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Plays in One Act: 48 Modern Masterpieces

Our Price: $25.00

Daniel Halpern (ed). This outstanding collection of 43 modern one-act plays & monologues showcases a stunning & diverse array of the most important voices in theater today -- from acknowledged American masters such as Tennessee Williams & Arthur Miller to the contemporary voices of John Guare, Sam Shepard, & Edward Albee, from the new talents of Carol S. Lashof & Perry Souchuk to established writers working outside their traditional genres, including Eudora Welty, Joyce Carol Oates, & Richard Ford. Also featuring the best in British playwriting -- Tom Stoppard, David Hare, & John Osborne -- as well as the international voices of Vaclav Havel & Kobo Abe, this dazzling collection is sure to be a standard ref. for anyone interested in contemporary drama.

Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams

Our Price: $25.00

Tennessee Williams, author of such indelible masterpieces as “The Glass Menagerie” & “A Streetcar Named Desire,” is considered by many to be the greatest literary artist of the American theater. This is Leverich’s riveting, revelatory, & sole authorized account -- based on his exclusive access to letters, diaries, unpublished manuscripts, & family documents -- of Williams’s early life & of the events that shaped his life. It tells the story of the marital traumas of his bullying father & overly protective mother; the mental disorders that institutionalized his beloved sister Rose; his stalled academic career; his confused sexuality; & his early successes as a writer; & it leaves Williams on the brink of fame with “The Glass Menagerie”. Photos.

Criminal Sentences: True Crime in Fiction & Drama

Our Price: $26.00

Steve Haste (au). This study of true crime’s influence on fiction & drama begins with an investigation into the ways in which authors adapt criminal facts to their needs. Gives a brief history of this genre, tracing it from the 16th-cent. play, “Arden of Faversham,” by way of 18th-cent. novels, where villains such as Jack Sheppard were seen as heroes in a corrupt society. The genre continued into the 19th cent., when authors such as Sir Walter Scott & Edward Bulwer Lytton used real crime to spice their historical fiction. In the 20th cent., solutions to unsolved murders became a popular fictional pastime, with Jack the Ripper & the William Wallace murder case heading the list. The main body of the book is an A to Z of crimes & criminals, giving details of 200 cases or lives.

Sourcebook of African-American Performance

Sourcebook of African-American Performance: Plays, People, Movements

Our Price: $27.00

Annemarie Bean (ed). Brings together significant primary & secondary materials on black theater & performance. It is the first volume to consider African-American performance between & beyond the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s & the New Black Renaissance of the 1990s. The sourcebook consists of writings previously published in “The Drama Review (TDR)” as well as newly commissioned pieces by notable scholars, writers & performers. Included are articles, essays, manifestos & interviews on theater on: the professional, revolutionary & college stages; concert dance; community activism; step shows; & performance art previously published in TDR. Includes the plays “Sally’s Rape” by Robbie McCauley & “The America Play” by Suzan-Lori Parks.

Play Goes On: A Memoir

Our Price: $27.00

Neil Simon (au). In this 2nd volume of his memoires, playwright Neil Simon begins immediately following the death of his wife, Joan. From that moment of unbearable sadness, Simon moved quickly to work on another play to keep himself busy & his mind off his loss. The work was therapeutic, & he met an actress who had a role in his play, Marsha Mason. Almost immediately a bond developed, which led to marriage. When Mason’s career required that she be in Hollywood, Simon & his two daughters from his first marriage moved there as well. He immersed himself in his work & created: “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Biloxi Blues,” “Broadway Bound,” & “Lost in Yonkers.” “A revealing look at an artist in crisis but still able & willing to laugh at every misstep he takes.” B&W photos.

Happy Alchemy: On the Pleasures of Music & the Theatre

Our Price: $28.00

Robertson Davies (au); Jennifer Surridge (ed); Brenda Davies (ed). Robertson Davies’s death in December 1995 was marked in obituaries around the world. Not only was he one of Canada’s most distinguished men of letters, but he was also a novelist whose unique voice spoke to a vast international audience. The happy alchemy in this delightful book transforms subjects ranging from Greek drama & 18th-century farce to contemporary set design, from the trouble with “Hamlet” as opera to the sheer delight of Lewis Carroll & “Dickens & Music.” The editors have produced tantalizing quotes from Davies’s private diaries to help introduce each of the book’s essays (& verse, libretto, & even screenplay). “A rare treat for Davies disciples, theater buffs, & music lovers alike.”

Shakespeare in a Box: King Lear

Our Price: $30.00

William Shakespeare (au); Carl Martin (ed). Bring the Bard home with a literary twist on parlor games -- a host-your-own Shakespeare play, where friends, family, & guests are the director, actors, crew, & audience. Adapting one of Shakespeare’s best-known, highly esteemed works -- King Lear -- here is a complete kit for producing & acting out a cathartic 45-minute version of the tragedy: 10 playing scripts; the complete play, annotated from an actor/director’s perspective; players’ cards: casting chart, technical notes, & how to find your inner villain, Edmund; Gloucester’s eyeballs; retractable plastic stage dagger; & the classic jester’s floppy fool’s cap, bell included. Just add willing participants (numbering four & up). It is entertainment most excellent!

Rehearsals for Growth: Theater Improvisation for Psychotherapists

Our Price: $32.00

Daniel J. Wiener (au). A practical book that teaches the basic principles of improvisation (accepting offers, paying attention to others, advancing the action, supporting others) through the use of exercises & games that will enable players -- therapists, clients, all others -- to experience greater freedom of expression & a power based on cooperation, imagination, & insight. Contains detailed descriptions & instruction for use of over 150 variations of games & exercises that are applicable to groups, couples, family, & individual therapy; 14 case examples & numerous clinical vignettes; & a how this approach compares to other therapeutic approaches.