About The Book

An enthralling play based on lost tapes between two cultural giants and friends—Andy Warhol and Truman Capote—read by the stars of the acclaimed original stage production, Stephen Spinella and Dan Butler.

In 1978 Andy Warhol and Truman Capote decided to write a Broadway play. Andy suggested that he record their private conversations over the period of a few months, and that these tapes would be the source material for the play. The tapes were then filed away and forgotten. Their play was never completed.

Now, award-winning director Rob Roth brings their vision to life after a years-long search to unearth the eighty hours of tapes between two of the most daring artists of postwar America. WARHOLCAPOTE, based on words actually spoken by the two men, is set in the ’70s and ’80s, toward the end of their close connection and not too long before their untimely deaths. Their special, complex friendship is captured by Roth with bracing intimacy as they discuss life, love, and art and everything in between. Every word in the play comes directly from these two 20th century geniuses. The structure of the conversations springs from Roth’s imagination.

The audiobook edition of WARHOLCAPOTE reunites the cast of the play’s 2017 world premiere stage production, featuring Stephen Spinella as Andy Warhol and Dan Butler as Truman Capote.

About The Author

Photograph by Patrick Meade

Rob Roth

Rob Roth was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Director for his Broadway debut, Beauty and the Beast, which became one of the top ten longest-running musicals in Broadway history. The show has been seen by over 40 million people all over the world, winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical in London. Rob went on to direct the world premiere of Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida, collaborating with Sir Elton John and Sir Tim Rice. Rob directed the Broadway musical Lestat, based on the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles with a score by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Rob frequently directs rock concerts, collaborating with legendary artists including KISS, Alice Cooper, Dresden Dolls, Cyndi Lauper, and guitar legend Steve Miller. Rob is an avid collector of rock and roll graphics, and his collection is showcased in the coffee table book The Art of Classic Rock. Rob and his husband Patrick live in New York City with their labrador retriever Tag.

About The Readers

Dan Butler

Stephen Spinella

Photo Credit:

Dennis Boutsikaris

Dennis Boutsikaris won an OBIE Award for his performance in Sight Unseen and played Mozart in Amadeus on Broadway. Among his films are *batteries not included, The Dream Team, and Boys On the Side. His many television credits include And Then There Was One, Chasing the Dragon, and 100 Center Street.

Photograph by Patrick Meade

Rob Roth

Rob Roth was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Director for his Broadway debut, Beauty and the Beast, which became one of the top ten longest-running musicals in Broadway history. The show has been seen by over 40 million people all over the world, winning the Olivier Award for Best Musical in London. Rob went on to direct the world premiere of Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida, collaborating with Sir Elton John and Sir Tim Rice. Rob directed the Broadway musical Lestat, based on the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles with a score by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Rob frequently directs rock concerts, collaborating with legendary artists including KISS, Alice Cooper, Dresden Dolls, Cyndi Lauper, and guitar legend Steve Miller. Rob is an avid collector of rock and roll graphics, and his collection is showcased in the coffee table book The Art of Classic Rock. Rob and his husband Patrick live in New York City with their labrador retriever Tag.

Why We Love It

“A moving and hilarious play, WARHOLCAPOTE offers a glimpse into the private lives of two of our greatest pop culture icons of the last seventy-five years—Andy Warhol and Truman Capote—while exploring their friendship, art-making, and the pitfalls and pleasures of success.”

—Stuart R., Senior Editor, on WARHOLCAPOTE

Product Details

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (September 20, 2022)
Runtime: 3 hours and 22 minutes
ISBN13: 9781797142418

Raves and Reviews

"Stephen Spinella and Dan Butler reprise their 2017 Broadway roles as Andy Warhol and Truman Capote in this funny, touching, and deceptively straightforward dialogue between the famous pair. It is based solely on their private conversations recorded on 59 audio cassettes in the late 1970s to early ‘80s. With a preface read by art critic Blake Gopnik and the fascinating history of the project filled in by author/editor Rob Roth, the two cultural icons gossip about life, love, celebrities, and family. With the stellar performances of Spinella and Butler, backed by Dennis Boutsikaris reading stage directions, we hear an intimate, endearing portrait of two of the most public, most outwardly gay, most outrageous artists of twentieth-century America chatting like the best of friends."

– Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award, AudioFile Magazine