Theatre Arts: Plays

(Applause Books). Includes: Amy Hill: Tokyo Bound ; David Henry Hwang: Bondage ; Velina Hasu Houston: As Sometimes in a Dead Man's Face ; Lane Nishikawa and Victor Talmadge: The Gate of Heaven ; Dwight Okita: The Rainy Season .

(Applause Books). This updated edition of one of the best-selling and comprehensive Broadway reference books, first published in 1985, has been expanded to include many of the most important and memorable productions of the American musical theater, including revivals. Chronologically arranged beginning with The Black Crook in 1866, the seventh edition adds new entries and photos on numerous musicals from recent years, including American Idiot , Billy Elliot: The Musical , Hair (revival), Memphis , Next to Normal , Rock of Ages , The Addams Family , West Side Story (revival), and Fela! Broadway Musicals, Show by Show features a wealth of statistics and inside information, plus critical reception, cast lists, pithy commentary about each show, and numerous detailed indexes that no Broadway fan will want to be without.

The Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka has been hailed as `one of the finest poetic playwrights who have ever written in English' (Martin Esslin) and `a writer of genius' (Irish Times).The five plays in this collection are linked by their concern with the spiritual and the social, with belief and ritual as integrating forces for social cohesion. A Dance of the Forests (1960), a confrontation between the living and the dead, between history and reality; The Swamp Dwellers (1961),a tale of perilous dependence on the favour of the gods; The Strong Breed (1963), a play of expiation, all take place in Africa. So also does The Road (1965), `a rich and beautiful tragedy' (Times Literary Supplement)The most recent work, an adaptation of The Bacchae of Euripides (1973), remains set in and around the Thebes of ancient Greece, but draws deeply on Africa and the themes of the earlier plays in this book. In all these plays - whether concerned with the corruption of urban life or the power ofsuperstition - Soyinka's language and imagination transcend the plays' immediate social contexts.

The play centers on the Salem witch trials of the late 17th century and the problem of guilt by association

Regarded as one of the greatest dramas ever written, Cyrano de Bergerac is the story of the silver-tongued soldier whose unfortunate looks drive him to woo his love by speaking for his handsome but dull-witted rival. Cyrano de Bergerac occupies a unique place in the modern theater. Deliberately disavowing realism and contemporary relevance, Edmond Rostand's masterpiece represents a turning back in both time and spirit to an earlier age of high adventure and soaring idealism. Its magnificent hero, Cyrano--noble of soul and grotesque in appearance, gallant Gascon soldier, brilliant wit, and timid lover, alternately comic, heroic, tragic--represents one of the most challenging of all acting roles in its complexity and mercurial changes of mood. From its original production to the present day, Cyrano de Bergerac has enjoyed a charmed existence on the stage, its unflagging pace of action and eloquence of language enchanting critics and public alike. Here, in a superlative translation, is the ultimate triumph of the great French romantic tradition--a work which, in the words of the French critic Lemaître, "prolongs, unites and blends...three centuries of comic fantasy and moral grace."   Translated by Lowell Bair With an Introduction by Eteel Lawson and an Afterword by Cynthia B. Kerr  

Musicals are the most popular form of theatre around. While straight plays struggle to survive on Broadway, musicals play to near capacity houses. They are also a favorite of school and community groups. In this smart and practical guide, New Line Theatre artistic director Scott Miller looks at twenty musicals from a director's point of view, with solid suggestions for anyone thinking of embarking on such a production. Includes discussions of Gypsy, Assassins, Into the Woods, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story,as well as many others. Visit Scott's website at http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/3164/

Each play is fully annotated. "Contexts and Criticism" features all-new material on the author and his work, from traditional critical readings to more theorized approaches, among them essays on Shaw's Fabianism and his alleged feminism.? Contributors include Leon Hugo, Sally Peters, Tracy C. Davis, John A. Bertolini, Stanley Weintraub, and J. Ellen Gainor. A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography are included.

