From the Other Side of the Century II

by Messerli, Douglas

• ISBN13: 9781557132475
• ISBN10: 155713247X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-12-01
• Publisher: Green Integer Books

Summary

Like the 1,200-page volume of American poetry before it, From The Other Side of the Century II explores literature of the last quarter century, this time American dramatic writing, making available important theater texts for reading and teaching. Among the playwrights included in this major collection are Edward Albee, Arnold Weinstein, Jack Richardson, Amiri Baraka, Tennessee Williams, Ed Bullins, Rosalyn Drexler, John Guare, Ronald Tavel, Lee Breuer, Richard Foreman, Sam Shepard, Adrienne Kennedy, Richard Nelson, Jeffrey M. Jones, John O. Keefe, Charles Ludlam, OyamO, Craig Lucas, Pedro Pietri, Eric Overmyer, Constance Congdon, Maria Irene Fornes, Holoy Hughes, Len Jenkin, Erik Ehn, Charles L. Mee, Jr., Richard Caliban, Suzan-Lori Parks, John Steppling, Tina Howe, Lynn Alvarez, David Greenspan, Murray Mednick, Mac Wellman, Kier Peters, Naomi Iizuka, and Tony Kushner. In his introduction Marc Robinson observes that "If nothing else, this anthology should put to bed some tired words. 'Experimental,' 'alternative,' 'avant-garde':'_¦Perhaps such terms meant something in the early days of American theater, when writers eager for success had to buckle under a dominant style. Then the naysayers were a tiny, if resilient bunch. But now, after three generations of artists challenging assumptions about what constitutes a good play, the modes of innovation are too various to be summed up in a phrase or too energetic to be confined to the culture's margins. The alternative itself has become a tradition." From the park bench of Albee's "The Zoo Story" of 1960 to the cemetery on Martha's Vineyard, where friends have gathered in Toy Kushner's play to bury illegally their playwright associate, the plays of this volume reveal the life and death, the genius and absurdity, the towering power and silly fears of the American people through a vibrant and poetic dramatic expression oer the last fort years. This important anthology reveals similarities and dissimilaritites between the past and present, enough to fill a lifetime of theater going.

Table of Contents

EDITORS' PREFACES	7	(4)
A Penny Universe	7	(2)
Mac Wellman
A View from the Street	9	(2)
Douglas Messerli
INTRODUCTION	11	(8)
Marc Robinson
PLAYS	19	(1174)
The Zoo Story	19	(20)
Edward Albee (1960)
Red Eye of Love	39	(42)
Arnold Weinstein (1961)
Gallows Humor	81	(36)
Jack Richardson (1961)
The Toilet	117	(14)
Amiri Baraka (1964)
The Gnadiges Fraulein	131	(30)
Tennessee Williams (1966)
The Man Who Dug Fish	161	(6)
Ed Bullins (1967)
Softly and Consider the Nearness	167	(12)
Rosalyn Drexler (1967)
Muzeeka	179	(22)
John Guare (1968)
Boy on a Straight-Back Chair	201	(48)
Ronald Tavel (1969)
The B. Beaver Animation	249	(10)
Lee Breuer (1974)
Rhoda in Potatoland	259	(16)
Richard Foreman (1975)
Action	275	(20)
Sam Shepard (1975)
A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White	295	(18)
Adrienne Kennedy (1976)
Conjuring an Event	313	(34)
Richard Nelson (1976)
Night Coil	347	(62)
Jeffrey M. Jones (1979)
Reverse Psychology	409	(50)
Charles Ludlam (1980)
All Night Long	459	(42)
John O'Keefe (1980)
The Resurrection of Lady Lester	501	(48)
OyamO (1981)
Reckless	549	(40)
Craig Lucas (1983)
The Masses Are Asses	589	(34)
Pedro Pietri (1984)
Native Speech	623	(46)
Eric Overmyer (1985)
No Mercy	669	(30)
Constance Congdon (1986)
Dress Suits to Hire	699	(20)
Holly Hughes (1987)
Abingdon Square	719	(32)
Maria Irene Fornes (1987)
American Notes	751	(34)
Len Jenkin (1988)
Angel uh God	785	(18)
Erik Ehn (1988)
Standard of the Breed	803	(24)
John Steppling (1988)
The Imperialists at the Club Cave Canem	827	(12)
Charles L. Mee, Jr. (1989)
Rodents & Radios	839	(26)
Richard Caliban (1990)
Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom	865	(40)
Suzan-Lori Parks (1990)
One Shoe Off	905	(46)
Tina Howe (1993)
Son of an Engineer	951	(26)
David Greenspan (1994)
The Reincarnation of Jaimie Brown	977	(58)
Lynne Alvarez (1994)
Switchback	1035	(34)
Murray Mednick (1994)
The Hyacinth Macaw	1069	(56)
Mac Wellman (1994)
The Confirmation	1125	(28)
Kier Peters (1994)
Tattoo Girl	1153	(28)
Naomi Iizuka (1994)
Reverse Transcription	1181	(12)
Tony Kushner (1995)
BIOGRAPHIES	1193