Too Much Is Not Enough

I’m fairly convinced that I’m actually soulmates with Andrew Rannells. There’s the fact that we both moved to New York City from the Midwest to follow our dreams: me from the Chicago suburbs to be a writer, and he from Omaha to be a Broadway star. We also spent much of our twenties broke, wandering downtown Manhattan, and kissing all the wrong boys. I mean, I think that makes us soulmates, right?

While most celebrity memoirs are roundups of notable career highlights, in Too Much is Not Enough, the Girls and Book of Mormon star never actually talks about his time on Girls or Book of Mormon. Instead, this book is his pre-stardom take on all the things that got him to where he is now, from his complicated relationship with his dad, to being a Catholic altar boy, to navigating the off-off-off-Broadway theater scene. (Rannells’s hot tip: “If you walk into a theater and there is free wine, consider it a preemptive apology, or at least a distraction. And always drink it.”)

Rannells is sweet, hysterical, and smart, but you already knew that. Reading his memoir is worth it because he nails what it feels like when you're navigating that nagging twenty-something question: “Am I good enough?” Spoiler alert: You are, he was, and you know what? You might even find that Rannells is your soulmate, too. Don’t worry, I’m willing to share.

When Andrew Rannells arrived in New York City from Omaha in 1997, he, like many, saw the city as a chance to break free. To start over. To transform the fiercely ambitious but sexually confused teenager he saw in the mirror into the Broadway leading man of his dreams.

In Too Much Is Not Enough, Rannells takes us on the journey of a twentysomething hungry to experience everything: new friends, wild nights, great art, standing ovations. And at the heart of his hunger lies a powerful drive to reconcile the boy he was and the man he might have been with the man he wants to be. As Rannells reveals how he merged these Andrews into the one who made his Broadway debut at 26, he also shares stories from his path to the Great White Way, from horrible auditions and behind-the-curtain romances to the exhilaration of landing his first gig in Hairspray and the heartbreaking death of his father at the height of his ascent. Along the way, Rannells learns that you never really leave your past—or your family—behind; that the most painful, and perversely motivating, jobs are the ones you almost get; and that sometimes the most unforgettable nights are marked not by the hot clubs you danced at, but by the recap over diner food after.