on television, and in major motion pictures opposite some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, such as Al Pacino, Patrick Swayze, and Steven Seagal, and working for directors Baz Luhrmann and Brian De Palma. Leguizamo opens up about his loves and marriages, while addressing self-doubt and melancholy in a way that enlightens and entertains. This revised and expanded paperback includes an all-new introduction by Lin-Manuel Miranda. “Ghetto Klown is autobiographical dynamite—this is Leguizamo at his scathing, honest, moving, comedic best. Among the finest portraits of an artist as a young wounded talented man as I’ve read.” —Junot Díaz “My main Johnny Legs has done it again. Ghetto Klown as a graphic novel? DOPENESS.” —Spike Lee

The National Book Award–winning coming-out memoir. “One of the most complex, moral, personal, and political books to have been written about gay life” (LA Weekly). Paul Monette grew up all-American, Catholic, overachieving . . . and closeted. As a child of the 1950s, a time when a kid suspected of being a “homo” would routinely be beaten up, Monette kept his secret throughout his adolescence. He wrestled with his sexuality for the first thirty years of his life, priding himself on his ability to “pass” for straight. The story of his journey to adulthood and to self-acceptance with grace and honesty, this intimate portrait of a young man’s struggle with his own desires is witty, humorous, and deeply felt. Before his death of complications from AIDS in 1995, Monette was an outspoken activist crusading for gay rights. Becoming a Man shows his courageous path to stand up for his own right to love and be loved. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Paul Monette including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the Paul Monette papers of the UCLA Library Special Collections.

Seven dramatic portraaits that reveal the comically confused and frequently anguished individual behind the stereotypic mask of Hispanic machismo.