In the Great Together: One-Act Plays

By Seth Alan Barkas

Book Overview

Each of these one-act plays resonates with sharp, memorable dialogue, and diverse and powerful themes, plots, and characters. (Plays/Drama) This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 188926251X
• ISBN13: 9781889262512
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Hannacroix Creek Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An anthology of four one-act plays by the late Seth Alan Barkas

Also available in a hardcover edition (1889262072, $31.95), In The Great Together is an anthology of four one-act plays by the late Seth Alan Barkas, a gifted New York theater critic who was murdered on the streets of that city at the age of 23 by a gang of youthful thugs. What was not widely known at the time was that in addition to critique the Broadway and Off Broadway plays of others for "Show Business", a publication dedicated to the entertainment industry in New York. It was many years after his untimely death that his sister discovered that his widow had kept her husband's papers, among which included four plays that displayed the amazing talent of this aspiring playwright. Now published posthumously, these four one-act plays clearly document the literary abilities of Seth Alan Barkas and make a significant and welcome addition to the growing library of American theatrical plays. Included are "Cry of the Boy" which delves into the everyday life of a 17-year-old boy and his relationship with his parents; "The Devil and Don Quijote" which is set in post-revolutionary Spain and tells the story of a man who escapes from an old age home; "Maximilian" which takes place in 1867 in a prison cell the night before the execution of 35-year-old Emperor Maximilian of Mexico when Constantine, disguised as a stable hand, visits Maximilian to try to talk him into going along with the request of Juarez and abdicate his claim to the throne, renounce his opposition to the Revolution, and agree to return to Austria. The final play completing this anthology is "Scorpio", which explores the relationship between 20-year-old Tom, a woman, and Stanley, a 19-year-old man who enters Tom's apartment as he goes door to door for his summer job as a salesman of goods made by the blind. An impressive collection by any standard, In The Great Together would provide especially excellent selections for high-school, college, and community theater groups seeking one-act plays to perform for their audiences.