From the ancient classics to the recent masterpieces, the Great Books of the Western World is the ultimate introduction to the ideas, stories, and discoveries that have shaped modern civilization. Authoritative and accurate, this collection represents the essential core of the Western literary canon, compiling 517 of the most significant achievements in literature, history, philosophy, and science.

In the time of Euripides, Greek drama reached the zenith of its glory when the works of the great classic triad - Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides - followed each other in rapid succession. As partial evidence, presented here are the surviving nineteen plays of Euripides. Euripides was a voluminous writer, the number of his plays being variously stated at from seventy-five to ninety-two, including several satyric dramas. Of these nineteen have survived, with numerous fragments of others, though many of his best works have been lost and more have suffered from interpolations. It now is widely believed that the play Rhesus, which has long been ascribed to Euripides, was probably the work of some other, lesser-know dramatist. For the tragedians of later times Euripides was the absolute model and pattern, and equally so for the poets of the new comedy. Diphilus called him the Golden Euripides, and Philemon went so far as to say, with some extravagance, If the dead, as some assert, have really consciousness, then would I hang myself to see Euripides. He had warm admirers in Alexander the Great and the Stoic Chrysippus, who quoted him regularly in several of his works. Among the Romans, too, he was held in high esteem, serving as a model for tragedy. Still today, the works of Euripides are variously regarded and continue to be the source of much critical debate. In centuries to come, this will most likely continue and, in itself, will serve to insure the lasting fame of Euripides.

Winner, 2017 APA Audie Awards - Audiobook of the YearLin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical, Hamilton, is as revolutionary as its subject: the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, reveals the storytelling power of rap, and claims our country's origins for a diverse new generation. Hamilton: The Revolution gives listeners an unprecedented insight into both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages - "since before this was even a show," according to Miranda - traces its development from an improbable performance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Emmy and Gold Globe-winning actor Mariska Hargitay lends her voice to the audiobook, and Miranda reads more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is included in the PDF with this audiobook. The audiobook does more than tell the surprising story of how a Broadway musical became a national phenomenon: It demonstrates that America has always been renewed by the brash upstarts and brilliant outsiders, the men and women who don't throw away their shots. "Mariska, in addition to being the number-one fan of the show, represents, to me, much of what Hamilton is about - tough, smart, and New York. She's an essential part of this city; it feels only right for her to narrate the story." (Lin-Manuel Miranda)

On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence in the hills outside Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of hate that shocked the nation. Matthew Shepard’s death became a national symbol of intolerance, but for the people of Laramie the event was deeply personal, and it’s they we hear in this stunningly effective theater piece, a deeply complex portrait of a community.

The story, while entwined with that of the opera Madama Butterfly, is based most directly on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Peking opera singer. The play premiered on Broadway in 1988 and won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Play.

Actors of colour need the best speeches to demonstrate their skills and hone their craft. Roberta Uno has carefully selected monologues that represent African-American, Native American, Latino, and Asian-American identities. Each monologue comes with an introduction and notes on the characters and stage directions to set the scene for the actor. This new edition now includes more of the most exciting and accomplished playwrights to have emerged over the 15 years since the Monologues for Actors of Color books were first published, from new, cutting edge talent to Pulitzer winners.

In our media-saturated society, multicultural writers have discovered the stage as their medium of choice. These scenes and monologues by new writers of the multicultural experience are certain to inspire actors and directors.

Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story showcases the complete history of the musical on stage and screen, from its origins in ancient Greece to early twentieth century dance halls and vaudeville to the golden age of cinema productions to the record-breaking Broadway musicals of today. Packed with historical insights, memorabilia, behind-the-scenes gossip, and artifacts, Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story takes you on the ultimate behind-the-scenes tour of the best-loved musicals, such as Chicago, Les Misérables, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, and many more. In all, Musicals: The Definitive Illustrated Story features more than 140 notable stage and film productions and the stories of the people who created them. Throughout, clear infographics, rich black-and-white and color photography, and a clever, informative design make this comprehensive overview of musical theater and movie musicals a true showstopper.

