Best American Plays: Ninth Series 1983-1992 Complete

by Clive Barnes

Book Overview

The Ninth Series of Crown's famous Best American Plays, published continually since the 1930s, includes plays produced from 1983 to 1992. Clive Barnes, one of America's most respected theater critics,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517574527
• ISBN13: 9780517574522
• Release Date: June 1993
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 526 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

A detailed comprehensive collection!

The most comprehensive collections of Best American Plays is the John Gassner Best Play Series of books that capture the best of lengthy American plays through the decades. You won't find a synopsis of each or critique, but you gain insight into the playwright, stage actors performances, performances run, and so much more. The work is up to you, the reader, to grasp the essence of fine theatre work. The Ninth Series from 1983 through 1992 includes some film versions of plays that were so much more popular than the text version. Not too many people know that "Driving Miss Daisy" written by Alfred Uhry was a play, or the powerful "Glengarry Glen Ross" by David Mamet, were theatre work first! It's great to have included "Joe Turner's Come and Gone", by the late August Wilson. When he died a few years ago, we lost a significant contributor to black history. Read the chronology of plays he presented. Joe Turner is about the past slaves who are seeking identity - their song, and a place in this country. I loved "The Cocktail Hour", a man arrives at the home of his well-to-do parents to prepare them for the acceptance that the play he is writing will be about them. They are completely nervous about this to the point of bribing him. A playwright I had not heard of, Horton Foote's entertaing "The Widow Clarie" takes place in Texas, 1911, the universal timeless problem, trying to find a husband with two inquisitive children always poking around. Anything by Neil Simon is great, and I haven't quite read "Brighton Beach Memories" and David Rabe's "Hurlyburly" is Hollywood's type, foul-mouth, rough, drugged, alcoholic insensitive to women. Maybe difficult to endure. Enjoy Terrence McNally's "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, absolutely wonderful! Also included: Tina Howe-Painting Churches; Arthur Kopit-End of the World; William Hoffman-As Is; Herb Gardner-I'm Not Rappaport; Lanford Wilson-Burn This; Stephen Sondheim-Into the Woods; Michael Weller-Spoils of War; and Jerry Sterner-Other People's Money. .... Marrianne Rizzuto I recommend these from the series: Best American Plays: Third Series, 1945-1951 BEST AMERICAN PLAYS 4TH SERIES (Best American Plays) Best American Plays Fifth Series 1958-1963 BEST AMERICAN PLAYS 6TH SERIES (Best American Plays) BEST AMERICAN PLAYS 7TH SERIES (The John Gassner Best Plays Series) BEST AMERICAN PLAYS 8TH SER 19 (Best American Plays)