(Applause Books). "Though New York remains the de facto capital of American theater, much of the most daring and interesting work today is done by regional theaters. This is doubly true of plays by African American authors, who, despite a few notable exceptions (August Wilson, George C. Wolfe), suffer under a commercial apartheid that keeps black plays off Broadway. Of necessity, African American theater artists have to create their own venues from the ground up. This wide-ranging anthology edited by the founder of the New Federal Theater celebrates the work of that company's black-owned, black-run peers by presenting work by 11 dramatists. Among the most interesting are Jeff Stetson's moving The Meeting , which imagines a meeting between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., and Shauneille Perry's fascinating updating of In Dahomey , the 1903 musical hit that was the first 'all-Black show' on Broadway." - Jack Helbig, Booklist

Necessary Theater includes: The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa, by Luis Valdez; Money, by Arthur Giron; Latina, by Milcha Sanchez Scott with Jeremy Blahnik; Soldierboy, by Judith and Severo Perez; and Guadalupe and La victima, both by El Teatro de la Esperanza. Necessary Theater is the first anthology of Chicano theater published in a decade and includes only plays that have been professionally staged to critical acclaim. An introduction by Jorge Huerta, along with commentaries on each author and play, is included. Jorge Huerta, the author of Chicano Theater: Themes and Forms, is a professor in the drama department at the University of California-San Diego.

This comprehensive volume contains nine of the most important, most indispensable plays of the modern theatre. What Harold Clurman has done in this seminal collection is to create for us a portrait of the progress and turmoil of the twentieth century. Ranging from the eerie realism of Pinter's sinister "Birthday Party," to the absurd literalism of Ionesco's conformist city in "Rhinoceros," to the baroque fantasy world of Genet's brothel in "The Balcony," to the tragic hilarity of Stoppard's"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," these nine plays, each entirely distinct, together form an incisive, compelling, and sometimes heartbreaking mosaic of our time.

By the time of her death, at the tragically young age of thirty-four, Lorraine Hansberry had created two electrifying masterpieces of the American theater. With A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry gave this country its most movingly authentic portrayal of black family life in the inner city. Barely five years later, with The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Hansberry gave us an unforgettable portrait of a man struggling with his individual fate in an age of racial and social injustice. These two plays remain milestones in the American theater, remarkable not only for their historical value but for their continued ability to engage the imagination and the heart. With an Introduction by Robert Nemiroff

Secrecy, Magic, and the One-Act Plays of Harlem Renaissance Women Writers seeks to rescue the plays of eight black women, Marita Bonner, Mary P. Burrill, Thelma Duncan, Shirley   Graham, Zora Neale Hurston, Georgia Douglas Johnson, May Miller, and Eulalie Spence, from obscurity. This volume is the first book-length treatment to address these plays and their authors exclusively rather than as part of a discussion of other African American playwrights from different eras. It is also one of the few to carry out an extensive discussion of secrecy's role in both literary representation and social interaction.   Exploring secrecy from the standpoints of poststructuralist language theory and game theory as well as dramatic performance, Taylor Hagood argues that the secret--a thing visible for its very invisibility--is a fundamental cog in the machinery of society, employed as a tool for both oppression and subversion. The many facets of secrecy have been particularly salient in African American culture, informing everything from the Underground Railroad to the subtle coding of Signifying. Most devastatingly, people on both sides of the color line are caught within a web of secrecy that is the result of centuries of distrust, doubt, and fear, a fact that is powerfully manifest not only in these one-act plays but in the reader's/spectator's interactions with them.  

From Sanskrit to Japanese drama, this work contains classic Asian works.

Presents six outstanding works by Asian-American women playwrights, written in the past 20 years. Each play addresses the experiences of Asian-Americans in the United States, repudiating cultural and sexual stereotypes.

Drawing on conversations with hundreds of women about their genitalia, the author presents a collection of performance pieces from her show of the same name.